iIdeas

Part 1: Yesterday's Culture
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Big Four: Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Democritus
Chapter 2: The "Middle Ages": Prelude to the Renaissance
Chapter 3: The Renaissance
Chapter 4: Reformation and Counterreformation
Chapter 5: The Industrial Revolution
Chapter 6: The Revolution in the Industrial Revolution
Chapter 7: Christianity's Weakened Grasp
Chapter 8: Modernism and Postmodernism
Chapter 9: The Light Bulb, Electricity, and Television

Part II: Today's Culture
Chapter 10: The Computer, Animation, and Gaming
Chapter 11: The Internet and its Commercialization
Chapter 12: Socializing and the Smartphone

Part III: Tomorrow's Culture
Chapter 13: Future Technology
Chapter 14: Man's Final Government
Chapter 15: Conclusions
                   Just in Case

End Notes

iIdeas by Ron Sumner is an excellent text that is not just for students—it has unraveled the enigma of why people believe what they believe today. The tapestry of belief systems that make up modern culture is analyzed beginning in ancient time with four philosophers, whose ideas infiltrated the teachings of the early church influencing practices and culture. Their ideas are followed through time revealing how governments changed through innovation and invention bringing freedoms and class elevation that propelled modernity, yet all the while interwoven with the ideas of those same four philosophers. The text culminates in a discussion of modern technologies and media which continue to influence beliefs, ideas, and behaviors. Integrated throughout the book is the importance of assessing these ideas through Scripture. iIdeas has challenged my students to examine how they display their faith and to think deeply about the origin of their ideas in the development of their Christian world view.
Ruth Ventrello, Online Instructor

I absolutely love this! iIdeas is interesting, changes topics enough to keep me interested, and includes topics I think are relevant and appeal to me. I sent the article we had to read for this week’s discussion forum to my dad. He loved it. I just finished this week’s readings and I think everyone should read those 3 chapters. Anyways, I just really, really enjoy this class and am very thankful to be in it!
Rebecca I.

iIdeas was incredibly informative and enlightening. I told [my instructor] that it touched on a lot of the topics I have been thinking about for the last few years and helped me to articulate the thoughts I've been having. Some of the lessons got me thinking even more....
Kevin O.

iIdeas included a topic that changed my mind set, had to be the amount of time I spend on my phone. ... [S]ince having the topic brought to light, I have not allowed myself to use my phone before bed, as well as deleting half of my social media accounts. ... I find myself telling my family and even my coworkers that they should not rely heavily on their cell phones just from the information I learned from this course. The information that was taught throughout the entirety of this course will provide myself with lessons I can take with me throughout the remainder of my education as well [as] my life.
Kaitlyn S.

I do feel like the Discussion Questions in iIdeas have been thought provoking and worthwhile questions to ask and discuss. It was interesting to learn about the "Four Greeks" and how their thought processes differed – and how similar they still are to our thinking to this day! The most popular topic on the forums overall according to posts was the Catholic Church and their view of art in church. ... I was certainly most challenged by the [Discussions] that directly affect me, such as the Cell Phone addiction and the Big Brother one. ... I do feel challenged by the Cell Phone addiction topic.
Drew D.

For me the most interesting topic in iIdeas was over Internet censorship, it’s one I feel strongly about and it was interesting to read what others had to say. The most challenging to me was the property ownership topic, I had an opinion but I found it rather difficult to say [whether] it was relating to the bible or the society I grew up with. ... I will note that I never actually considered my phone an issue but rather social media platforms, the last topic about addiction made me realize how dependent I was on my phone and reading others made me realize how dependent we all are on technology.
Gabrielle V.

Throughout this course I've learned some interesting things, but I think the most valuable to my life personally was actually pretty recent. When we talked about cellphones and addictions to them, I really tuned in to iIdeas, ... and all the scriptures I found that were related to use of time. It was a reality check having to make a discussion board post about if we were addicted to our phones. ... I deleted Facebook from my phone and rarely look at it on the laptop. I also deleted some other time consuming apps that were taking too much of my attention. Since then, I've not been on my phone nearly as much and I'm grateful for the things I've been able to feel — to me, it feels more like my time is being used on more valuable things (like playing with my son) rather than just scrolling aimlessly on an app.... I've had my husband work on not being on his so much as well and I think we're enjoying more family time together this way.
Tracie N.

