It’s late at night. The silent snow has been falling all day, blanketing the world in a thick blanket of glistening white snow. Before sleep arrives to end the day, the deep rumble of a snow plow’s engine breaks the silence. As it approaches, the deep scraping sound of the plow blade against the road and the rattle of chains adds to the cacophany heard as the snow is being cleared from the road. As the plow finally passes the window, one more noise is produced which cannot quite be heard over the rumble, scraping and rattles: the sound of cinders and salt being spread to ensure traction in spite of the remaining snow and ice.

When I saw that “Digital Salt” was the topic of Vox Apologia II my first thought was, “Oh boy! What the heck am I gonna do about that?” Should I joke about using a scanner, or better yet, a transporter to send salt through the internet? Should I discuss all the uses for salt? Its place in history? Its place in our language? Its chemical makeup? Those are all (mostly) good ideas, but I think I’ll leave them to someone else who will probably handle them with more aplomb than I.

In John 8:32 Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” If knowing the truth sets a person free, then those who do not know the truth are not free. They’re in bondage. So how can Christians help others know the truth so that they can also be free?

The key to knowing what is true and what is false is quite simply the ability to distinguish one from the other — otherwise known as judgement. The key skill for reaching sound judgements is critical thinking, i.e., the ability to evaluate evidence and use reason to reach an appropriate conclusion.

Several days ago, I stated that postmodernism is the snow and ice of critical thinking. Postmodernism is the idea that there is no absolute truth. What a person believes is considered to be more important than what the facts are, therefore any evidence which contradicts a belief is discarded as “tainted,” “biased” or otherwise unreliable.

A car’s tires need to have contact with the road in order to push the car towards its destination. When there is snow and ice on the road, it becomes extremely difficult for a car to go from point A to point B. Just getting the car moving can be difficult. Stopping at appropriate points can be very difficult. And unless real care is taken, the car can slide into a ditch or worse.

Facts are the solid objects we need to have contact with in order to propel our thinking towards truth. If a fact is disregarded, a person’s thoughts can go sliding in the wrong direction, or may not begin moving at all. It’s also possible for a person to reach the correct conclusion, but without facts, that conclusion is based more on chance than reason, and they may find themselves sliding past the correct stopping point.

One of the properties of salt is its ability to lower the freezing point of water, thus allowing ice to melt. That property is why snow plows spread salt after they pass. By melting the remaining ice and snow, the salt allows the car tires to make contact with the road surface, gain traction, and accurately propel the car to its intended destination. If temperatures are too cold though, the salt has no more effect than simple stones.

As the “salt of the earth,” I believe Christians are given the ability to melt away the snow and ice coming between those who are lost or in bondage and the truth which can free them; but only up to a point. If we take the analogy of the snow plow further, we could say that God is the snow plow. He has to first plow the road, then put us where we can be effective. (Putting salt on an unplowed road is ineffective due to salt’s limits in how much frozen water it can effect.) And in some cases, we will encounter people who are too cold for the salt to cause any melting.

I think I’ve effectively beaten this particular salt analogy to death. Yet I haven’t even looked at the digital part of the topic yet. When I took a look at the passage where Jesus calls Christians salt, I was fascinated by the context:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

(Matt. 5:11-16, NIV)

It’s interesting that those Jesus calls “the salt of the earth” are facing opposition and persecution for following Christ. That is certainly happening on the internet. This seems like a thought worth exploring; perhaps some other time.

Jesus is still speaking to the same group of people as He continues on to call them “the light of the world.” The conclusion is that those who are “salty” are also to be working to spread the light of God’s love and truth as far as they can. Jesus doesn’t mention the means for spreading the light, merely that it should be broadcast far and wide.

The recent presidential election showed that the internet has become a powerful method of spreading the truth. (It’s also just as powerful at spreading deception.) Large numbers of low profile individuals with specific and varied skills are able to work together to determine the truth of a matter by examining evidence and applying critical thinking.

If we are to carry out our function as “the salt of the earth” and “light of the world,” it is necessary to make use of all the means of communication at our disposal. The Internet is only the most recent such tool. Fortunately, it can be highly effective, allowing the ability to delve into the details of facts and evidence necessary to identify the truth. This ability to dig into any topic far beyond any other communications medium is what accounts for its growing influence and popularity in today’s society.

What will people find as they look to the internet for information to base their lives on? More of the same godless worldview dominating today’s society? Certainly. If they are truly searching for the truth, they must also be able to find it online. As more and more people turn to the internet as their means of obtaining news and information we must become the salt and light of the digital world as well as the physical world, just as Jesus commands.

(Note: There is one missing idea from this essay. That is an exploration of how we can actually cause postmodernistic thinking to melt away. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please add them to the comments about this article.)