By the Glowing Shores of Digital Babylon, We Wept
An introduction to the Digital Babylon framework as an event, an empire, and an epoch that shapes our current discipleship challenges and opportunities in American Christianity.
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Today, I am writing on the idea of “Digital Babylon”, and giving a short introduction to an idea and framework I intend to flesh out more over time. This Substack was created (and named) after the idea that the Old Testament gives us language and concepts that can help us understand how to live obediently in a space and time dominated by very powerful tech, media, and cultural forces - a place many of us do not want to live in, do not fully understand, and have good reason to be afraid of. Most of this post is a condensed overview of the work I’ve already done on this idea, which first originated in a podcast episode I did titled “On Esther, Daniel, and Exile in Digital Babylon”. If you’d like more in-depth remarks on a particular point, you can read the manuscript for free here!
What is Digital Babylon?
What do I mean when I say “Digital Babylon”? Here is a working definition to start with, one I will likely tweak and adjust over time:
Digital Babylon refers to the sudden and rapid ascent of immensely powerful technology and media companies (an event), the cultural, political, and spiritual forces those companies and their tools/services exert on us individually and collectively (an empire), and the period of time where individuals, families, and churches must live as wise and faithful exiles amid God-ordained cultural and spiritual opposition (an epoch).
Digital Babylon is, essentially, a framework for making sense of the event(s) which created the empire(s) that rule and shape the epoch we live in today. However, unlike other helpful frameworks that exist for making sense of the same realities (such as the “surveillance capitalism” framework made popular by The Great Hack, or the “addictive psychology” framework made popular by The Social Dillemma), the Digital Babylon framework exists specifically for Christians based on an understanding of Christian scriptures - specifically, the Old Testament. This framework is not for everyone, nor am I writing in opposition to those other frameworks I mentioned above. Rather, I want to give Christians a uniquely Christian framework using one of the most important events, empires, and epochs in all the Bible: the exile of the people of God in Babylon.
Let’s examine those three categories - event, empire, and epoch - and how Scripture’s depiction and recollection of Babylon parallels many of our experiences today.
An Event
The Babylonian Exile is the climax of the entire Old Testament story. It is the fulfillment of the covenant curses of Deuteronomy after centuries of idolatry and disobedience, and after God brings his people back from exile, it becomes the biggest single question hanging over the development of Judaism leading up to the advent of Christ. This emphasis is not easily noticeable to us in the West due to how we arrange the books of the Old Testament, but originally, the Hebrew Old Testament arranged its books with the Exile event at the center; as Jewish scholar Marvin Sweeney has described it, “the Law [the first division] show the ideal established, the Prophets [the second division] show the ideal unrealized as the people of God are sent into exile, and the Writings [the third division] show the ideal restored as the people of God return from exile and wait for the coming Messiah1”. Within that second division, the Prophets, you have a subdivision of the history of the nation of Israel leading up to exile (the “Former Prophets”) and the theological postmortem of why God sent the people into exile (the “Latter Prophets”). The Babylonian Exile may not be a major focus or emphasis in Western Protestantism today, but to the Jews who compiled the Hebrew Old Testament, all roads led to - and eventually out of - Babylon.
Babylon’s rise to power is a fascinating part of both ancient near eastern history and the story of the Old Testament. Assyria had been considered to be the biggest threat looming over the people of God, but what about the nation that rises to power seemingly out of nowhere and easily defeats your biggest threat? If Assyria’s power was terrifying to the imagination of the average Israelite, how much more so Babylon? Eventually, as the prophets had warned, the kingdom of Judah would feel Babylon’s might and power, culminating in a third and final siege on the city of Jerusalem where the walls and the temple would be destroyed, and everyone but the sick and elderly carted off to Babylon. This was the point of no return; this was the end of Judaism as it had been known, and the beginning of a new chapter marked by the fact that God allowed a pagan nation to destroy the long-promised land and people of Abraham. No matter how much they wanted, the people of God could not go back to a time before Babylon destroyed the walls of Jerusalem and the temple - they could only rebuild them both later on.
