How can we think theologically in a distracted age?
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there is an ache in contemporary society for something more substantial—something less fleeting and more rooted. We see this worked out in increased religiosity among those who are secular, and in the migration of people from evangelicalism towards the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church traditions. People want depth and our current milieu is obsessed with distraction. One way to address this as Christians is to learn to think theologically. But this is not easy in our distracted age.
Four simple practices can help us to think theologically in a distracted age, and in doing so can enable us to competently offer something of substance to the weary world.
Retrain for Longform
Social media has had a devastating impact on our ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. AI summaries have eradicated the nuance of debate and a variety of opinions. Visual is replacing verbal. It is therefore important for us to push ourselves to reach for longform material instead of snacking on soundbites and taglines. Instead of settling for reading a 60-page book, push yourself to read a 150-page book. Instead of watching a 30-second reel on theology, push yourself to listen to an hour-long podcast on the issue. Instead of seeking out the shortest sermons, seek out the best sermons.
If we are serious about desiring to think theologically in a distracted age, we must retrain ourselves for longform content. For too long we have survived in a malnourished state on shortform, and this has hampered our ability to think deeply.
Return to Analogue
Related to the first piece of advice is my call to return to analogue. Screens encourage skim-reading. AI encourages laziness. Digital encourages distraction. This is not an anti-tech agenda. The internet is an incredible resource; smartphones have made life and ministry easier in so many ways; and the digital revolution promises even more benefits. But progress always possesses inherent risk and danger.
Returning to pen and paper instead of electronic writing aids attention to detail and memory retention. Reading a physical book instead of scrolling on a device removes the intrusion of notifications. Switching everything to airplane mode introduces silence. This need not be a new way of life, but we need windows—stretches of time—in which we disconnect from the digital G-force generated by always being “plugged-in”. Periodically returning to analogue will help us think theologically.
Read and Re-Read the Bible in its Entirety
I am astonished that many Christians make it decades into their Christian life and yet some parts of their Bibles remain unread! If all of God’s breathed out word is profitable in equipping us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16–17), then we must devote ourselves to all of it. There is no better resource for training us to think theologically than God’s word, and there is no better way to know it than to read and reread it.
One consequence of our distracted age is the atomisation of the Bible into fortune cookie sayings, one verse here and a partial verse there. But the biblical authors did not write fortune cookie sayings (except, possibly, for the authors of Proverbs). Rather, the biblical authors wrote narratives and letters, prophetic oracles and lives of Jesus. We need all of the Bible in its entirety to teach us to think theologically.
Review Material in Person
Our distracted age has removed physical, personal interaction. Everything from FaceTime to pornography, from online banking to livestreaming, eliminates the necessity of in-person dynamics. If we are to think theologically, we must retrieve the skill of speaking to other people in the same physical space—airing our views, hearing theirs and learning to sharpen and develop our understanding. This is one of the reasons why we at the Irish Baptist College have resisted the call to place our ministry training online. We want people training for Christian ministry to be able to function well with people in real life.
By all means spend time by yourself reading your Bible, devouring books and listening to hours of theological discourse through your air pods. But when that is done, meet with people in person to review and discuss the content.
What I have suggested is very simply but incredibly difficult. Our culture is designed to distract. It encourages the pursuit of the next endorphin release, to be found only in the next Substack or reel or book giveaway or family WhatsApp message or Grace Publication Instagram post. But if we are to learn to think, and to think theologically, we need to retrain for longform consumption by returning to analogue activities which enable reading and rereading the entire Bible for the purpose of discussing it in a real-life community.
Davy Ellison (PhD, Queen’s University, Belfast) serves as Director of Training for the Irish Baptist College. He is an elder in Antrim Baptist Church, and is the author of several books. Davy is currently writing a volume on conversion as part of our A People on Purpose series.