Technology and the Church: Promise and Peril

If someone labeled me a luddite, I would be hard-pressed to combat their assertion. I am an exegete so I prefer scrolls rather than screens; I value parchment more than processor speed. Yet my words confess my delight in technology. Scrolls and parchment are technological innovations of a former age. Screens and microprocessors are technological innovations of our age.

A cursory reading of church history reveals the imprint of technology. The first-century spread of the Gospel occurred in part due to the technological marvel of Roman roads. The sixteenth-century spread of the Reformation occurred in part due to the technological marvel of the printing press. And so, it goes. Technology is a first article gift that has been, is, and will be a boon to the church.

Yet, like all other first article gifts, technology has been, is, and will be misused by the church. It has been this way since the days of Noah and his offspring. God calls Noah to build an ark and specifically instructs him to cover the inside and outside with כֹּפֶר “bitumen, asphalt” (Gn 6:14; yes, the Hebrew term invites theological reflection beyond the material reference). Waterproofing technology rightly used in service to God’s plans. But then Noah’s descendants use חֵמָר “bitumen, asphalt” in constructing the tower at Babel (Gn 11:3). Waterproofing technology misused in service to man’s sinful plans.

At the heart of our conversations about technology and the church is concern that we neither uncritically reject technology nor that we uncritically accept and/or apply technology. It is far easier to look back upon previous generations to judge how technology was used well or poorly. It is far more difficult to consider present and future usage of technology. Yet wisdom calls for us to do that very thing. To that end, on September 17–18 the 34th Annual Theological Symposium will consider Technology and the Church: Promise and Peril. Yes, technology holds both promise and peril for the church. How do we maximize technology’s promise to serve the Gospel? How do we mitigate technology’s peril to the church and our work? Come and join the conversation.