Technology & the Christian
Technology often gets a bad rap, as if it is the problem. In reality, it is that old villain, the human heart(Jer. 17:9), to which we must always return. Martin Luther once quipped regarding alcohol:
Men have often gone astray with women and wine, but no one proposes we ban women!
The same can be said of technology. Like alcohol, the Bible speaks of alcohol sometimes in terms that are good and sometimes in terms that are bad. Alcohol, when abused, is always bad. Alcohol when used responsibly, is always good. Alcohol is never the problem. It is the human heart.
The same is true with technology. Consider an invention like the automobile. One can use it to get to church, to enjoy fellowship and the worship of the Lord. One can also use it as a getaway vehicle to commit a crime or to murder someone with it! The problem is not the car, but the heart.
It is important to see this when we evaluate anything. Technology, like alcohol, is a zero-sum game. It’s neither good or bad. It can be used for good things, think about a family spread across the world now being able to do video conferences (something unheard of even 10 years ago). Seeing loved ones and sharing life (even if it is not as good as physically present) it is much better than letters! But this same video software can be (and is used) for the spread of pornography. Banning video software will no more put a dent into pornography than prohibition fixed alcohol abuse in the United States.
I have a vested interested in this debate. Our church, Gloucester Evangelical Presbyterian Church, started during a pandemic. We started when the country was in lockdown (not ideal in many ways). And so we had a predicament. We could either wait until we found a place to meet and restrictions were lifted, or we could start completely online with our core group. We choose the later. Now, in God’s kindness we have a venue for morning worship.
On top of that, we live-stream our services, which means Gloucester now has a presbyterian church (among other evangelical churches in the city) proclaiming the gospel, with many sermons for people to find or even join in online. Think of the evangelistic reach now and the ease at which someone could view a church service who may not have darkened a church door.
A second example of how technology such as video conference has been a huge blessing is our weekly prayer meetings with elders across the UK. This would have been something we could never do each week in person, yet through technology like Zoom, we meet every week to check up with and pray for each other. It’s a huge blessing and something we will continue. But let us be honest, it came about because of lockdown and the rise of video conference software.
Finally, we had a snow and ice storm that hit us this year. The road conditions were barely drivable and so we made the decision to flip our services to online only. Because of the infrastructure already in place, we made a call that helped people worship while keeping them safe! Again, even 5 years ago, we would have either had to cancel services completely or risk people making judgment calls that might not be safe.
When we think of technology, it has many wonderful uses. It also has many awful uses. All of those uses, good or bad, flow from our hearts. Yes, modern smart-phones are made to be addicting and social media is made to be addicting. Yes, your phone has access to more filth than anyone could imagine. But God will hold you responsible for what you did with the tools, not the tools themselves.
