On The Internet and The Christian Imagination

I’m no stranger to long-form content, healthy development of thought, and providing quite a whopping dose of “what” before “why” and “how.” I read material on the regular that’s formatted as such, and, if you’ve been around Theologetics any amount of time for the last year, have been in the mode of writing in such a manner.

But does this really benefit anyone besides me and my echo chamber?

It’s a question I’ve been pondering as 2025 closes. Do I want to write purely academically and target only a few, or do I want to equip believers of all understanding levels? Should I use this platform for intellectual gymnastics, or am I meant for more?

Thus, on the first day of the New Year, I feel the weight of what’s driven me for so long as a theologian, and something I’ve commented on previously on other social media outlets: make big things small, and muddy things clear.

Arguably, writing on complex issues and accomplishing the latter while stopping short of endeavoring for the former is a waste of studying Scripture. What good is information without clarity and application? While, yes, the Spirit is at work when the Word is explored and can illuminate the believer’s understanding, it is equally as true that someone who labors to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15, my translation) should follow the same Spirit’s leading to present Scripture with as much clarity and exegesis as possible.

Amidst so many rhetorical questions, I promise I do have a main point: our minds in the modern, internet-driven age as Christians should be motivated by the Holy Spirit and driven towards greater imagination.

In long-form writing, it is all too tempting to take the joy and gift of drawing conclusions from readers. I can easily and readily provide the scarlet threads and outlines that handhold you to an end I’ve orchestrated. In preaching as well, pastors and speakers can do the same, cattle-guarding congregations into a single-minded train of thought that takes the mystery out of the message of the Gospel. But, what if both writers and preachers commit to the common goal of providing a mental and spiritual map that doesn’t determine movement like a GPS, but allows parishioners and learners to employ their God-given abilities to use their minds and hearts to encounter His message that’s living and active (Heb. 4:12)?

Essays, lectures, articles, and sermons all have their holy and rightful place in the life of the believer, but so does the brain and its multi-faceted capabilities to draw conclusions, process information, and respond contextually. One passage of Scripture, while its meaning and purpose may remain unchanged, can resonate in different ways on different days. Consider this verse, that has had the deepest impact on me in my journey through ministry:

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. (2 Tim. 4:2, CSB)

The first time I read this, I was convicted beyond understanding that the desire to preach was brewing in my heart. I remember surrendering my aspirations for my career to the work of ministry and the Church. It lit a fire under my feet to change my course in high school.

Years later, I remember reading this verse and being convicted once more to examine my “readiness”; by my own admission, my character at this time was unable to withstand the weight of my calling. I was categorically not ready to be an example to those whom I preached. And it showed in my life. Thus, it wrecked me and made me reevaluate how I was living.

In my late 20’s, as I wrestled with the effectiveness of my efforts in a ministry-adjacent position, providing biblically based advice within the financial sphere and counseling clients through hard situations, I found it a comfort to read the charge to offer biblical correction and encouragement, knowing that I was walking in step with biblical wisdom. It helped me take a deep breath.

I hope you see just a small way in which Scripture, through the Spirit’s moving, can impact in many ways at different times. It was through the Word and meditating on it that one verse could serve such a variety of purposes.

This is what I mean by imagination: Spirit-guided, person-grasped, and communally-employed. The Spirit moves, the person accepts and takes hold, and the two partner to apply. The modern, internet-driven age, however, fights against such a movement.

I don’t hate technology. I don’t argue for shunning it. But, I argue for discernment while using it. A responsible use of our digital connectedness is the only way we can foster and encourage healthy growth.

But, the Internet on its own will fight to create conclusions for all of us. Artificial intelligence has moved search engines from being a tool to gather relevant sources through which we can sort based on our needs to synthesizing the front page for us. Perplexity and Google’s AI Mode have done the thinking for us and shrunk our mental energy. And, unfortunately, we think we can apply this approach to our study of Scripture, asking ChatGPT to do the Holy Spirit’s work in interpreting and applying passages.

Therefore, my argument is this: reclaim wonder. Be unsatisfied with anything you read about Scripture if you haven’t prayed first. Trust the illuminating nature of God’s Word over generative AI, Facebook/Instagram/X posts, and search engines.

The Bible isn’t boring. And neither should be the methods you use to understand it.