A review of “The Technological Society” by Jacques Ellul. From the 19th century on we stand in a world entirely saturated in technique. French philosopher and theologian coins this new age of society the “Technological Society” in the 1950s. Ellul writes to current and future citizens in this new society about the complete inundation of…
Category: Book Reviews
The Subjectivity of Objectivity
The sky is blue. This is an objective fact. Unless of course you happen to be color-blind or you happen to know the sky only appears to be blue—but in reality is a neutral atmosphere that refracts light. So maybe the objective truth is that the sky actually isn’t blue. But then why is it…
Art is what it is because God is who he is!
A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (Knowledge of the Holy). In the same way, Philip Ryken persuasively argues in Art for God’s Sake that “What we believe about art is based on what we believe about God. Art is what it is…
The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul
In The Technological Society, Jacques Ellul delineates the essence of modern society’s relationship to technique. Ellul writes from a French culture bombarded with consumerism during the Cold War. His prophetic text analyzes culture and reveals a seemingly unavoidable conclusion – humans have become subject to technique. What is technique? He describes it as “the ensemble of…
Artists in an Entertainment Based Culture
Upon reading Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, one is immediately struck by the entertainment necessitated culture in which we exist. Neil Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death in 1985, yet its prolific themes make it exceptionally applicable today. Postman begins his book by explaining the media as epistemology and what typographic…
Revolution in World Missions
“As I studied the Gospels, it became clear to me that Jesus understood well the principle of reaching the poor. He avoided the major cities, the rich, the famous and the powerful, concentrating His ministry on the poor laboring class. If we reach the poor, we have touched the masses of [the world]” (Yohannan 29). …