Theological Language and Digital Media - Research Paper Example

Theological Language and Digital Media Introduction Transformations in the human environment stem from developments in technology, particularly in digital media. The digital technologies have successfully linked information/data on a massive extent. Online databases are now fully functional. Text-based research has been enhanced and made easier by the Internet’s search engine. In other words, these clusters of information become easily and directly accessible through concordance techniques and other digital methods (De Feijter 2007, 5). This essay is about the relationship between theology and the digital media. More specifically, this essay discusses how theological ideas might better be communicated digitally. Thus, this essay includes a comprehensive analysis of the nature of theological language and the challenges they face in the 21st century, and how digital methods and tools could enhance communication of theology. Historical Overview Before discussing the contemporary relationship between theology and the media, it is important to take into consideration the influence of the codex book on current interpretations of theology. Throughout the history of Christianity, the codex Bible has been used not just as a book of narratives, insights, and guidelines but as the medium of mystical transformation and spiritual communication (Elwell 2011, 15). When Anthony Bernard learned Matthew 19:21 and surrendered all his material belongings to lead a Christian life, or when Agnes Ozman personified the declaration of glossolalia, in every chapter, a person was changed spiritually by God’s divine utterance (Kling 2004, 311). The codex Bible has been a life-transforming testimony. The codex Bible is not only a life-transforming instrument but are reconstructed and revived in the historical and discursive practice. As a specific text evolves over time, it goes through different interpretations and relevance. For example, African Americans translated the exodus narrative into their own narrative-- first a narrative of emancipation from slavery, then eventually God’s salvation from all kinds of repression and abuse. In certain instances a text which is dead eventually becomes alive (Soukup, Buckley, & Robinson 2009, 3). For instance, Matt. 16:18-19, or also called the Petrine text, was dead for hundreds of years before it was summoned as an evidence of the pre-eminence of Rome’s bishop. A specific book of Scripture works to authorise what has already taken place or to strengthen the existing context of opinion. In certain instances, nevertheless, texts are clearly quoted to validate a current historical truth. For instance, the Petrine text embodies a “retreat from exegesis to later history,” (Fouracre 2005, 745) because it was quoted as the biblical evidence for the pre-eminence of Rome’s bishop. A developing field in the conversion of the Bible is the presentation of the codex book in digital formats. The theological language was a largely oral tradition wherein the readings were read vocally, normally in group contexts. Contemporary bibles are printed manuscripts (Waters 2006, 71). The technological world introduces the digital media or electronic formats. Books contend with digital technologies like computer, television, film, and so on. The digital world presents new media for the translation of the Bible. What is discussed here is the issue of actual translation, not merely the issue of how to create multimedia productions or films ‘adapted from’ the Bible. This relationship between digital media and ancient Bible translation perhaps clarify why several scholars of biblical media are particularly interested not just in the study of new media for translating and presenting the Bible but also in bringing back antique oral types of Bible presentation (Knauss & Ornella 2007, 116). This twofold interest is particularly apparent in the work of Thomas Boomershine—a widely renowned lecturer and author in the translation of the Bible’s stories. According to Boomershine, the silent reading of the Bible is antiquated. He states, “If the medium does significantly influence the meaning of a biblical tradition,... historical interpretation requires an effort to experience the tradition in its intended medium” (Scorgie, Strauss, & Voth 2009, 58). Commitment to the original medium demands a translation process that appropriately respects the Scripture’s oral traditions, with proper consideration of current oral traditions. A study of the media in translation reveals that rigid obedience to originality in translation is impossible. Digital media generate their own forms of experience which are largely unique or dissimilar from contemporary silent reading or antiquated oral reading (George 2006, 9). It is possible to preserve or revive the Scripture’s ancient experience, but through digital media the reader will also unavoidably experience Scripture uniquely or distinctively from the experience of the original readers. Theological Language and Digital Media Theological language today is being deeply influenced and transformed by the developments that have occurred currently in technologies of textual construction and use. As the Internet becomes more and more sophisticated and visual, individuals are experiencing the Scriptures in a different way. This is taking place in the academe, the real of social media, and also in the world of theology (Communication Research Trends 2012, 1). For instance, the Codex Sinaiticus—the oldest full manuscript of the New Testament—is currently available online (Deegan & Sutherland 2009, 196). This gives anyone full access to a text that was up till then seen only by an elite group of intellectuals. This opening up of the biblical history for mass reading improves knowledge of the roots of the Bible, dismisses numerous false beliefs about it and heightens the possibility of cultural understanding and appreciation of the Bible (Ellingson 2007, 81). Moreover, according to Hess (2005), it contributes to the apologetics by stressing once again the Bible’s ‘material’ truth—that it has been reproduced, on a variety of materials, rearranged and proven against diverse verification of the text. However, due to the Bible’s immensity and the limitations of the human mind to retain fragments of biblical information and unify them, it is not unexpected that normally one of the first instruments a Bible apprentice prefers is an accurate concordance. A complete concordance, or a tool that catalogues, in an alphabetical