When I describe Digital Babylon as an event, I am referring to two senses that we see in Scripture: Digital Babylon refers to the rapid and meteoric rise of immensely powerful tech and media companies, and Digital Babylon signals the point of no return to a conception of the world prior to its coming. Just as the historic nation of Babylon arose to supremacy almost overnight and overshadowed everything prior to it, the the most powerful companies and organizations that composite Digital Babylon either didn’t exist twenty years ago (Facebook, Netflix) or were smaller alternatives to more established industry leaders (Apple, Amazon). I remember, as an evangelical youth ministry kid growing up in the mid 2000s, how my two wonderful youth ministers tried so very hard to help us teenagers navigate the perilous waters of MySpace - by the time I graduated high school, MySpace had been taken out of the picture by the rapid and meteoric rise of Facebook. Likewise, Microsoft seemed like an unstoppable monopoly in the 90s, but Microsoft would be nothing compared to the monopolies of Amazon, Facebook, and several other companies that dominate our economy today2. Ten years ago, most of these companies were popular household names at best; now, many of them are seen as active threats and detriments to society that, at the same time, we enjoy too much to live without.
But more importantly: just as the historic people of God could not rewind time and undo the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, we cannot go back to a point in time before Digital Babylon came and destroyed the world as we once knew it. The damage has already been done; the walls have already been destroyed; the gold in the temple has been taken away. The rise of Digital Babylon is an event both with respect to how quickly this empire rose to power, and to the fact that this empire has created a point of no return to the world that existed before it came.
An Empire
By this point, you may have noticed something odd. In drawing a parallel to the rise of Digital Babylon with the rise of the nation of Babylon in the Old Testament, I reference a collective of companies and institutions rather than a single one. How can one thing refer to both an individual entity and a collection of entities at the same time?
The Digital Babylon framework is heavily centered around the Old Testament, but not exclusively so. The New Testament’s use of Babylon also factors in here as well, especially in describing Digital Babylon as an empire referring to single organization (such as Facebook) and a collective term for a larger conglomerate and a greater reality. In the New Testament, the nation state of Babylon no longer exists, but the New Testament church uses the historic nation-state of Babylon and its historic oppression, subjugation, and wickedness as a “pattern” or “example” for the global world, and a description of the oppression and wickedness that will be destroyed in the coming of New Jerusalem. For example, in 1 Peter 5:13a, we read:
“She who is in Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings…”
Peter is using Babylon is a stand-in for the nation of Rome, whose wickedness and oppression of the church in the New Testament is comparable to Babylon’s wickedness and oppression of the people of God in the Old Testament. Later on in Revelation, Babylon will be used to represent not just a single nation, but the entire collective force of the kingdoms of the world under the rule of Satan, all of which will be destroyed once and for all at the coming of Christ. “Digital Babylon” can refer to both realities and uses of Babylon in Scripture; it can refer to individual social media ecosystems of Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok as a parallel to the individual nation state of Babylon, Assyria, or Egypt, or it can refer to Babylon as the composite result of all the companies, services, institutions, and tools that form the global technology and media ecosystem we live and interact with today.
But more importantly, in referring to Digital Babylon as an “empire”, I want to emphasize the effects of living under the dominance of this empire. We do not find ourselves in a neutral tech and media ecosystem, but one that holds powerful sway over our individual lives, our families, and our communities, and especially our churches. Many of these effects are beneficial to us, but I’d argue the majority of them are not. Specifically, I want to emphasize Digital Babylon’s:
Cultural effects: Digital Babylon has become both a means of participating in cultures and communities of all types and sizes and an end as a culture itself to participate in, privileging those with power, resources, and wealth over those without. Although “analog” lifestyles are slowly re-gaining popularity as a counter-cultural movement, there are very few sectors of culture and society where Digital Babylon does not have a mediating presence in some way.
Political effects: Digital Babylon’s role in facilitating the fracturing and division of politics at all levels is well documented at this point. The very tools and services the promised to bring us together have divided the American public in ways that are escalating further and further towards violence against our neighbor and our nation. Our political, judicial, and civic institutions must constantly respond to the presence of Digital Babylon and its potential to negatively impact the stability and trustworthiness of our political systems and officials.
