The Communication Revolution

“Beneath the rule of men entirely great
The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Edward Bulwer-Lytton56

Chapter Footnotes and Hyperlinks

  1. Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. Richelieu, Act II, Scene 2. English playwright, novelist, & politician (1803 - 1873)

A Lesson from Socrates

  1. Plato's Phaedrus is a dialogue between Socrates and Phaedrus. The Phaedrus was presumably composed around 370 B.C, around the same time as Plato's Republic and Symposium. Although it is primarily about the topic of love, the dialogue revolves around a discussion of rhetoric and how it should be practiced. I followed the lead of Neil Postman in Technopoly; he uses this story as an example of the written word being one of the earliest technologies to change the basis of culture.

The Church’s Earliest Gift of Technology

  1. Codex. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 April 2006 23:19 UTC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex “A codex (Latin for book; plural codices) is a handwritten book from late Antiquity or the Early Middle Ages. Although the Romans used the codex and similar precursors made of wood for taking notes and other informal writings, the first recorded use of the codex for literary works dates from the late first century, when Martial experimented with the format. At that time, the roll (also called a scroll) was the dominant medium for literary works and would remain dominant for secular works until the 4th century. As far back as the early 2nd century, there is evidence that the codex was the preferred format among Christians, while other religions preferred the roll. The Christian codex was made of papyrus, more compact and better suited for people on the move than parchment.”

  2. Textual Critics are those who are dedicate to the science of manuscripts and to finding the most accurate extant copies that are closest to the original.

  3. This data is well known among archaeologists and Greek specialists of this era. I first discovered this from reading Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict as an early Christian. It forever settled the criticism that the Scriptures are some contrived book written by a monk in the middle ages. This is vital information for young believers of our day who have to do battle with such fallacies as recently presented in the popular book and movie The DaVinci Code. http://www.carm.org/evidence/textualevidence.htm

  4. Matthew 9:17 (NIV) “Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

We All Want to Change the World

  1. To learn more about this great Christian leader and scholar go to http://chi.gospelcom.net/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses/ glmps013.shtml and http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/special/ 131christians/wycliffe.html

  2. John Wycliffe quotes . ThinkExist.com Quotations. 1 Mar. 2006. http://10.1.0.25/quotes/john_wycliffeThis phrase is found in the introduction to his translation of the Bible in 1382. Originally, Wycliffe meant this to apply only to church government but it wasn’t long before this idea was conveyed in civil government as well. It is likely that Abraham Lincoln found his inspiration from Wycliffe when he used almost identical language in the Gettysburg Address.

Moveable Type - The Catalyst for World Change

  1. Most of my biographical information about Gutenberg can be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia located at: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07090a.htm

  2. Gutenberg Bible Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 March 2006 02:25 UTC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible “The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, and as the Mazarin Bible) is a print of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible that was printed by its namesake, Johann Gutenberg, in Mainz, Germany. The print run started on February 23, 1455, using moveable type. This Bible is the most famous incunabulum and its production marked the beginning of the mass production of books in the West. … A very complete copy comprises 1282 pages; most were bound in two volumes.

    “It is believed that about 180 copies of the Bible were produced, 45 on vellum and 135 on paper, a number which boggled minds in societies which, from time immemorial, had to produce copies of written works laboriously by hand. Gutenberg produced these Bibles (which were printed, then rubricated and illuminated by hand), over a period of three years, the time it would have taken to produce one copy in a Scriptorium. Because of the hand illumination, each copy is unique. Two-color printing techniques, which would have eliminated the need for rubrication, were developed later.”

The Reformation

  1. Renaissance . Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 April 2006 18:50 UTC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance “In the traditional view, the Renaissance is understood as an historical age that was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the Reformation. … A rebirth of classical learning and knowledge through the rediscovery of ancient texts, and also a rebirth of European culture in general.”

  2. There are so many resources on the life of Martin Luther, his teachings and his movement that anyone interested in his life can find adequate material just about anywhere. I would recommend starting with the recent movie produced by New Look Media, distributed by MGM, staring Joseph Fiennes entitled: “Luther.”(2003) The subtitle reads, “One man’s faith in God launched the greatest revolution of all.” I found the website http://www.luther.de/en/ to be one of the most helpful websites in my research for this book.

  3. This definition is found in the official Catholic Catechism: “What is an indulgence? An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints. An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin. The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead.” Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sacrament of penance and reconciliation. 5 April 2006. http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c
    2a4.htm#X

  4. The actual letter is reproduced online at: http://www.luther.de/en/95thesen.html

  5. Luther at the Imperial Diet of Worms (1521). KDG Wittenberg. 5 April 2006. http://www.luther.de/en/worms.html Some sources omit the last statement, “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.”

