Technology

Technology - 1. the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science and pure science.

2. the application of this knowledge for practical ends.

3. the terminology of an art, science, etc.; technical nomenclature.

4. a scientific or industrial process, invention, method or the like.

5. the sum of the ways in which social groups provide themselves with the material objects of their civilization.

A common misquote of the Bible is: “Money is the root of all evil” but the actual quote is “...the love of money is the root of all evil.” It stands to reason that an inanimate object cannot be good or evil. It simply is. However, how and why we use it, and for what ends, can very much be for good or evil. What God is saying here is that the problem lies within the human heart. In this case that means letting our priority to be placed in money, or for that matter anything (or anyone), before Him.

The same can be said about technology, which again is intrinsically neither good nor evil. There may arguably be one added dimension, though, which would be the level, complexity and multiplicity of said technology. Case in point, the wheel can be defined as technology. While it also can be used to various ends, the wheel itself really can’t be said to have any moral quandaries associated with it.

Fast forward to today, and the same cannot incontrovertibly be said about cloning technology, DNA modification and stem cell research, to name a few. Hence we have entirely new branches of study in the field of bioethics.

Or we can consider all forms of communication/information technology, from the first petroglyphs to today’s texting, videos, social networking, etc. The invention of the Gutenberg press had amazing ramifications upon Western society, especially when combined with translations of the Bible into various contemporaneous languages and relatively cheap, widespread availability. Technology associated with information now, like many other forms, is arguably growing at an exponential rate, and how it is used is increasingly becoming debated as the potential immediate and widespread effects likewise proliferate.

One question that may be asked is: can our fascination and dependence upon it possibly be misappropriated in and of itself​, not unlike the aforementioned “love of ______”?

The more we have become “connected”, it arguably seems that on a personal level we seem to be getting more disconnected. God created this world by His Word, and Jesus Christ is Himself the incarnate Word. Moreover, He tells us that all creation is to this day sustained by His Word, and ultimately, as He tells us, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”

For all of our perceived advancements, may we keep first in our hearts the One who gave us life, the Word that brings us faith and He who offers us eternal life, Jesus Christ.