A Powerful Tool Under the Sun

That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. – Eccl. 1:9

We may wonder if the Preacher would have written these words from Ecclesiastes if he had known how drastically the world would change in most of our lifetimes. Today the Internet is at the center of dramatic changes in the ways human beings work, communicate, entertain ourselves, and process information. Hyperlinks, high-speed connections, and an explosion in the number of Web pages is changing even the way we think, especially in young people.

The Web is full of the greatest and the worst mankind has to offer. More free Bible study tools are available today at the click of a mouse than most Bible scholars had available in hardcopy libraries only a few years ago. More than thirty Bible translations are available on-line (including the passage above from the NASV), along with outstanding commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, articles, and books. For Christians wanting to go deeper into the Word, the Internet offers more resources for study than any one person could read in an entire lifetime. What’s more, with Web directories and search engines, we can locate and communicate with Christians around the world.

At the same time, the Internet has become a dumping ground for every kind of perversity and ungodliness. Those wanting to run from God can find the depths of depravity in words, pictures, music, and movies, along with a massive herd of others to join and affirm them in their sin.

Which brings us back to the Preacher. There is nothing new under the sun. The choice before humanity has always been life or death, sin or obedience, heaven or hell, God or the devil. The Internet is a powerful tool for amplifying opportunities to pursue whatever we choose, for good or evil. Yet the choice before us today is the same one Moses held out to the Israelites more than 3000 years ago as they prepared to enter the Promised Land: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live” (Dt. 30:19).


Copyright 2004, New York Avenue Church of Christ