Franciscan University of Steubenville Professor Eugene Gan authors this first-of-its-kind Catholic roadmap for the digital age: Infinite Bandwidth: Encountering Christ in the Media. He navigates you faithfully through the digital world, encouraging frustrated parents not to throw out cell phones, ban the Internet, chuck computers, or pitch portable media devices. That would be a mistake and believe it or not would be going against more than seven decades of Catholic teaching. From Church documents on social communications, Gan extracts seven principles or media keys of how to approach and use media. The Church and Gan say that we must enter into the modern day Areopagus, the social and intellectual hub of ancient Athens where Paul preached to pagans, and use the media tools God has given us to make truth known and serve mankind. Cardinal John Patrick Foley says, Frankly, I wish that such a book had existed when I was president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications as a text which I could have recommended. The important thing, however, is that it exists now to provide a text, context, and challenge for those who wish to bring both Christian principles and professional excellence to their work in the media.
Gan offers chapter after chapter of real-life experience of how to assess movies, games, and gadgets for you and your teens. Of how to judge the merits of a film like Saving Private Ryan, and what sets it apart from Nightmare on Elm Street. Can the one be acceptable viewing and the other not? Definitely. And Gan details why. Infinite Bandwidth: Encountering Christ in the Media is way out front of the newest gizmo and will stay there thanks to its timeless principles that can be applied in all digital terrain, now and the future. Parents, educators, and students will put this book down with an entirely different attitude about the relationship between faith and media use.
Dr. Eugene Gan s Infinite Bandwidth presents the Catholic Church s documents on communications in a most engaging and interesting manner, comprising seven media keys and a fascinating introduction, Googling with God: A Catholic Approach to Media.
Frankly, I wish that such a book had existed when I was president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications as a text which I could have recommended. The important thing, however, is that it exists now to provide a text, context, and challenge for those who wish to bring both Christian principles and professional excellence to their work in the media.
In an increasingly secularized environment, in which religion is no longer featured in the general media except in a sensational manner and in which it is so often forced to live in a ghetto, Dr. Gan offers a challenging vision of how, why, and when to use all media in an imaginative, challenging, and faith-filled way.
--
John Patrick Cardinal Foley, Grand Master, Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; President Emeritus, Pontifical Council for Social Communications
A very helpful guide to a very important but difficult issue: How do Catholics relate to the media explosion? Eugene Gan offers a thoughtful and constructive analysis, which is sure to illuminate and guide.
Dr. Scott Hahn,Author, Speaker, and Professor of Theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville
Some things take experience. Some things take a dad. And other things take a university professor. And some things must take all three. Eugene Gan has drawn on his experience as a user and creator of all sorts of media, his concerns as a father, and his understanding of the way college students live with their ever-present electronics to create a book that answers questions (and worries) that many Catholics may have had in the back of their minds for a long time.
I am delighted with what Eugene Gan has done to make the Church's tradition of teaching on the media not just accessible but practical. (If! weren't using my thumbs to type this, I would definitely give "Infinite Bandwidth" two thumbs up.) His book will be especially helpful to Catholics who (like the Church herself) recognize that the culture we live in is formed in great part by the use of communications technologies. Unplugging across the board is not an option the Church recommends. The Church is not afraid of media! She sees them as "marvels" the Lord has put in our hands.
Gan provides the reader with seven keys to healthy Catholic media use. He drew all seven from official Church documents, synthesizing 70 years of official teaching into a practical guide to living as genuinely Christian citizens of the media culture. His self-evaluation questions are totally on target, addressing not just abuse by excess (unrestrained or uncritical media consumption) but also by defect (limiting oneself to the most unchallenging movies, or failing to create positive media content). Best of all, Gan gives the whole presentation a supernatural grounding by connecting each of the "keys" to healthy media use to a specific virtue.
I commend Eugene Gan highly for a well-crafted work that am going to refer to often and recommend broadly.
Gratefully in St. Paul,
Sister Anne Joan Flanagan, FSP,Daughters of St. Paul, a.k.a. "nunblogger"
In the exceptionally well-written and researched "The 7 Media Keys (A Catholic Media Guide)," Eugene Gan presents the reader with a comprehensive Catholic framework to consume and critique contemporary media. He skillfully argues that it is critical for Catholics to engage contemporary culture, using Pope John Paul II¹s comparison of today¹s new media landscape to the Areopagus - the social and intellectual hub of ancient Athens where Paul preached to pagans.
Dr. Derry Connolly,President of John Paul the Great Catholic University
Engaging and thoughtful as all media should be, Dr. Gan practices what he preaches in his book Infinite Bandwidth. He skillfully summarizes over seventy years of Catholic teaching on the marvels and menace of media and offers an engaging reflection as well as a helpful approach to media use for parents and teachers alike. If you are looking for a Catholic guide in this age of shifting values and the proliferation of the communication tools, Infinite Bandwidth is a tremendous resource.
Father Robert P. Reed,President, The CatholicTV® Network
--
Father Robert P. Reed,President, The CatholicTV® Network
Infinite Bandwidth: Encountering Christ in the Media by Dr. Eugene Gan is a great gift to the Church as we experience a surge of media and social communication. Dr. Gan masterfully pulls together the many Church documents and statements on media through the years. From these documents, Eugene gives us seven media keys to help people properly critique all forms of media. He uses the same keys in helping those who produce media to evaluate what they are creating and how it can best serve the mission of the Church in today's world. Dr. Gan makes it clear that people must not run in fear from the latest technologies and new forms of media, but embrace them with a critical eye and use them well for proclaiming the truth and beauty of our Catholic faith in a more credible manner. Dr. Gan demonstrates the necessary tools to view media with a Catholic mind and heart. His book will change the way you view your next movie, listen to that new song, what games you play on your computer and the apps in your iPhone. If all people of faith follow the seven keys presented by Eugene Gan, they will consume media and media will not consume them.
Father Jay Finelli,the iPadre Catholic Podcast & Videocast
--
Father Jay Finelli, the iPadre Catholic Podcast & Videocast