The Modern Gutenberg-ian Invention

  1. Edmund Burke quotes . ThinkExist.com Quotations Online. 1 March 2006. http://10.1.0.25/quotes/edmund_burke “British statesman, parliamentary orator, and political thinker prominent in public life from 1765 to about 1795 and important in the history of political theory. He championed conservatism in opposition to Jacobinism in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790).” Edmund Burke. Britannica Online. 5 April 2006 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9018168

  2. This term for the Soviet Union was coined by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 at the 41 st Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals. It would spark worldwide debate and eventually lead to meetings between Reagan and the last Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The Cold War ended 6 years after Regan’s remark.

  3. I consulted several websites in my research of the history of the internet: Two of the most helpful were: http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_internet

  4. Internet protocol suite. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 April 2006 02:38 UTC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCP/IP “The internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols that implement the protocol stack on which the Internet and most commercial networks run. It is sometimes called the TCP/IP protocol suite, after the two most important protocols in it: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which were also the first two defined.”

  5. Hypertext. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 April 2006 03:03 UTC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext “In computing, hypertext is a user interface paradigm for displaying documents which, according to an early definition (Nelson 1970), "branch or perform on request." The most frequently discussed form of hypertext document contains automated cross-references to other documents called hyperlinks. Selecting a hyperlink causes the computer to display the linked document within a very short period of time.”

  6. Al Gore had to find his way into this book because of his claim that he helped to invent the internet, made in his failed attempt for the presidency during the 2000 election campaign against George Bush. Transcript: Vice President Gore on CNN's 'Late Edition.' CNN.com. 9 March 1999 17 :06 EST

  7. Thomas L. Friedman. The World is Flat. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. Page 60. Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape is quoted from an interview with author.

  8. Ibid., Page 64.

The New Language of Communication

  1. VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol – some analysts believe it may finally undo century old communication giants such as ATT and Bell.

  2. Bob Sullivan. Domain name sells for $2.75 million CreditCards.com deal sparks talk of new gold rush. MSNBC. 20 July 2004 20:30 ET http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5467584

  3. Hugh Hewitt. Blog. Oasis Audio, 2004. Introduction Time 00:02:42. I downloaded this book through www.audible.com. You can visit Hewitt’s blog site at: http://www.hughhewlett.com.

  4. http://www.boingboing.net/ Boing Boing is a weblog of cultural curiosities and interesting technologies. It's the most popular blog in the world, as ranked by Technorati.com, and won the Lifetime Achievement and Best Group Blog awards at the 2006 Bloggies ceremony. It is very liberal in its ideas. It also advertises for pornographic sites, so beware.

Communication Disciples

  1. http://www.onlineschool.ca is the Heritage Christian Online School website. We also have launched http://www.bconlineschools.ca to bring online courses to other schools. In April 2006, we launched one of BC’s largest home school conventions – http://www.bcconvention.ca .

  2. http://www.heritagechristian.ca This is our campus, Grades K to 12 program.

  3. Judges 7:1-7. This interesting story shows how God scaled down Gideon’s army to those who were watchful. After the weak and fearful were dismissed, Gideon is instructed to take only those solders who do not drink with their faces in the water but stoop down and drink by cupping their hands. In this way the solders were able to see all around and maintain an alert posture.

  4. A www.ym4c.ca rotating quote. “Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist.” Margaret Mead . Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 April 2006 01:52 UTC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead

Online Accountability

  1. A simple Google search of “Content Filter reviews” will present several good options. In my home we are now using ContentProtect found at: http://www.contentwatch.com/ We have also used Cybersitter successfully for many years it can be found at: http://www.cybersitter.com

  2. In my home my wife has maintained the password so that I avoid the temptation as well. She receives an email when potential sites are blocked. I also have a close friend with whom I communicate regularly on this issue.

Where is Martin Luther?

  1. It can be downloaded at www.ChristianThinker.org/books/3days.htm

  2. This is one of those quotes that may or may not have been said by a man of so many words. The idea is: for a politician, the most important thing is to get your name out there. It certainly sounds like Churchill.

  3. www.wikipedia.org As you have probably already noted, I quote extensively from this encyclopedia. Formerly, I was a great advocate of the Encyclopedia Britannica because of its trusted scholarship. In recent years, I have found it to be overly authoritative in its approach and difficult to find the answers I need. Wikipedia has been one of the greatest surprises in my scholarly research and attitude. I have found it, time and again, more up to date and informative than Britannica. “Here, here!” to the people’s encyclopedia!

