"The Lord knows our human thoughts; how like a puff of wind they are." (Psalm 94:11)
So far in chapter 4 of Presence in the Modern World, “Communication,” Jacques Ellul hasn’t been talking about the stated topic so much as its complete absence. Nobody understands each other. We talk past each other, not as the result of an earnest but frustrated attempt to communicate, but actually on purpose. That’s true of … Read more
So far in Chapter 4 of Presence in the Modern World, Ellul has shown us — Now we return to Ellul’s concept of technique, which we discussed earlier, and which he would go on to discuss further in numerous books (to the point that when his name is encountered in the present day, it is … Read more
Continuing our read of Chapter 4, “Communication,” we will return to the “renewed mind” discussed in the last post in due course, but let’s take a look at the non-renewed mind, that of the “intellectual” in general living in the modern world. According to Ellul, these intellectuals (I really do feel the need to continue … Read more
When I last wrote about Ellul’s Presence in the Modern World (Good Lord, was that over four months ago?), I had just begun a discussion of Chapter 4, “Communication.” To summarize that post, since we are so inundated with images and other “phenomena” that are completely separate from our actual experience, and therefore personally … Read more