Spiritual effects: Despite often thinking of technology and media as purely material or “secular” subject, Digital Babylon has inflicted immense spiritual harm to Christians and the church. Under Digital Babylon’s allure, Christians are distracted, confused, suffer from a myriad of addictions created or promoted by Digital Babylon, divided and polarized along secondary or tertiary issues and topics, and more. Churches feel the pressure towards certain technological standards, or having certain kinds of social media presences, and pressure churches towards competition with one another on Digital Babylon’s terms. Pastors and church leaders are beginning to realize that media literacy is the biggest gaping hole in their discipleship, but given decades of neglect and oversight, it is overwhelming trying to decide how to address it - and many pastors and churches enjoy Digital Babylon’s prestige and power too much to recognize there is a problem at all. Ultimately, Digital Babylon is a type of principality and power, one that facilitates the spiritual blindness and bondage of countless men and women.3.
These are just a few rapid-fire examples - you may have thought of several others yourself. Digital Babylon, as an empire, is not a neutral reality, but one that shapes our culture, our politics, and our spirituality in ways that bear the fruit of the kingdom of darkness, division, and destruction over and against the kingdom of God.
An Epoch
The Babylonian Exile in the Old Testament caused the people of God to ask some very difficult questions. Why would God raise up a pagan empire to destroy his temple and take his people out of his land? How are we still God’s people when we have lost the two most foundational aspects of our religious identity? How do we live as God’s people while we are in exile in Babylon - and will the Lord cast us away forever?
One of the most important passages in the Old Testament pertaining to the exile comes from Jeremiah 29:4-7:
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
For the ordinary and everyday exile, the Lord would provide for them through their ordinary obedience relative to where the Lord had placed them. For exiles who came to occupy positions of power and influence - namely, Esther and Daniel - their charge was the same, albeit with greater stakes and greater rewards for their obedience. For however long the Jews would be held in exile, they were not to complete retreat into secluded enclaves, nor completely assimilate into Babylonian culture and society. They were to live in Babylon and seek Babylon’s welfare not out of a desire to be good Babylonians, but out of a desire to be the people of God and obey their God, who both sent his people to Babylon and who also rules over Babylon.
Although the Babylonian exile eventually came to an end and the Jews returned to their land, the New Testament indicates this state of exile should be seen as a more permanent and lasting identity. Peter opens his first letter to “the elect exiles” (1:1); James writes “to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (1:1); Jesus himself tells us that we are not of the world, but that “as you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). Although the church has wielded power and influence unbecoming of exiles at many points in church history, the fundamental identity of the church is that of a people in exile, their lives a race and a journey towards the heavenly city where Christ rules and reigns.
“Digital Babylon”, as an “epoch”, is not meant to suggest that the church is now entering a period of exile it has not known before. Rather, it is to characterize the specific circumstances of our current exile. Just as the Babylonian exile required the Jewish community to live in new ways in response to their new circumstances, we must learn how to live in new ways in response to our new circumstances. The problem, as I mentioned earlier, is that we are not actively disciplining Christians how to live faithfully and obediently in this current context - rather, Digital Babylon is actively and passively discipling us, and many of us are just now beginning to see how deep and pervasive that discipleship has progressed.
To live in this epoch, we must disciple our churches, families, and individuals how to live with faithful obedience in this new and unique chapter as the church in exile. As another rapid-fire list, we must disciple:
Individuals: Where has God placed you within the context of Digital Babylon? Just as the Lord raised up Esther and Daniel to positions of power and influence, the Lord will place some of us deep within the tech sector, or working as creatives for new media ventures, or give us sizable audiences on social media. What did faithful obedience look like for Esther and Daniel, and how can that inform our understanding of faithful obedience for those the Lord raises up in Digital Babylon? For the rest of us, what does it look like to live with faithful obedience in our ordinary and common callings and vocations? Where is the line between fearful avoidance of Digital Babylon and unquestioning assimilation into Digital Babylon, and do our individual habits disciple us towards Digital Babylon, or the kingdom of God?
