‘Each area of contemporary social life is impressed, not so much by the content of science,’ which in most cases is generally incomprehensible, ‘as by the pace of scientific discovery,’ notes sociologist David Martin; ‘the field of education feels the need to produce bogus innovation in order to show that it emulates the scientific paradigm; similarly so the church.’

-Michael Aeschliman, The Restitution of Man, p. 36

Speed impresses. The gadgets are coming fast. Thus we are impressed. Now we want to make everything fast so we can impress too. Therefore a paradigm for thought which should included assiduous meditation, careful reflection, and deep roots turns into fast food.

You look at a bodybuilder with an impressive physique and you are impressed. You want to look like him, and you want to look like him right now. The fact that it took him 20 years of nearly flawless eating and 2 hours a day in the gym doesn’t seem quite so impressive as the physique itself.

You look at a big, strong, healthy church. It is impressive. You want to start one of those, and you want it now. You aren’t so interested in the fact that the church has existed for over a hundred years and that thousands of godly souls have prayed and labored and preached (thousands of sermons) to get it to where it is.

Science brings us profound discoveries, and many of them are decades, and even centuries, in the making – builders building on the foundation of others who have gone before. Then you see and iPhone and it looks like it just appeared out of thin air. Why can’t everything just appear out of thin air?

• Matthew 13:31 ¶ He put another story before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his field: 32 Which is smaller than all seeds; but when it has come up it is greater than the plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and make their resting-places in its branches.

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