format, all words or terms found in the Bible, together with its biblical reference index, is undoubtedly one of the most helpful and essential instruments of theological scholarship (Warren 2009, 2; Carey 2007). A concordance helps Bible students find the correct path through the immense collection of biblical content. Almost everyone keen on the Bible has experienced the nuisance of imprecisely recalling a biblical quote and being confused when trying to locate that passage in the Scripture’s voluminous manuscript. Although not all Bibles are actually huge, the codex Bible itself is massive, as regards content. Indeed, the Bible is composed of 66 books, enclosing approximately 790,000 words in a usual English rendition (Strong 2009, vii). Furthermore, almost all Bible readers recall words, terms, and passages better than Bible references. A person, for instance, may recall that widely famous passage “God so loved the world,” (Strong 2009, vii) but unable to find it in the Bible’s pages. Although a large number of Bible readers consult a concordance only to look for biblical content, concordance techniques, web tools, and digital media provide the Bible reader a lot more than a simple or handy way of finding the biblical pages for imprecisely or unclearly recalled passages. These concordance techniques are a remarkable instrument for acquiring ideas about the usage and significance of biblical words and phrases (Brock 2010; Frasca 2007). For instance, as a biblical reader think about John 3:16, s/he may become curious about the way a phrase or word might be applied in the other parts of the Scripture. According to Dyrness and Karkkainen 2008), concordance techniques are specially made for this form of word or phrase search, because it catalogues in a particular site all over the Bible where a specific word or phrase comes about. In an in-depth word or phrase search, a Bible reader could look at each of these words or phrases in perspective, emphasising the shades of meaning the phrases or words appear to express in various contexts, or the diversities of meaning located in different places. Web tools and concordance techniques enable the Bible reader to perform personally or directly, rudimentary theological research by spreading out word research into wider thematic studies. Nevertheless, a Bible reader can go deeper or further. A Bible reader can do more than getting further knowledge of Greek and Hebrew words making use of the original language glossaries in the concordance like looking at how these very old words are applied in their different biblical perspectives (Feist, Beauvais, & Shukla 2010). Becoming skilled at carrying out even rudimentary Greek and Hebrew word research drawing upon concordance does need a measure of practice and training. Theology has been an unusual subject matter on the World Wide Web. But it is opportune to have huge volumes of valuable resources, particularly in theology. Conclusions There are numerous Bible study instruments that Bible enthusiasts can use to acquire more profound knowledge of the Scripture. Nevertheless, in this digital world, no sole resource can provide a larger diversity of ways of structuring, arranging, refining, and extracting the contents of biblical teaching than concordance techniques, web tools, and digital media. Besides being an important instrument for navigating the complex hallways of the biblical maze, concordance techniques and the digital media allow a Bible reader to look at the variety and wealth of biblical words, verses, and arguments, and even allows one to break through the largely uncharted territories of the biblical languages. Works Cited n.a. “Theological and Religious Perspectives on the Internet” Communication Research Trends 31.1 (2012): 1+ Brock, Brian. Christian Ethics in a Technological Age. UK: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2010. Print. Carey, Kevin. “The Opportunities and Challenges of the Digital Age: A Blind User’s Perspective” Library Trends 55.4 (2007): 1+ Deegan, Marilyn & Kathryn Sutherland. Transferred Illusions: Digital Technology and the Forms of Print. UK: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009. Print. De Feijter, Ineke. The Art of Dialogue: Religion, Communication and Global Media Culture. Amsterdam: LIT Verlag Munster, 2007. Print. Dyrness, William & Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. Global Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church. UK: Intervarsity Press, 2008. Print. Ellingson, Stephen. The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-First Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Print. Elwell, J. Sage. Crisis of Transcendence: A Theology of Digital Art and Cultures. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2011. Print. Feist, Richard, Chantal Beauvais, & Rajesh Shukla. Technology and the Changing Face of Humanity. Ottawa, Ontario: University of Ottawa Press, 2010. Print. Fouracre, Paul. The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 1, c. 500- c. 700. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print. Frasca, Ralph. “Communication, Media, and Identity: A Christian Theory of Communication” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 84.2 (2007): 1+ George, Susan. Religion and Technology in the 21st Century: Faith in the E-World. London: Idea Group Inc (IGI), 2006. Print. Hess, Mary. Engaging Technology in Theological Education: All That We Can’t Leave Behind. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. Print. Kling, David. The Bible in History: How the Texts Have Shaped the Times: How the Texts Have Shaped the Times. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print. Knauss, Stefanie & Alexander Ornella. Reconfigurations: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Religion in a Post-Secular Society. UK: Lit, 2007. Print. Scorgie, Glen, Mark Strauss, & Steven Voth. The Challenge of Bible Translation: Communicating God’s Word to the World. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009. Print. Soukup, Paul, Francis Buckley, & David Robinson. “The Influence of Information Technologies on Theology” Theological Studies 62.2 (2009): 1+ Strong, James. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible. Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. Print. Warren, David. “An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52.3 (2009): 1+ Waters, Brent. From Human to Posthuman: Christian Theology and Technology in a Postmodern World. UK: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006. Print. Read More