The Internet

@fmf said
What impacts do you think access to the internet is having on the spiritual / religious / philosophical / moral / ideological dimensions of the human condition?

None.

@secondson said
None.

Oh I don't know, there is some pretty whacky stuff on the internet. I think susceptible humans can be consumed by sites like youtube and have their whole outlook on life and spirituality reconditioned.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Oh I don't know, there is some pretty whacky stuff on the internet. I think susceptible humans can be consumed by sites like youtube and have their whole outlook on life and spirituality reconditioned.

Well, let's look at the question posed in the OP.

I answered none because the human condition was what it is long before the existence of the Internet.

By saying "none" I'm saying the "impact" of the Internet, or of any other informational source, is essentially irrelevant, that the issue is internal, and any effectual impact that facilitates the improvement of, and necessary change of the human condition must be from the creator.

If there's no God, then that's not logical, but if there is...

@secondson said
Well, let's look at the question posed in the OP.

I answered none because the human condition was what it is long before the existence of the Internet.

By saying "none" I'm saying the "impact" of the Internet, or of any other informational source, is essentially irrelevant, that the issue is internal, and any effectual impact that facilitates the improvement o ...[text shortened]... ondition must be from the creator.

If there's no God, then that's not logical, but if there is...

I think the internal is susceptible to anything external, whether that be God or the internet. Does the internet change our origins? No. Can it change our future, the way we perceive and interact with the world? Absolutely.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
I think the internal is susceptible to anything external, whether that be God or the internet. Does the internet change our origins? No. Can it change our future, the way we perceive and interact with the world? Absolutely.

The mode through which ideas are exchanged is different, but they're still the same ideas, and man is still the same internally.

I guess my point is that effectual change occurs internally by the action of an idea or concept on the heart or soul of man regardless of the media by which they come.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you.

@secondson said

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you.

The prudent tend not to sir.

@rajk999 said
The affairs of men have been predicted from the time of Christ to the time of His return. Some egs
- knowledge will increase [ the last 50 years have been astounding in this regard]
- the Jews will return to their homeland
- Criminal tyrannical rulers - Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Mugabe and even Trump
(the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to wh ...[text shortened]... p over it the basest of men. (Daniel 4:17 KJV))

God makes all those things happen. God rules.

Yes, well I'm sure that's all very reassuring to some kid lying in a Beirut hospital with their legs blown off. If you are unable to give a straight and intelligent answer to a simple and specific question, which you clearly are, without resorting to some biblical nonsense, then why not just say 'I don't know.' ? It might at least make you sound a bit more intelligent, and certainly less desperate.

@fmf said
What impacts do you think access to the internet is having on the spiritual / religious / philosophical / moral / ideological dimensions of the human condition?

One can now very easily find out about the lives lived by other people and groups of people in very different situations and with different beliefs. One can even interact with them. Obviously, this can extend and deepen one's knowledge and understanding of the human condition .

@secondson said
Well, let's look at the question posed in the OP.

@secondson said
I answered none because the human condition was what it is long before the existence of the Internet.

By saying "none" I'm saying the "impact" of the Internet, or of any other informational source, is essentially irrelevant, that the issue is internal, and any effectual impact that facilitates the improvement of, and necessary change of the human condition must be from the creator.

It's not clear whether you know what the term "human condition" means.

"The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events that compose the essentials of human existence, including birth, growth, emotion, aspiration, conflict, and mortality." [wiki]

Access to more knowledge, more exposure, and more interaction will foster more understanding, more empathy, and less mystery/ignorance. If groups of people are seeing each in a different and more detailed light, this surely cannot fail to have an impact on the human condition ~ certainly as it is defined above.

@fmf said
@secondson said
[b]I answered none because the human condition was what it is long before the existence of the Internet.

By saying "none" I'm saying the "impact" of the Internet, or of any other informational source, is essentially irrelevant, that the issue is internal, and any effectual impact that facilitates the improvement of, and necessary change of the human con ...[text shortened]... this surely cannot fail to have an impact on the human condition ~ certainly as it is defined above.

It's not clear whether you know what I mean, or not.

But thanks for clearing it up that you knew the answer to the question you posed in the OP.

And perhaps you can further elaborate on what composes "the essentials of human existence" in less generalized terms as cut and pasted from [wiki]?

For example things like greed, hate, jealousy, envy, murder? Just to name a few.

The human condition is the same as ever and getting worse, and I think the Internet isn't helping.

@secondson said
The human condition is the same as ever and getting worse, and I think the Internet isn't helping.

If the human condition is getting worse then that means it is changing and so cannot be described as being the same as ever. If the internet is contributing to this, then how can the impact of the internet be said to be "none"?

@secondson said
And perhaps you can further elaborate on what composes "the essentials of human existence" in less generalized terms as cut and pasted from wiki?

I don't need to. The dictionary definition will suffice. If you have some alternative definition of "the human condition" or a more elaborate definition that makes your reply to the "What is the impact of the internet on the human condition" question posed by the OP - you said "none" - if you have some personal non-standard definition of it that makes your answer correct to your own way of thinking, you go for it.

@indonesia-phil said
According to you, your god is 'guiding the affairs of men', where do you see your gods' guiding hand in the Beirut explosion, and how do you see the explosion as an example of your claim that things are going in the right direction?

God does guide the geopolitical affairs of men, and he also provides to many people in their daily life.

But we must not be so simplistic.

Losing a leg in a drunken motorcycle accident can be a lot better for someone spiritually than winning the lottery. Indeed, poverty can be better for someone spiritually than wealth.

If we acknowledge this, and we further acknowledge that God's day of judgment will come and the just deserts will be given, it is easier to understand the situation, and how

Isaiah 46:
10 I declare the end from the beginning,and from ancient times things that are not yet done.I say: My counsel will stand,and I will do all that I please.
11 I call a ravenous bird from the east,the man of my counsel from a far country.Yes, I have spoken.I will also bring it to pass.I have planned.I will also do it.

I have no data on this but I have a hunch that the internet increases the possibility - and therefore the probability - that people join a religion, or lose their religion, or change their religion or their denomination, or become a theist or a deist or an agnostic or an atheist [when one wasn't one before], or regain their faith if they'd lost it etc.

And these transformations would be the result of there being more available information, more available opportunities for interaction, and the lessening of the influence of geography and culture and even the lessening of the effect of one's own immediate human environment.

@indonesia-phil said
Yes, well I'm sure that's all very reassuring to some kid lying in a Beirut hospital with their legs blown off. If you are unable to give a straight and intelligent answer to a simple and specific question, which you clearly are, without resorting to some biblical nonsense, then why not just say 'I don't know.' ? It might at least make you sound a bit more intelligent, and certainly less desperate.

Never once have I said or implied that I can reassure kids lying in a Beruit or any other kids etc. More than 150,000 people die every day. If you wish to concern yourself about that and blame God, then you go for it. Clearly you have not matured to the point where you can accept life or death for what it is. Grow up.