  4. Hugh Hewitt. Blog. Oasis Audio, 2004. Chapter 3, Time 01:53:56

Listen to Greg read this section:

Words command ideas and ideas command empires. Whoever controls the words controls the world. Have you heard the old cliché: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know?” Not any more. The power brokers of knowledge are gone. The sages of the ivory towers and the protectors of truth have been reduced to mere mortals. How about a few more clichés: “The cat is out of the bag,” because, “there is a new sheriff in town,” or more correctly there is NO sheriff in town. The digital world and the internet have dismantled the old authority structures that protected the dissemination of knowledge as their chief source of power over the masses.

A Lesson from Socrates

Socrates , in the ancient writings of Plato, tells the story of Thamus , the King of Egypt, and Theuth , the god of invention. Greek mythology taught that Theuth was the creator of numbers, calculation, astronomy and most importantly, writing. Theuth came to King Thamus explaining that he should allow the Egyptian people to take part in all of his wonderful inventions. Here is part of Plato’s narrative taken from “Phaedrus:”

“Thamus inquired into the use of each of them, and as Theuth went through them expressed approval or disapproval, according as he judged Theuth’s claims to be well or ill founded. It would take too long to go through all that Thamus is reported to have said for and against each of Theuth’s inventions. But when it came to writing, Theuth declared, “Here is an accomplishment, my lord the King, which will improve both the wisdom and the memory of the Egyptians. I have discovered a sure receipt for memory and wisdom.” To this, Thamus replied, “Theuth, my paragon of inventors, the discoverer of an art is not the best judge of the good or harm which will accrue to those who practice it. So it is in this; you, who are the father of writing, have out of fondness for your off-spring attributed to it quite the opposite of its real function. Those who acquire it will cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful; they will rely on writing to bring things to their remembrance by external signs instead of by their own internal resources. What you have discovered is a receipt for recollection, not for memory. And as for wisdom, your pupils will have the reputation for it without the reality: they will receive a quantity of information without proper instruction, and in consequence be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant. And because they are filled with the conceit of wisdom instead of real wisdom they will be a burden to society.’” 57

King Thamus showed great wisdom on his part for his reluctance to receive the invention of writing. Though he was correct about the effects this technology would have on his people’s minds, he failed to see an even greater concern to his throne. Writers would become “a burden to society” because they would be able to communicate their thoughts outside of the King’s control. Obviously, Thamus also missed the amazing good that such a technology would bring his people. To convey knowledge through written text creates cultural advancement from generation to generation. Thamus failed to see that his people’s memory and wisdom were already short-sighted.

The Communication Revolution is upon us. Socrates presents us with an interesting question. Should we accept this “gift?” If we look at it from Thamus ’ position, I dare say, “we should not; it is too risky; our throne could not withstand such a powerful tool in the hands of the people.” But let’s remember who we are. Are we not trying to create a subversive element in the world? Is this not an opportunity to topple those who have controlled the thoughts and minds of our culture?

The Church’s Earliest Gift of Technology

Around the time of Christ a new technology was emerging. It made its way into everyday culture by the late first century. Up until this point in human history mankind communicated primarily through word of mouth. Anything that needed to be written down for posterity’s sake was recorded on scrolls. These rolls of wax tablets and papyrus were very expensive and cumbersome. These scrolls were only found in wealthy schools, libraries, government offices and places of worship. You wouldn’t find any form of the written word in the homes of the common man, until the Codex .58 This new type of “information technology” had dramatic effects on the distribution of the scriptures in the early centuries of the church. Instead of hauling carts of scrolls, a person could simply bind it in a single book. The Codex was the first real book made of paper-thin animal skins and could be written on both sides of the parchment.

Historians, archeologists and especially textual critics59 are blessed with an amazing abundance of manuscript evidence of the Old and New Testaments from this period. The plethora of evidence exists because the early church adopted this new technology of the Codex . It became the primary means of distributing the Word of God. By the second century there were copies of the scriptures in nearly every house church.

Today there are 5,686 extant copies of the Greek New Testament dating from the second to the sixth century. There are only hundreds of copies of some of the most important books of that era or earlier; such as Homer’s Illiad, 643; Sophocles, 193; and our beloved Plato quoted earlier, 7. In addition, there are over 19,000 copies of the New Testament in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic and Aramaic languages bringing the total manuscript base to over 24,000 copies.60

The young church was able to embrace and adapt to this new way of communication. Other religions, including Judaism, had too much invested in the older communication media. In some cases the scrolls themselves became holy relics. To change these would be sacrilegious. The new and upcoming Christian movement on the other hand, had no specific allegiance to the older medium. It was ready for the “new wine skin”61 of the codex and eventually changed the entire Roman world with it!

