01
Propositional
knowing that
What do we know to be true about reality?
In the book · Truth, authenticity, and the claims of information
The Digital Discernment ecosystem
Not just misinformation, misformation.
The inconspicuous patterns of the digital world will reorder our loves, reshape our instincts, and distort our sense of how the world works if we don't develop digital discernment. Fact-checking is necessary but insufficient, because misformation happens even when what we are told is true.
Start the assessmentBuy the bookAssessment: $16.99 one-time, including a permanent report and matched guide. Platform: $9.99 monthly or $49.99 yearly.
The subtle misformation of the digital world
What we affirm may not change even when our instincts do.
Your doctrinal convictions may not change, but your sense of the way the world works, your priorities, and your experience of the world can still shift. What we believe is no longer worked out in ways that are true to God's reality.
The digital world does not have to challenge orthodoxy explicitly. It can shift what we deem relevant, reward activities that are not conformed to Christ, and encourage us to pursue independence from God instead of depending on him.
The digital world
No stake in making disciples of Jesus Christ.
We live in a world that promises ease without Sabbath, avoids transparency by increasing the amount of information it provides, and widens the distance between us and others while offering connection. It claims to expand our minds while it narrows our vision by denying and distorting God and his self-disclosure.
The order God created
Living under the authority of the Triune God.
We were made in God's image to serve God, others, and creation for our mutual flourishing. Technology becomes a necessity after the Fall though it also encourages self-sufficiency. Our capacity as humans is fully realized not through technological feats but in dependence on and allegiance to the Triune God.
Disciplined inquiry
Four ways of knowing.
The Quad takes the four ways of knowing described by cognitive scientist John Vervaeke and puts them to theological work. Most accounts of digital discernment involve evaluating the veracity of a claim. We need to check claims, sources, and facts, but discernment without theological depth is just information literacy. The four ways of knowing alert us to where the digital world does most of its work, as well as offering a paradigm for thinking about and reflecting on the world around us.
02
Procedural
knowing how
What know-how do we bring to the world?
In the book · Habitus and digital formation
03
Perspectival
knowing from a point of view
What are we deeming most important?
In the book · The God who is infinitely more relevant
04
Participatory
knowing by being an agent in an arena
What world of meaning are we co-creating with our environment?
In the book · Knowing by being in a digital world
Vervaeke described how human beings know. Digital Discernment asks what each way of knowing looks like when the Triune God is recognized as a personal God who is active and present.
Buy the book →The app and assessment
A dashboard, not a score.
Maturity is a condition. The assessment does not measure your spiritual maturity. It helps you recognize trends in your life that may inform your ongoing practice.
The app asks questions, encourages you to think through your answers, and helps you consider what you've actually said. It is intended to provide guided self-reflection so that you can chart a course forward toward greater digital discernment.
- 01The dashboard.The app doesn't supply any judgment. It asks questions, helps you clarify your thinking, and provides a means for you to build a plan and track your progress.
- 02A daily cadence. You choose a small number of practices that you believe will help you build your digital discernment and move you toward maturity.
- 03The Quad. To help you develop disciplined inquiry, the app includes an AI-powered platform to guide you through the use of the Quad. You can upload an article, blog post, sermon, or transcript and it will help you think through the content via the four ways of knowing.
- 04The chapters most relevant to you. The assessment points you to specific chapters in Digital Discernment that will address your specific question. While it is still recommended that you read the book from front to back, your assessment alerts you to your unique challenges and highlights the chapters that address those challenges. The study guide also provides biblical analysis and paired essays for each book chapter that can be used for individuals and groups.
Start here
The assessment and the app.
The assessment can be purchased separately for a one-time fee of $16.99. It includes a downloadable report and a matched study guide. Purchasing the annual plan for the app gives you access to the assessment, as well as two recalibrations where you will retake the assessment and revisit your digital practices. The app also includes:
- The assessment, downloadable report, and matched study guide
- Progress tracking via your dashboard, recalibrations, and your study plan
- A daily practice calendar
- The Quad
- Chapter-level direction into Digital Discernment, based on your assessment
- Additional materials for ongoing study
The book
Digital Discernment
A theological account of formation in a digital age, joining biblical theology, spiritual formation, and information literacy. Forthcoming from IVP in June 2027.
Buy the bookThe author
James Spencer, PhD
James Spencer is a theologian, author, and host of the Thinking Christian podcast, writing on Christian formation, political theology, and technology. He holds a PhD in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, teaches in Wheaton College's MA in Leadership program, and is an Associate Research Fellow at the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology.
He is the author of Serpents and Doves: Christians, Politics, and the Art of Bearing Witness and Christian Resistance: Learning to Defy the World and Follow Christ. His writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Sojourners, and Christianity.com.
He and his wife, Kim, live in central Illinois with their four children.
Our deepest problems are not technological.
Removing the tools is not the answer, and neither is doubling down on them. What is required is for Christians to live according to the logic of the cross, dependent on God, and in harmony with God's creation, whether the world is digital or analog.