{"id":62,"date":"2007-05-31T03:01:02","date_gmt":"2007-05-31T03:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2007\/05\/amazed-and-wondering.html"},"modified":"2007-05-31T03:01:02","modified_gmt":"2007-05-31T03:01:02","slug":"amazed-and-wondering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/05\/amazed-and-wondering.html","title":{"rendered":"Amazed . . . and Wondering"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just did something I’ve done many times before. It shouldn’t have been a big deal. I expect many of my readers will be unimpressed, and will wonder why I’m so amazed, and why I’m wondering. So let me try to explain.
\nYesterday, while at a friend’s house, I heard the soundtrack from the movie Schindler’s List<\/em><\/a>. Composed by John Williams, and featuring the sublime violin solos of Itzhak Perlman, the music is deeply moving. Hearing it also reminded me of many scenes from the film, which is one of the most emotionally powerful movies I have ever seen.
\nEver since I heard the soundtrack, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. So a few minutes ago I sat down at my computer, visited the iTunes website, found and then downloaded the music (for only $9.99). A quick transfer to my iPod, and now I’m listening to this fantastic album. (You can order this album in the “old-fashioned” way by clicking here and getting it from Amazon.)<\/a>
\nI’ve done this sort of thing many times before. I’m not a novice when it comes to music downloads. I never did the Napster thing, but I’ve dropped a good chunk of change through iTunes.
\nSo why am I amazed by what I just did? And why am I wondering?
\nI’m amazed because, for some reason, I was able to step back and see my actions from a bit of a distance. Usually I take for granted the downloading of music. But, for some reason, today I see differently.
\nFor most of human history, people didn’t even have the ability to record sound. The first phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison only 130 years ago (November 21, 1877). Listening to sound recordings became popular in the 1920s, with the invention of vinyl disc records. LPs (long-playing records) came along in the 1930s. The 20s also featured the invention of magnetic tape (reel to reel) for recording and playing back sound. This technology received a huge popular boost in the 1960s because of the invention of the 8-track tape ten years earlier. In 1963 Philips introduced the cassette tape. Two decades later, in late 1982, Philips and Sony released the first music on Compact Disc (CD). As you can see, all of this is fairly recent in human history.
\nBut all of these fine technologies had certain limitations. If you wanted to listen to a song, you had to physically go and purchase it from a store. If the album you were seeking wasn’t current (as in the case of Schindler’s List<\/em>, which is 14 years old), chances are you wouldn’t find it in most record stores. You might get lucky in a used record store. Or you might have to order it and wait several days. Even ten years ago, if I wanted to own a copy of the Schindler’s List<\/em> CD, I might have to spend several hours to find it.
\nThen, in 1999, Napster came along, allowing computer users to download huge amounts of music for free. Naturally, this raised legal challenges, since it amounted to stealing copyrighted material. While the record industry wrung its hands and fought Napster in court, Apple got busy, introducing iTunes in 2001 along with its fantastically popular iPod. As they say, the rest is history. In April of this year Apple announced that it had sold over 100 million iPods. By this time users had downloaded over a billion songs!
\nToday it took me no more than ten minutes to locate and download the album. That’s why I’m amazed. What a time savings! What a convenience! What a luxury!
\nWhy am I wondering? I’m wondering about how this newfangled expediency will, over time, impact my soul, and our corporate soul. I’m not big on delayed gratification. I want what I want, and I want it now. And when it comes to music, I can pretty much get what I want when I want it. Is this good? It’s surely pleasant and convenient. But is it good? Or is there something ennobling about having to wait, even to purchase a piece of music? Would I appreciate having the Schindler’s List<\/em> soundtrack more if I had to invest more effort to get it? Or am I morally better off because I have been able to listen to this transcendent recording for the last two hours rather than driving to a record store in what might have been a fruitless search?
\nAs you can see, I’m not preaching here, just wondering. As a lover of technology and convenience, I think iTunes is just swell. And Amazon. And Google. And all of their online friends. Ironically, as I was writing this blog post, my wife wanted me to purchase a couple of CDs for a friend for his birthday. So I did, in about five minutes, thanks to Amazon.) But what happens if we begin to think all of life should be so instantaneous and serviceable. What if we expect our spouses to be like this? Our children? Our churches? Even our God?
\nSo I’m both amazed and wondering. And I’m delighting in the Schindler’s List<\/em> soundtrack<\/a>, which I highly recommend, no matter how you choose to get it.
\nTomorrow I’ll get back to my “mission of God” series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just did something I’ve done many times before. It shouldn’t have been a big deal. I expect many of my readers will be unimpressed, and will wonder why I’m so amazed, and why I’m wondering. So let me try to explain. Yesterday, while at a friend’s house, I heard the soundtrack from the movie…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holy-week-easter"],"yoast_head":"\nAmazed . . . and Wondering - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}