153 - Protestants in a Post-Literate Culture

Written By J. MARK BERTRAND

It’s an old theory that has recently gotten a facelift: the era of print literacy has come to an end, superseded by an age of screen time and short attention spans. Neil Postman’s class Amusing Ourselves to Death looks ever more prophetic, leading Times of London journalist James Marriott to conclude that this is the dawn of the “post-literate society.” In this episode, Mark and Cameron unpack the hypothesis and ask whether the culture shift has special implications for Protestantism, the word-saturated form of Christianity that emerged side-by-side with the explosion of literacy.

The Dawn of the Post-Literate Society, by James Marriott

THE COMMENTARY is an in-depth conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

Subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts or Spotify 

J. MARK BERTRAND

J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.

Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.

Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

http://www.lectio.org
Previous

154 - Myth Became Fact
Next

152 - Forbearance