Outline from Talk at Highlands UMC

I had a great time visiting with the folks at Highlands UMC last evening. They invited me to speak and I talked about "Thinking about Technology as a Christian." They had some great questions afterwards and I met a few fellow Georgia Tech grads. For anyone interested, here's my outline.

Intro: Our technological world

What is technology?
-Define
-God gave technology

Technology is value-infused
-Uses scarce resources
-Makes designer/builder and user "neighbors"
-Reveals designer’s values
-Its selection and use reveals our values
-Technology work can witness to God

God places importance on technology
-Technology-related stories in the Bible (Ark, Tower of Babel, Tabernacle, Crucifixion)
-Technology required for worship

How to think about a technology
-Two reactions: fearful rejection or enthusiastic embrace
-Look for good and harm in each

Conclusion
-Technology as a concept is good, but must be used wisely & thoughtfully
-Technology is dignified, even commanded by God
-Any technology is somewhere on the spectrum of helpful & hurtful
-Technology makers: pursue what is good out of love for neighbor
-Technology cannot save us

Top Seven Reasons to Post Sermons Online

A while back I reviewed the book SimChurch (part 1 and part 2) which argued in favor of virtual/online forms of doing church.  In those reviews, I strongly objected to making a virtual church your personal church experience & place of membership mainly due to the need for physical presence to administer the sacraments and to fellowship without a mediating technology.  While I still think this way, I've put more thought lately into posting sermons online.  Our church plant posts sermons online and I've come to see a number of benefits to even smaller churches doing this.

1. The Great Commission: Our call is to "make disciples" and to "teach" them (Matt 28:18-20) and preaching is a primary means for this teaching.  Making sermons available is much like the work of the Gideons placing Bibles all over - get the Word out there for any who will benefit from it.
2. Nursery workers: I love to volunteer in the nursery so other parents can relax and participate in worship with less distraction (and appreciate that service myself!).  However, I miss the sermon.  Even if the sermon is piped in to the nursery, crying or active children makes it hard to hear.  If I can download it later, I can keep up with a sermon series.
3. Members with short- or long-term illness: My dad has ALS and isn't able to come on Sunday mornings to worship anymore.  However, he can watch a broadcast on TV or listen via a podcast.  This technology is a great solution for someone without physical access and I'm grateful that he has it.
4. Visitors: A collection of recent sermons gives potential visitors a chance to learn a bit about your church.  They get a flavor for how the pastor preaches and for the broad style by going through the archive (topical, sequential through a book, or a mix)
5. Christians outside your church: Our church's men's group went through Ephesians recently, and now my parent's church is going through a sermon series on it.  Listening through those has been a great way to reinforce what I learned or see another application for a passage.  
6. Repeat listening inside your church: If I'm particularly struck or confused by a sermon, I can listen to it again and pause if I need to.
7. Redeem the time: We all have time in the car, doing chores, or relaxing after the kids are in bed when we can have some audio going in the background.  Providing sermons gives us more "meat" to listen to while doing those other activities.

Put any I missed in the comments below.

Reflecting on the Boston Attack

I've followed the news of the bomb attack in Boston.  Many, such as a pastor in Boston, have written on how to react to these events.  We now understand that the bombs were made in part from "kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails and other lethal shrapnel."  That got me thinking about the nature of technology and something I think I can safely claim:

Any technology can be used for evil.

Doing evil is inherent in our nature as the creators of technology.  We are fallen and sinful.  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" - Jeremiah 17:9.  We are also creative, able to create amazing works of practical use and art out of the earth's raw materials.  Put those together and we can creatively make technology to increase our ability to sin.

I vaguely remember some cooking with a pressure cooker when I was growing up, and that seems so incongruous compared to the events in Boston.  How could the same device be used in both ways?  But it is so, and we must face it - face the sin and evil that dwells in human nature.

There may be an appropriate government/security/regulation type response to this - I won't claim to speak to that.  What I do know is that no amount of technology will stop all sinful acts.  We're too creative for that.  More importantly, the sinful heart needs the Gospel.

UPDATE: According to the news, one suspect is dead and the other captured in critical condition.  It is right to expect justice from the state, but let me say it specifically about this young man: what he needs most is the Gospel.

Religion in Computer Games

I found these recently - two short videos that discuss the role of religion in computer games:

Part 1 and Part 2

They were certainly thought provoking.  Some main points include that religion is treated in a shallow way (at least the "lore" of it) but that including religious content could add significant depth to a game.  I'm not much of a gamer anymore, but one of my favorites was Deus Ex as it touched on a number of philosophical and moral themes.  In addition to the challenge of the game, I got to think through some things and how the character I controlled should act.

I think they left out other reasons religion is not touched on in depth, which is the potential to resist identifying with something you don't like or disagree with.  People have very strongly held beliefs and feelings about religion, and that can either drive them to or from a game no matter the quality of the gameplay.  Imagine if Starcraft (one of the most successful games ever) also had some very deep religious content, such as a current religion being attributed to each of the three factions.  Someone could find it difficult to identify themselves, even if only in a game, with another religion.  We may want to be a hero that saves the day, but not switch religions.  And, I could see that lead to commercial failure.

I know there is some talk in the gaming world of electronic games being considered an art form.  Perhaps some are.  However, a major historic driver for art is the expression of religious belief.  I agree that games cut themselves off from greater things by avoiding religion.

Healthcare Technology, Suffering, and the Christian

This is one of the most thoughtful pieces I've read about our relationship to technology.  The article focuses on healthcare technology, but the points about a Christian view of suffering are key to thinking about any modern technology.

Modern Healthcare: Are We Playing God?

The Web We Lost

Saw this article about The Web We Lost.

It underscores that the technology we design comes with assumptions.  The World Wide Web was built around certain assumptions that our current crop of social media services don't always share.  There's good and bad to that, but more essentially the underlying philosophy will come out.