The most interesting part of [the] class was that even though Democritus was a generation 40 years ahead of Plato, he developed a theory that was very similar to the view in people of today analyze the world. ... On the other hand, the most challenging part was the impact of smartphones on life. ... I thought I have not addicted to smartphones myself, but I was literally surprised to find myself turning on my smartphone or iPad screen without even realizing it. The media was deeper into my life than I thought. History and technology are more interesting fields as I study. Everything is connected like one organism, and everything is the cause of the event, and everything is the result of the event. Therefore, I cannot help but acknowledge God's sovereignty. A perfect God rules the world.
H. Y.

What I found most interesting [were] the discussions and the articles I read around technology and media censorship coming from Big Tech and the government. I didn't realize how important this issue was until I really started to break down the topic and think about it.
J.D.R.

This class helped me a lot in my personal life. ... We have to be alert because what is considered intelligence today can produce foolishness and greed for money, power, and control of society through these means. ... This led me to think that I must work on my relationship with God day after day before it is too late, because the times are drawing near, and the bible is being fulfilled. I really appreciate the time and dedication, Sir. 

Jahziel R.

I found (Module 5: Week 5 – “Let there be Lights, Camera, Action”) had some of the most interesting topics, videos, and talking points that provided a further perspective of money and power within today’s society.

D.H.

This has been a very interesting course, not at all what I thought it was going to be! Each topic has been of value, but two topics have been lingering in my mind and influencing my daily thoughts. ... We should continue to watch the headlines, aware of their spins and agendas so that we can be “in the world, but not of it.”

Ashley M.

[T]his class it really got me thinking if I could reduce the amount of time I spend on my phone to actually spend with other people and for my surprise I was able to reduce the time on my phone and I actually found that I could do a lot more things ... I think it has made me happier ... and I’d like to say less social media interaction during lunch breaks has me feeling so much better.... 

Genesis

One thing that I thought was pretty interesting was the way that art, technology, and religion really do tie into each other and how they can affect each other, or our everyday lives. ... [T]he amount of information I did not know then, that I now know because of this class ... is amazing!   Katrina R.

I find myself to not enjoy reading much, but this course pulled by attention on several topics that made me enjoy reading. One of the topics that I found most interesting is on Monopoly: The Great Reset.... Overall, I find that no matter how much power that the devil has and no matter which direction the world is turning, God will have victory in the end and that is something to look forward to! I enjoyed this class and hope everyone did as well.

Hope G.
There is so much information in the iIdeas text I studied.... The most interesting part was early in the text where I started to realize how much Art has been significant in past and present history. ... My understanding has changed and been broadened.
David W.

Ideas should be examined through the lens of the Scriptures (Sumner, iIdeas), the Holy Spirit will lead us on paths of righteousness (Psalm 23). ... I enjoyed this class because of the revealed information about what is really happening in the world around us. Author Ron Sumner deals with the fact that what is happening now is because of what happened then: How the 4 Greeks' beliefs are still affecting society and the world today.
Deborah C.

I honestly enjoyed this class and did not expect it to be this way. Learning about philosophy, technology, and the growth of our civilization, as well as how we as a nation and previous generations have omitted God from almost every aspect of our lives. Instead of looking to Scripture for guidance, we go outside of it for "our way," and we place our desires above the needs of others.

Evelyn D. O.

I think this class was definitely a different kind of art class. ... The one thing that has changed my mind was the statement “There comes a time when we need to “Be Still” in order to know that God is God” (Sumner, p 200). We do need to stop and put our devices down so we can spend time with God every day.

Kimberly P.

So, within this course I found that when we learned just how influential art and technology is to us and the struggles that come with it, was in my opinion one of the most out of this world things to learn. ... Through this class I learned to step back from the technological tornado that entraps us ... and not only thank but truly appreciate God for everything he blesses us with in life. I truly loved your course and everything I learned from it. Thank you for being one of the best professors I have ever had. Thank you so much.

Adrianna V.

Trying to only find one thing that stuck out to me is very hard. Every week I learned something new and there was always something that stood out, however, if I was to choose one thing that stood out, it would be when we learned about the Great Reset. This stood out to me because I had not known anything about it until we started learning about it in class.

Lila H.