Families: Parents, your children are growing up with access to tools, services, and content that were unimaginable and unthinkable to us when we were kids. We4 are rightly concerned about the well-documented mental health crises of social media addiction, the increasing pervasiveness and accessibility of pornography, and the many other negative effects Digital Babylon has upon our children. But, if we as adults have not been discipled well in this area, how we can hope to meaningfully disciple our children? How can we expect our children to have healthy and balanced views on technology and media when most of us do not have those ourselves? What would it look like for us to model repentance and growth in this area towards our children as a means of discipling them and creating stronger and healthier families?
Churches: Pastors and ministry leaders, do the liturgies and rhythms of your churches re-orient your people towards their identity in Christ and instill hope in his coming kingdom, or do your practices and habits offer little resistance towards Digital Babylon’s discipleship towards isolated expressive individualism? Does your church prioritize discipling Christians towards understanding who they are in Christ, and from that, how they should live for Christ? Or does your church prioritize significance, status, or success along Digital Babylon’s terms? Does your church allow your people to briefly retreat and rest from Digital Babylon to enjoy embodied worship and fellowship with their brothers and sisters in Christ? Does your church serve and care for your people in ways that prepare them to be sent out into the world as conscious ambassadors as Christ? Or does your church allow for people to pass though as passive and disinterested citizens of Digital Babylon, driven by consumerism and idolatry of comfort, control, and power?
Again, this is just a rapid-fire list; you likely thought of other examples to include here. While there are always been general discipleship needs common to Christians throughout the life of the church, there are also specific discipleship needs relative to unique chapters and eras of the life of the church. For us today, our specific discipleship needs are relative to the sudden rise of Digital Babylon (an event), its various negative effects upon us individually and collectively (an empire), and how Christians are to live with faithful obedience in a space and time that many of us do not want to live in, but are simply passing through as we journey together towards the throne of Christ (an epoch).
Ultimately, despite these circumstances, our posture should not be one of fear, or dread, or combativeness against our world and our culture. Rather, we ought to take comfort in the fact that the Lord is with his people at all times and in all places, and that the blood of Jesus both covers our sins and our missteps while navigating Digital Babylon. Just as the exiles were to have hope that God would provide providentially for his people through their ordinary and faithful obedience and engagement in Babylon, we ought to adopt a posture of hope and confidence that God will do the same for us today, and that the Lord will glorify his name and advance his Kingdom even in a place like Digital Babylon.
Thank you for reading this introduction. With this work, I am very eager for any feedback and pushback, so please leave a comment or reply directly to this email if you have any. Not every installment of Passing Through Digital Babylon will be related to this framework; next week, I plan on beginning a recurring side-series examining Jeff Bilbro’s Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News. If you’re not a subscriber, please consider signing up to receive new installments directly into your inbox, and if you enjoyed reading this, please share it with those you think would enjoy it!
Together, we are passing through Digital Babylon.
Austin.
I do not have an precise source for this quote. I got this from Dr. Futato of Reformed Theological Seminary in his lecture on the order of the Hebrew canon. This language came from his summary of Sweeney’s work, and I have not had a chance to locate a proper citation.
This is likely an exaggeration on my part; I have not done much study on the Microsoft antitrust fight of the 90s compared to the current antitrust fights pending against Amazon and Facebook. My point is not that they’re identical, but that powerful tech and media monopolies have proliferated in the past 10-15 years and have brought incalculable harm alongside their benefits. For more reading, subscribe to “BIG” by Matt Stoller.
Admittedly, the idea of Digital Babylon being a “principality and power” is new and foreign to me, and a particular angle I need to study further myself. I must give credit to my pastor, David Ritchie, for demonstrating how much our Western culture de-emphasizes the spiritual realities that Scripture emphasizes; he put this on my radar in his new (excellent) book Why Do The Nations Rage? The Demonic Origins of Nationalism.
My wife and I do not have children yet, but these are conversations we are already having even though kids are still a bit down the road for us. These questions are among the worst anxieties we have about become parents someday. As an associate youth minister, these are discipleship questions I actively must engage in as a part of ministering to our students.