Tech and prayer

- Walden pond in winter

There's a post by Fr. James Martin SJ at America magazine's blog about technology, our brains, and our faith. It has a video interview with Fr. Martin (see below) and references a few recent articles including 'The Shallows': This Is Your Brain Online (NPR), and Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price (NYT). What Fr. Martin, who is one of the most technically hooked up Jesuits I know :), is concerned about in his interview is that the facile form of communication fostered by technology will color the private time between us and God, if not completely doing away with it .... that given our technological connectedness, we're just not being alone with God deeply enough, if at all.

As a reader of science fiction, I'm not surprised at the continuing complexity of technologically inspired social interconnection, and I don't doubt that in time we'll be even more intertwined. I don't see that as scary but just inevitable. I'm not as plugged in as most people, I guess - I have no cell phone, no tv, don't belong to any social networks, I just blog. Being fairly socially isolated, I value the internet immensely, but I value alone time too. As for the relating-to-God thing, while I do understand the worth of being part of an online religious community, still I agree with Fr. Martin that there is no substitute for one-on-one interaction with God himself (not God in others).

Anyway, here below is the interview with Fr. Martin ....