Archpriest Alexander Balyberdin - a priest, a writer, a candidate of historical sciences, a teacher - presented his new book - Through the Book Forest* (part of the Book Forest* trilogy) to the audience. It was not a lecture in the usual sense of the word. It was a genre close to the dialogue-reflection, which the author thematically described as “The numbers and letters of the iGen generation”.
Born in the “digital cradle” Internet generation (Internet Generation) cannot imagine life without gadgets and social networks, they are not religious and intolerant to violence. They work for money, are not hurry to start a family, and proclaims the equality of everything and everyone. This generation, regardless of its political judgments, is not in a hurry to grow up. Internet Generation has less personal communication and more mental disorders.
Archpriest Alexander Balyberdin dedicated his dialogue in the center of which were “eternal questions” to this very generation.
What is the novel about? The fact that some people during the life become dead, and others live even after death; about the search for the truth of those who are immensely and thoughtlessly fascinated by gadgets; that the numbers will never replace a person and that the temple, even if destroyed, will be restored sooner or later; about the victory of a human in a man.
How to turn off the “computational thinking” (M. Heidegger) in order not to become slaves of machines and the Internet? How to switch to a conscious, reflective? The priest and writer gives the following answer:
- You just have to think about your neighbor - here and now. Learn to wait, to care, to love, to be friends, to dream, to be merciful and empathetic.
