Monday Office Hours | 7/7/25

🌵🌵🌵Thorny questions considered: deconstruction in digital spaces and the doctrine of entire sanctification.

Well, we’re returning to our regular schedule of Monday Office Hours for our paid community of The Low-Level Theologian. Last week, I needed a week of rest, given the week of teaching I’d done the previous week for my Doctoral program at Friends. The past eight weeks of running the reading group for A Teachable Spirit have been such a gift to me. Thanks to everyone who participated! Now, we’ll settle back into our regular weekly routine of Monday Office Hours and the regular Thursday Devotionals. This week, I’ve got two theologically challenging questions to consider. Hope you find my responses helpful. Thank you to Jackson and an anonymous writer for submitting the two queries. Great questions, indeed!

Since my son became a teenager, I’ve noticed that he has grown increasingly distant from the faith we passed on to him. This coincides with his getting an iPhone. Why does the internet seem to have a corrosive effect on his faith? And on the faith of so many others his age?

There is, no doubt, a growing segment of society that considers itself post-Christian. What is meant by ‘post-Christian’ is those who no longer embrace the faith that they once held. Is there something unique about digital technologies that is fueling this? In part, yes, I believe so. In recent years, scholars studying the relationship between secularism and digital technologies have noted that in cultural environments where people rely more and more on machines for thinking, searching, and reflecting—activities humans once did without the aid of computers or algorithms—there appears to be a rise in disbelief in traditional forms of religion. This isn’t just a phenomenon among the young. In their book Caught in the Pulpit, secular humanists Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola share stories of pastors who have abandoned their faith after a simple Google search.¹