How Should Christians Think About Technology?
The digital technologies of the 20th and 21st century have had increasing impact on our lives. Technology has changed the way we live. From how we shop and bank to the way we record life’s important events and even spend time together, technology has had a major impact on our lives. And this raises important questions for Christians.
In recent years many Christian authors and teachers have turned their attention to this important topic.
One church leader who has spent time considering this topic in order to help the church get a better understanding of how technology relates to our faith is Nathan Weston.
Nathan is married to Sîan and they have three children; Ben, Isaac, and Hannah. Nathan served as Associate Pastor of Moorlands Church in Lancaster up until 2024. He is now the Biblical Studies Lead for Crosslands as well studying for a PhD in the book of Proverbs.
In recent months Nathan has produced a number of video resources, helping Christians think through questions about technology as they relate to our faith.
Keswick Convention Seminars
In this 2-part seminar series, delivered at Keswick Convention 2024, Nathan looks at the impact of technology and the digital age on our culture, world and Christian faith.
A Theology of Technology
The FIEC have also put out a couple of podcast episodes, featuring Nathan.
In the first of these, Nathan is joined in conversation with Adrian Reynolds (FIEC Head of National Ministries). Together they consider how can we think theologically about technology to help us use the gift of technology in a godly way. Nathan covers questions including:
- How do we define technology?
- Is technology good or bad?
- How is technology changing the world?
- How does technology fit into the story of redemption?
Living in a Technological Age
In the second of these FIEC podcast episodes, Adrian and Nathan discuss the impact of technology on our lives, and how we can disciple people to live well in a society full of technology.
They ask two main questions:
- How can we help those in our churches to flourish as they live as believers in an age of technology?
- How can leaders set an example in their living with technology?
Books
10OfThose is my ‘go to’ for excellent Christian books these days. They’ve got a great selection covering various aspects of technology:
Christian Books about Technology
Two that I have read and appreciated are by Tony Reinke:
12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You
Within a few years of its unveiling, the smartphone had become part of us, fully integrated into the daily patterns of our lives. Never offline, always within reach, we now wield in our hands a magic wand of technological power we have only begun to grasp. But it raises new enigmas, too. Never more connected, we seem to be growing more distant. Never more efficient, we have never been more distracted.
Tony draws insights from numerous thinkers, published studies, and his own research. He identifies twelve ways our smartphones have changed us—for good and bad.
Reinke implores us to cultivate wise thinking and healthy habits in the digital age. He encourages us to maximize the many blessings but to avoid the various pitfalls, as we wisely wield the most powerful gadget of human connection ever made.
God, Technology and the Christian Life
In this lengthier book, Reinke argues that many Christians remain perplexed about modern technology. New technologies appear all the time, human innovation is not slowing down for anyone. But as technologies multiply and life in this age becomes more complex, the questions become more stark:
- What does God think of human technology?
- Is he threatened by all its power?
- Is he trying to dismantle Silicon Valley?
Tony addresses these and other hard questions head-on from the Bible. By turning to 9 key passages and engaging with several theologians and thinkers, Reinke seeks to dismantle 12 common myths Christians often hold about technology, helping us understand where human innovation came from and encouraging us to embrace the church’s essential role in it.
An Ongoing Conversation
Christians will need to continue this conversation. From my perspective, with nearly 2 decades experience working with digital technologies, here are a few thoughts:
- To those who argue that technology is neutral and is to be embraced, I would warn against complacency. Many would have argued this in the past about all kinds of digital technologies. But tools are designed to be used in a certain way. In the case of many digital technologies this means yielding to algorithms which fuel our desires, both good and bad.
- Others have rejected technology, the suggestion being that digitisation and mechanisation is to be avoided by Christians. Here again there is room for nuance. It might be beneficial to avoid using certain technologies, for the sake of our spiritual, emotional and relational wellbeing. But a ‘one size fits all’ approach is unhelpful. As Paul says in Romains 14:15 ‘One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.’ Clearly he’s talking here about the sabbath, but his argument is within a broader passage about not passing judgement on each other in areas which are not expressley prohibited by scripture.
- In Hebrews 13:17 we’re told that Christian leaders watch over the souls of those in their care. Part of this watching must surely be related to the use of digital technology. How many church leaders had difficulty persuading some members to return to in-person meetings following lockdown, for example? Let’s watch out for each other, and seek to recognise both the good and the harm that technology can cause.
Technology for the Church
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