We All Want to Change the World

In 1370, an English scholar emerged with a vision to change Europe forever. This scholar wanted the same thing the internet has done. He wanted to get information to the masses that would enable them to make their own decisions regarding truth. This would give them the ability to touch the face of God without holding the hand of the educated priest.

His name was John Wycliffe 62 and he was the first to translate the Bible from Latin into English. Perhaps his most famous statement was, “I believe that in the end truth will conquer.” His notoriety and scholarship was renown throughout all of Europe. His writings had a wide circulation and became the foundation for a pre-reformation to take place as far away as Bohemia (modern day Austria/Hungry).

The Christian History Institute writes:

“Wycliffe cared deeply for the poor and common folk and railed against the abuses of the Church. The Church owned over one-third of the land in England. Clergy were often illiterate and immoral. High offices in the church were bought or given out as political plums. But the problems went even deeper. Wycliffe, a devoted student of the Bible, saw that some of the doctrines of the church had departed from biblical moorings. Based on his study of the Scripture, he wrote and preached against the teachings about purgatory, the sale of indulgences, and the doctrine of transubstantiation.”

Wycliffe not only stepped on the religious toes of the Roman Catholic Church but also the power structures of European politics. He declared, “This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people and for the people.”63 He saw correctly that if the control of knowledge (in this case the Bible) could be given to the people then they would begin to challenge the powers that be and bring change. Unfortunately, Wycliffe was removed from his post as Chief Scholar of Oxford University and banished from preaching. He went to work on his translation of the scriptures which his followers would faithfully copy and distribute throughout England. His translations where confiscated and his followers were burned at the stake. The classic, Foxes Book of Martyrs by John Foxe, focuses much of its attention on the enormous sacrifices of these people.

What did Wycliffe lack? Why is he only know as the “Morning Star of the Reformation ” and not the Father thereof, the title given to Martin Luther ? Simply stated it was the Gutenberg printing press. Some historians would argue that Wycliffe would have made a better leader of the Reformation. His theology was far more temperate and it presented a strong balanced understanding of the role of the state. Regardless of this, Wycliffe’s time lacked the technology to mass produce his message and thus the religious and political authorities in his day successfully muffled his message and held the reformation back for another 150 years.

Moveable Type - The Catalyst for World Change

Somewhere in the poorer section of Mainz around 1400, Johann Gutenberg 64 was born. His father was a blacksmith who specialized in minting gold coins. Johann would inherit the family trade but he would never shake his inclination toward invention.

Johann later moved to Strasburg where his family had stronger political connections. It was here that he found acceptance in the goldsmiths’ guild. It was in the company of such a highly technical group of men that he gained the knowledge and resources to begin his invention. Johann became one of the primary managers and technicians in the guild. It is here, undoubtedly, that he came across some of the challenges of printing. Printing was a very expensive process. Large metal plates were forged or wooden plates were carved to print a single page.

Johann’s idea was simple, if he could forge or carve each letter separately, and in enough abundance, he could reuse the type for various different print jobs. As he set out to build the press, he began to face serious personal problems. In 1437 he was sued for “breach of promise of marriage” by a young patrician girl. This failed betrothal eventually meant that Johann had to leave Strasburg and return to Mainz, leaving him penniless and unable to complete the final aspects of his project.

Gutenberg literally lived off the generosity of his extended family in order to keep working on the press. In 1450, he formed a partnership with Johann Fust and was able to put the finishing touches on his invention. With Fust’s backing Johann launched into the ambitious first print job – the “42-lined” printed version of the Latin Vulgate Bible.65 This project took Johann nearly five years to complete which went well beyond the patience of his financial patron. When the project was finished Fust sued Johann and successfully obtained ownership of the press and all that had been printed to that date. Two years later Johann had to surrender the founts of type which he had developed two decades earlier. He died penniless ten years later as a ward of the church.

Johann Gutenberg had a vision of an effective way to communicate more efficiently. Like any inventor he was devoted to his creative idea. There is no doubt that he was also a faithful adherent to the Christianity of his day. He had no idea that his work would change the world and be considered the most important invention of the millennium. We can only speculate, had he foreseen the events which were about to tear his political and spiritual world apart, that he may not have devoted his life to such a dangerous instrument of change. . . . . .

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