Aliteracy

According to Philosopher Gene Edward Veith, "Missionaries to non-literate
cultures often begin mastering the people's language and giving them a
system of writing. They then translate the Bible and teach the people how
to read it in their own language. The Word of God begins to transform its
readers. Once people know how to read the Bible, of course they can read
anything. Tribes go on to discover modern health care and the need for
social change, just as the Reformation Christians, empowered by Bible
reading, went on to develop scientific technology, economic growth, and
democratic institutions.
Non-literate peoples tend to exist in static, unchanging societies,
whereas literate societies tend toward rapid change and technological
growth. It is no exaggeration to say that reading has shaped our
civilization more than any other factor and that a major impetus to reading
has been the Bible.
Reading has been essential to our civilization, yet today its
centrality is under attack by the new electronic media. If reading has had
vast social and intellectual repercussions, we should wonder about the
repercussions of the new media. Can democratic institutions survive without
a literate-that is reading-populace, or will the new modes of thinking lend
themselves to new forms of totalitarianism? Can educational and
intellectual progress continue if visual imagery supplants reading, or will
the new information technologies, ironically, subvert the scientific
thinking that created them, resulting in anti-intellectualism and mass
ignorance?
Such issues are critical for the culture as a whole, but hey are
especially urgent for the church. Is it possible for Biblical faith to
flourish in a society that no longer values reading, or will the newly
dominant images lead to new manifestations of the most primitive paganism?
Ever since the Old Testament, graven images have tempted God's people to
abandon the true God and His Word. Today the images are graven by electrons
on cathode ray tubes."
"According to Neil Postman, 'word-centered' people think in a
completely different mode from 'image-centered' people.In an important book
on education, Postman explores the differences between the mental processes
involved in reading and those involved in television watching. Reading
demands sustained concentration, whereas television promotes a very short
attention span. Reading involves (and teaches) logical reasoning, whereas
television involves (and teaches) purely emotional responses. Reading
promotes continuity, the gradual accumulation of knowledge, and sustained
exploration of ideas. Television, on the other hand, fosters fragmentation,
anti-intellectualism, and immediate gratification."