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06/09/2014
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Dr Martyn Atkins.
Last on
Sat 6 Sep 201405:43
BBC Radio 4
Prayer for the Day Saturday 6th September with Revd Dr Martyn Atkins
Good morning. Sixteen years ago, the world entered a paradigm shift - one of those great leaps forward in a science or technology, like the arrival of penicillin, cyclonic vacuum cleaners and the microchip.
Some paradigm shifts evolve from a past thought or theory and some seem to come from nowhere, but the result is that our natural assumptions about how the world works, alter. Today, computer and internet technology continues to change the world, and consequently changes us: how we access knowledge, how we communicate and express ourselves, spend our time, and so on.
But I wonder whether Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University knew, those years ago that they would change the world, as they founded an internet search engine and called it Google?
All world-changing ideas bring both advances and challenges: they enrich life, but can diminish it; they make life simpler - and often more complicated. In every case a previous era begins to pass away and we must choose whether to live in a new world. So, over the past week, I joined the growing ranks of those who accept the world has changed, and with some reluctance and sadness threw out my dictionaries, thesaurus, and the 26 volume encyclopaedia my parents bought in instalments for their inquisitive son all those years ago.
I’ll leave you to guess where I found out about Page and Brin’s invention!
God of wonder and change, thank you for all that gives human lives richness, understanding and meaning. Grant us all wisdom and discernment to live in the world in ways that make clear your goodness and glorious intentions for all your creation. Amen.
Some paradigm shifts evolve from a past thought or theory and some seem to come from nowhere, but the result is that our natural assumptions about how the world works, alter. Today, computer and internet technology continues to change the world, and consequently changes us: how we access knowledge, how we communicate and express ourselves, spend our time, and so on.
But I wonder whether Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University knew, those years ago that they would change the world, as they founded an internet search engine and called it Google?
All world-changing ideas bring both advances and challenges: they enrich life, but can diminish it; they make life simpler - and often more complicated. In every case a previous era begins to pass away and we must choose whether to live in a new world. So, over the past week, I joined the growing ranks of those who accept the world has changed, and with some reluctance and sadness threw out my dictionaries, thesaurus, and the 26 volume encyclopaedia my parents bought in instalments for their inquisitive son all those years ago.
I’ll leave you to guess where I found out about Page and Brin’s invention!
God of wonder and change, thank you for all that gives human lives richness, understanding and meaning. Grant us all wisdom and discernment to live in the world in ways that make clear your goodness and glorious intentions for all your creation. Amen.
Broadcast
- Sat 6 Sep 201405:43BBC Radio 4
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