Information and Technology

Pastor Pastor's Thought

The 12th March marked the celebration of the marmite technology; World Wide Web. No other technology in modern time has impacted or changed the way in which the world functions technologically, financially, academically or even to an extreme extent, spiritually. The founder, English engineer and computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee may have not fully comprehended the impact of his invention and how it would impact the modern world forever.

In 1989, Berners-Lee wondered, ‘Suppose all the information stored on computers everywhere were linked. Suppose I could program my computer to create a space in which everything could be linked to everything’. By 1991, the World Wide Web became a reality; yet the majority of the people around at that time would have been ignorant of what had been birthed.

The World Wide Web impacts us in every area of our lives on a daily basis; we are divided on how we see the Web, and the good and the bad impact it has on society.

The Web has given us access to information on such a grand scale, that we are often lacking the realisation of how much information is on the Web. On the good points, it has given us access to information that would otherwise have been unavailable. It is estimated that individuals may only be viewing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the information available online. In our pursuit of knowledge, the Web has proven to be an abyss of good and evil and is almost apocalyptic in its nature.

When Web sites crash, go down or are maliciously intercepted, companies may be brought to their knees. So imagine if the entire World Wide Web was to be shut down for a day or a week, the world would literally come to a standstill.

According to Seeker.com ‘Eric Schmidt, Google’s former CEO estimated that it [the Internet] consists of roughly five million terabytes of data. That’s over five trillion megabytes. Google’s web search has indexed about 200 terabytes of this data. That’s a lot of data, but that comprises only 0.004 percent of the whole thing.’

According to Hebrews 4:13, ‘There is nothing that can be hidden from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves.’ Our God sees everything, even those things that are hidden or covered. Additionally, when Jesus ascended up to heaven, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to us, known as the Comforter. It is He who will ‘lead us into all truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of what he hears and will tell you of things to come.’ John 16:13

While we are both thankful and grateful for the WWW, we should remember to seek and trust God’s leading on a daily, hourly basis. As we join together in fellowship, may we enjoy WWW: Welcome. Worship. Word.