The World of Print

In 1454 the world of oral tradition or spoken word made a momentous shift with the invention of the printing press which would make the printed word available to anyone who could read. In a short span of time the world experienced its first step toward mass communication. That step would not only change education but would change the entire way we think and communicate with each other. In the church it would change what we believe about God, how we come to faith, and most importantly how we worship. The mainline protestant church is so deeply saturated in this print world view, that for many of us it is inconceivable to contemplate worship in other forms, let alone an alternative understanding of faith itself! We simply assume and believe that such a world view is the only rational approach to God.

Rex Miller in The Millennial Matrix says however, that rational, logical faith is precisely the natural development of communication by printed word. The conversational, open-ended teaching method, employed in the world of the spoken word, develops the right or poetic side of the brain. In contrast reading and writing, which became primary after the invention of the printing press, develops the logical or left side of the brain. This shift to print caused the development of a linear view of history and a logically proscribed understanding of belief.

Faith in the Protestant reformation would be set out in a rational set of propositional truths, each following logically one upon another. We still hear such progressive steps of belief outlined in membership classes and preached in mainline pulpits today. Here is a typical example:

1. We are all sinners and sin is in our nature.
2. We cannot overcome sin on our own to reach God.
3. God became human in Jesus Christ to reach us.
4. Jesus lived a sinless life and bridged the gap to God for us.
5. Jesus offered his life as an act of obedience in sacrificial payment for our sin.
6. Jesus rose from death, validating his sinless life and revealing his power over death.
7. We can experience rebirth and resurrection by accepting our condition and Christ’s work on our behalf. (p. 49-50 adapted)

Although some of us may differ with some of the propositions expressed here, we certainly recognize the structure of logically expressed faith and the ultimate expectation that having one’s theology “make sense”, is somehow essential for salvation. How different this approach to faith is from the conversation Abraham had with God or Nicodemus had with Jesus.

Miller points out that an important additional development of the changed world of print was that of independent thinking. No longer was the individual’s primary identity formed within and guided by the community. The individual was one’s own determiner. We see this development in a shift away from the mentor relationship, to book learning where a certain distance is achieved. One can much more easily argue with a book that cannot respond or simply dismiss the premise when there is no one standing before you. So now the modern man or woman could also read and interpret the scriptures for one’s self. Martin Luther expressed this idea of autonomy perfectly in his testimony at the Diet of the Worms in 1521: “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God.”

Not surprisingly worship in this new world of the printed word began to center around the preaching and teaching of the Word as found in the printed text of scripture. Protestant worship services, Miller points out, were organized around the hearing of the scripture and its interpretation by the preacher who was often front and center as if in a lecture hall. Sermons focused on right understanding of the text and an orderly presentation of the faith. Content became more important than style. Music evolved into hymns which, of course, use lots of words to reinforce doctrinal truth. Architecture responded to the change in world view by simplifying the impressive sanctuaries of the spoken word world designed to evoke God’s presence, into plain, functional structures designed to focus on the written word centered in the sanctuary. Early protestant sanctuaries would often have no symbol save maybe a cross and of course an open Bible. The ritualized reenactment of God’s salvation through the sacrament of the Lord’s supper was viewed with some suspicion, reinterpreted often as little more than a remembered meal and relegated in some denominations to minimal use lest it be misunderstood and misappropriated.

Although the Protestant church, which so embraced this new world view with such ardor, has moved from some of it’s more rigid beliefs and practices to embrace some of the spiritual and narrative aspects of the spoken word church, the evidence of the dominance of the written word world view is quite astounding. The continued focus on education, confessional faith and the centrality of preaching in my own Presbyterian denomination makes me smile in self recognition. In addition the vehemence with which many mainline churches have resisted the “contemporary worship” movement only further highlights our immersion in the printed word world as will be seen in my next blog as we discuss the shift away from print to a broadcast world view. Then, just as we think we might be able to understand and stretch to embrace a new way of thinking, our world will shift again into digital! Someone make it stop!