Of late, Facebook has been mired in data leak issues and its chief Mark Zuckerberg has apologised. The personal data of millions of users was leaked to an analytics firm, and among other things this helped Donald Trump to get elected President of the United States. In response to that revelation, lawmakers and regulators have increased their scrutiny of the social media. Facebook, which started as a fun network for high school students, has grown into company that “uses data to change audience behaviour” both commercially and politically,
The world is experiencing a knowledge explosion. Knowledge, especially in technological and scientific fields, has increased exponentially. Simultaneously the all-pervasive information technology with the ease of access to information has increased our woes,
“Fake news, racism, sexism, terrorists spreading messages of hate, toxic content directed at children — parts of the internet we have ended up with is a million miles from where we thought it would take us,” said Keith Weed, chief marketing officer at Unilever. The government has sent out a stern warning to WhatsApp asking them to immediately stop the spread of “irresponsible and explosive messages filled with rumours and provocation”. They replied that they are also “horrified by these terrible acts of violence” and wanted to respond quickly to the important issues raised.
Similarly, medical information available at our fingertips has created a new disease syndrome of online hypochondriasis which could induce real diseases. Easier communication has taken anxiety levels to new heights! In the past information about a loved one on a long journey was limited to a letter coming weeks after reaching the destination. Now it’s possible to track a person minute by minute and any deviation from this would trigger the panic button! Since the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four the Orwellian term ‘Big Brother’ has become a reality. Prying or overly controlling authorities, such as governments, are increasing their surveillance activities.
God had never intended us to live in anxiety and fear. He intended us to live in communion with him. According to the Bible, after God created the whole universe he created mankind (represented by Adam and Eve) and placed them in a garden (Eden) with all the supplies. However, he also put the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’ in the Garden of Eden to give them a choice to obey or disobey him.
Adam and Eve were free to do anything they wanted, except eat from the tree of knowledge. “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’ (Genesis 2:16-17) They disobeyed God and the rest is history – they were driven out of the Garden to live an accursed life!
The Bible also says people would suffer greatly for lack of godly knowledge (Hosea 4:6). God says He has “a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1). Man’s knowledge without a spiritual dimension is uncontrolled and unregulated — lawless knowledge, leading nowhere. “My people [are] foolish,” God says. “They have not known me... they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jeremiah 4:22).
Without a firm foundation in spirituality, man’s knowledge is slowly, but surely, killing him. . “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
The plastic menace is a classic example. In the early days when plastics were introduced it was considered a wonder product. But now we know about the irreparable damage it is doing to the environment. Man has used his knowledge to satisfy his lusts and greed in the name of ‘development’. The wrong kind of knowledge kills. The right kind can give you full and abundant life. What we need is responsible development. The choice is ours.
The author is a cardiologist practising in Kochi, Kerala. Email: gthomas@doctor.com
