I’ve been thinking a lot about canonicity and Christian education in the past two weeks. Here’s a side discussion off of what I’ve been reading about.

Futurist magazines in the 1950s promised us flying cars and space travel as a commodity. Sixty years later we are no closer to the actualization of that dream (unless you live in rural China). However, knowledge itself has become a commodity. Let me explain what I mean.

You can access knowledge anywhere. If you’re reading blogs, you know this already. But think about the places where you can’t access email, news, and sports scores? Just take a look at the queues by free Internet terminals in airports to see how travel and culture can’t compete with a quick Facebook status update.

You can find out just about anything. My young nephew recently told me about this website called “The Google” where you could type in anything you want and it would “just appear.” I’m not just talking about the Internet. University libraries and collections provide access to specialist information and networks to find information if it is not immediately apparent.

The accessibility and quantity will only get greater and greater. Pranav Mistry recently showed off an interface that projected and parsed information through a video camera in front of you. Fascinating.

Because knowledge is a commodity, we urgently need the ability to think critically (in the classic sense of the word) with Biblical discernment. We need to spend more time learning how to think instead of what to think. Ten minutes reflecting on contemporary Christian thought by authors like Os Guinness, Ravi Zacharias, or David Wells will do far greater good than checking NRL scores.

Because knowledge is a commodity, we need to be creators, not just consumers. When was the last time that you created something using that office software on your computer that wasn’t work-related? When was the last time you sketched out an idea on a piece of paper or took a photo that didn’t have people in it? We need to be able to see creation and communicate it.

That’s my thoughts… now back to reading…

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About Jeremy Kwok

Jeremy grew up in Sydney before moving to the United States for tertiary studies. Jeremy completed the BA, MA (History), and M.Div degrees before returning to Australia with his wife Debbie. He currently works for Christian Education Ministries, a company that owns and operates private schools.

5 Comments

  1. PJ 30 July, 2010 at 7:58 am - Reply

    “We need to spend more time learning how to think instead of what to think.”

    Exactly right. The internet has made the retention of knowledge less important. Discerning what are reliable sources of knowledge is now the key.

  2. Jason Harris 30 July, 2010 at 1:08 pm - Reply

    Good thoughts. I think this highlights the value of a university or liberal arts education in our day (i.e. education vs. training).

  3. Robert 1 August, 2010 at 7:11 am - Reply

    why did you put a picture of Kim B on your blog? just curious.

  4. Steve 2 August, 2010 at 8:09 pm - Reply

    Kim Beazley was the leader of the ALP in 2001 when they launched their “Knowledge nation” education policy.

    Thank Google. What was that about thinking?

  5. Jeremy 3 August, 2010 at 9:24 pm - Reply

    I remember when he launched the “Knowledge Nation” campaign. I went back and read some of the promises the ALP were making if they won the election. We would have been in education utopia if KB was elected :)

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