As a Christian, a parent, and a pastor, I know I need to think wisely about technology. I make lots of decisions personally, for my family, and for the church I pastor around technology—ranging from the use of social media in our home to how we approach ministry online as a church. I am not the only one of course. All of us are surrounded by technology and confronted with technology choices every day. Many of us have a love/hate relationship with technology. We love the way items show up at our homes so quickly, and we hate how we have wasted time on devices. We love that we can connect with people we love, and we hate that restaurant booths are filled with people staring at their phones. Tech is touted as a time-saver and yet nothing pulls time from us like our technology gadgets.
Some believe technology will ruin the world, so we should stay away from it (a dystopian view). Others believe we are going to live alongside robots and usher in eternal life with our own inventions (a utopian view). A Christian view of technology sees it as a gift, but like all gifts, it can be used for pure reasons or abused for impure reasons. Titus 1:15 says, “To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure…”
I am thankful for Tony Reinke’s insight in God, Technology, and the Christian Life. In the book, Tony points out that the first technological advancement mentioned in the Bible is…tar. While tar was created, it was not created out of nothing. Those early innovators, in their wisdom, combined elements that God created. We see two uses of tar in the first book of the Bible. In Genesis 6, God sends a flood to judge the world because of their sinfulness, but God wants to save people—so He instructs Noah to build an ark and waterproof it with tar (Genesis 6:14). Tar is also used five chapters later after the world has been repopulated. People have decided to build a large tower so everyone will know how great they are. They put their confidence in the tower. As they build, they use tar for mortar (Genesis 11:3) The technology of tar was used in the ark, which brought salvation, and the tower, which was an act of deep rebellion.
In his book, which I highly recommend, Tony points out that embedded in the word “technology” is the word “technique.” Technology keeps advancing as humanity keeps adapting techniques. We have progressed beyond tar. When we hear the word “technology,” we tend to think of the modern inventions of the last few decades. We have lived through what has been called Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0. A simple view of these phases is:
Web 1.0: The advent of the internet
Web 2.0: The advent of the smartphone, apps, and social media
Web 3.0: The advent of artificial intelligence (AI)
Just as with tar, each phase of technology has been used by God to do beautiful work in our lives and in our world, and each phase has brought significant damage, marked by our insistence that we don’t need God.
Web 1.0: Advances in medical research AND an exponential increase in porn
Web 2.0: People mobilized during natural disasters AND a massive spike in anxiety
Web 3.0: Greater efficiency AND information offered with a biased worldview.
To the pure content and platform creator, tech can be pure. To the pure consumer, tech can be pure. To those who are not walking with God, nothing—including technology—is pure. Teachers and terrorists use technology to make them more effective. Technology is used to push against the curse of the fallen world, as God has used technology to fight diseases and restore health. And at the same time, technology is used to advance sin and has robbed countless hours from our lives.
I am thankful for the gift of technology to our family—such as flying to a vacation, booking a snorkeling adventure on an app, and taking pictures to capture the moment. I am thankful for the gift of technology to our church—such as being able to connect with our global family more easily, take messages to new places, etc. And I want to be well-aware and cautious of how technology can be used to reject God and spread evil. In short, I want to use technology, but not be used by technology. I want to live purely because Christ has declared me pure, and that means using tech for pure reasons.
