Device & Virtue Chris Ridgeway & Adam Graber

The word "temperance" may make us think of prohibition, but this virtue isn't some outdated legislation. Today's technologies are creating all new challenges. Should we be prohibiting them now?
It’s the season of Virtues! We’re exploring the old-school virtue of Temperance—including how a technology in the 1800s changed the course of American politics, spawned hundreds of Christian organizations and even changed the US constitution!
Plus, why ice cream could be an moral issue.
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IN THIS EPISODE

How virtue ethics can be understood through parenting

What it could mean to be “temperate” in our social media and smartphone usage

How temperance could change the way humans use A.I.

THE LITTLE COLD WATER GIRL
THE WILLARD FOUNTAIN.Children Invited to Contribute Their Mite to the Fund for This Gift.The commission for “Willard Fountain.” which is to be a gift to the city of Chicago from children all over the world connected with the Loyal Temperance Legion Department of the World’s W.C.T.U.,…All money raised should be sent to Miss Anna Gordon, Evanston, Ill., and it is earnestly desired that little people everywhere should be impressed with the thought that the mission of love and money which they might perform by giving a cup of cold water to men who might otherwise be drawn into the saloon, can be carried out by this patient little figure, which will never grow “weary in welldoing.” It rests with them to send their pennies if they would be thus represented.
Cold Water Girl Fountain—Chicagology
QUOTES
…the self indulgent man is so called because he is pained more than he ought at not getting pleasant things (even his pain being caused by pleasure), and the temperate man is so called because he is not pained at the absence of what is pleasant and at his abstinence from it.The self-indulgent man, then, craves for all pleasant things or those that are most pleasant, and is led by his appetite to choose these at the cost of everything else; hence he is pained both when he fails to get them and when he is merely craving for them (for appetite involves pain); but it seems absurd to be pained for the sake of pleasure. —Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics

LINKS
We’re using the list of virtues from Stanley Hauerwas and his book, The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godson. Buy a copy and read along with us!
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Can we live simply without tossing our smartphone-life in the trash? We found answers in Sister Act II and walk-in closets. This season, we're doing something new, and it begins with the virtue of Simplicity.
We live in a complex world. Can technology help simplify it? Or does it only make things worse? Chris and Adam look at Simplicity in the face of social media, smartphones, and artificial intelligence.
IN THIS EPISODE
If you ever feel fragmented, this episode is for you. Drawing on insights from Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Foster, and the Sermon on the Mount, we explore...

How might we live simpler lives in a technology-driven world?

Could social media and smartphones promote simplicity rather than fragmentation?

What role does Christian community play in fostering the virtue of Simplicity?

Plus, learn how past technological developments have already shaped our relationship to Simplicity.
Filled with philosophical insights and practical advice for integrating simplicity into modern life.
LINKS
We’re using the list of virtues from Stanley Hauerwas and his book, The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godson. Buy a copy and read along with us!
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Wow, we've got a new set of episodes coming our way—and Adam & Chris have decided to unveil a twist—while possible moving even closer to the Platonic ideal of Device & Virtue.
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If not, what about our soundboards and electric guitars? If you thought the answer would be straightforward, you don't know us! Adam and Chris deep into the intertwining histories of church music and technology. From early debates over instruments in worship services to the effects of platforms like Spotify on today's songwriting, they explore the tensions between tradition and innovation.
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IN THIS EPISODE

Trace the twists and turns of church debates over instruments vs voices

Can instruments help Christians worship in Spirit and truth?

Strong opinions from ancient church fathers, the Reformers, and denominational creeds

Is AI just another "instrument," or something more disruptive?


Watch the TikTok Worship Song clip: https://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanogdenmusic/video/7221950505486945541
Read Chris' AI worship song about the blind man in John 9
LINKS

“The first AI Christian artist” JC (@jc.theartist) • Instagram photos and videos



Worship.ai by John Dyer (create your own worship song in “modern worship music”, “classic hymn”, or the “Psalms (KJV)”

Spotify has reportedly removed tens of thousands of AI-generated songs (Engadget May 2023)

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Pulpit AI could save your church hours of social media work every week. Could it kill the sermon in the process?
We interview pastor and entrepreneur Michael Whittle. He wants to make the sermon more valuable than ever, and he created Pulpit AI to do it. We talk to him about his new AI platform does and the future he’s dreaming for it. 
Plus, Chris and Adam discuss how Pulpit AI might affect pastors, preaching, and the work of discipleship.
In this episode 

Is the sermon just “content”? 

Why Pulpit AI won’t write your sermons

What does Pulpit AI look like in 2033? 

Risks for pastors and churches

Megachurches have used social media to build massive platforms and stir up plenty of controversy. If Pulpit AI gives that platform to every pastor, how will it affect the church?
Links
Michael Whittle is the Founder and CEO of PulpitAI and Vast Media. He’s obsessed with the intersection of faith, business & entrepreneurship, a topic he explores in his podcast, "Kings & Priests." Over the past decade, he has built companies spanning media, advertising, and consumer products in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, and Singapore. Michael also serves on the pastoral team at C3 Los Angeles and resides in South Pasadena, CA with his wife Jillean and their two children, Rook and Willa.
Learn more about Pulpit AI on their website. 
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Ownership is not an option.
Forget magazines—does it seem like today we subscribe to just about everything? You’re not wrong—from reading books to driving cars—80% of new businesses offer a subscription. Has software changed ownership forever?
Chris & Adam explore how technology has changed how we pay—and all the implications.
No longer do we buy Microsoft Office in shiny boxes from Best Buy! That model that used to be magazines and the CD of the month club has moved to practically every digital product in our daily world. Chris’s business degree 101 taught him that all purchases fell into two two obvious categories—product or service. But now? Who knows!
Add complaints about inkjet printers, Tesla, and thought on the spiritual implications of ownership, and we’ve got a roving convo that mixes tech, economics & daily life.

Links

How Tesla changed owner’s car battery capacity by unlocking software



My Printer is Extorting Me by Charlie Warzel (The Atlantic)


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