Is technological innovation actually good?

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on June 3, 2011. In light of Steve Jobs’s recent death, it seems particularly timely.

In and of itself, technological innovation is a very good thing. Technological advances come about as people utilize their God-given talents and capabilities. As Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen note in The Drama of Scripture (pp. 37–39), for humans to explore and develop the potential of God’s creation is part of what it means for us to live out God’s mandate to have dominion over the earth (see Genesis 1:28). Technological innovation as a concept is not just neutral. It is good.

The problem comes about when people use or develop technology in a way that is not glorifying to God. While Twitter can be a great medium for sharing godly wisdom, it is also a “good” medium for being cruel and disrespectful to anyone who has a public account. While texting makes it possible to send a quick message to someone without interrupting him greatly, texting also may drive us to have electronic “conversations” that ought to be taking place face-to-face. While a smart phone can help us to be more productive, it can also distract us from our families or friends.

While I acknowledge that technology can be used for evil purposes, I am concerned that some Christians may have an irrational fear of technological change and development, as if it somehow undermines our faith. We don’t have to compromise the unchanging message of the Bible just because we use new mediums of communication and interaction. Many mature Christian leaders understand this—I follow James MacDonald, Rick Warren, and Paul Tripp on Twitter!

To some extent, I may be preaching to the choir since you are, after all, reading this post on a blog (though you may be clinging to the soon-to-be-dinosaurish email). If so, fine. Just do me a favor and share this post with your techno-happy friends, and maybe these thoughts will eventually trickle down to those who are less technologically inclined—gasp!—by word of mouth.

—Beau Stanley

Follow @beaustanley

Using what Steve Jobs left us

From launching the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, to innovating in film, and beyond, Steve Jobs was a visionary in the field of communications.

In case you haven’t heard, Jobs died yesterday at 56 after battling pancreatic cancer.

I don’t know whether Jobs had a relationship with Jesus, but he leaves a legacy that Christians can build upon.

Through Jobs’ and others’ creativity, we have a wide range of communication tools to share Jesus. Whether or not you are an “Apple guy,” Apple’s innovation has created some wonderful opportunities for us to tell other people about what Jesus has done for us and is doing in our lives.

How do you use these tools, especially when it comes to social media?

It’s not that we need to preach or witness in every Facebook post or Twitter message, but the manner in which we use these tools is important. Do we use social media to build others up, or are we more often allowing unwholesome words to come out of our electronic mouths (Ephesians 4:29)?

The world can be an angry place. As Christians, let’s show that we’re different.

—Chris Pugh

Follow @chrispugh3

(EDITOR’S NOTE—Photo credit: Matthew Yohe)