"God, Technology, and the Christian Life" (Tony Reinke)

TITLE: God, Technology, and the Christian Life
AUTHOR: Tony Reinke
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishers, 2021, (320 pages).
 

We have a lot of technology around us. We have different types of devices. Many of us use them on a daily basis. We need them. We cannot do without them. If we are to take a moment to ask ourselves, "What is Technology?" we might pause and wonder what kind of a question is that. For many people, the use of technology has become so ubiquitous that it has become an uncritical use of such powerful tools without actually knowing its grand purpose and significance. Fair to say, not many people really know how "technology" is defined. If we go back in history, human progress can be classified under different ages. The Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Nuclear Age, the Computer Age, and now the Technology Age. The common thread through all of them is the rising capability and discovery of tools to assist and improve human lives. Hunting tools from bones and stones were invented in the Stone Age. Engraving was introduced during the Bronze Age. The wheel was invented in the Iron Age. Nuclear power and the hydrogen bomb were creations in the Nuclear Age. Then comes the familiar personal computer and cell phones in the Computer and Technology Ages respectively. Even the biblical story of David and Goliath is a powerful story of the kind of technology being used at that time. Author Tony Reinke comes from a family of inventors. Out of his research and reflection, he sees technology as a way to tell the story of the human race. Through innovative skills and creative techniques, technology moves from animate functions like pulleys, to inanimate capabilities such as driving a car. Now we have technologies with automated abilities like self-driving cars and self-learning algorithms. The philosophical question is this: Is technology leading us toward a "dystopia" like Babel or a "heavenly utopia?" Reinke refuses to be drawn to either extreme, choosing the middle path. He enlists the help of nine voices to reveal 12 common myths about technology. These voices are mostly from the Modern Age: John Calvin the Reformer; Charles Spurgeon the Preacher; Abraham Kuyper the Theologian; Herman Bavinck the Calvinist; Jacques Ellul the French Philosopher; Wendell Berry the Conservationist; Kevin Kelly the technologist; Elon Musk the trendsetter; and Yuval Noah Harari, the Jewish Professor of History. All of these voices speak into the purpose and use of technology. He deals with six key questions:

1. What is Technology?
2. What Is God’s Relationship to Technology?
   
3. Where Do Our Technologies Come From?
   
4. What Can Technology Never Accomplish?
5. When Do Our Technologies End?
6. How Should We Use Technology Today?
   

As the title of the book suggests, this book is about God, Faith, and technology. The purpose of listing the 12 myths is to demonstrate that God and matters of faith are not mutually exclusive. In fact, technology is one way to tell the human story and how faith can be a positive influence on its use. God is not threatened by the babel of technology. The threat of any Babel-like development is on the human race. As long as technology is not used to usurp God's Truth, we are safe from the clutches of idolatry. Gradually, the author reminds us that our technologies do not come out of some big bang theory. Human creativity exists because of a Creator. Our ability to innovate arises out of God's gift and grace. Technology is no accident, and Reinke puts in a powerful apologetic to explain that.

My Thoughts
Reinke is pretty well-read in the areas of technology. He is able to interact with the 12 historical voices and help us see the depth and breadth of thinking surrounding technology and its use of it. With the theologians like John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Herman Bavinck, and Abraham Kuyper, he is able to relate technology from the perspective of God's role and the reality of faith. He even includes atheist philosophers by first expressing their atheistic interpretations before supplying a defense. These atheists are chosen specifically because they represent a mainstream view of unbelief. For example, Nicholas Everitt concludes that the findings of science reduce the need for religious faith. This is a common stand of many atheists. Another like Harari questions the lack of instruction from the Bible toward current technologies like AI. Reinke takes their arguments and offers decent responses in a fair and rational manner. This is good and respectful apologetics.

For Christians, Reinke shows how we can better appreciate the place of faith when we think about technology issues. He gives many good reasons not only for the reality of faith but also the necessity of faith. The lessons from the Bible are crucial to this understanding. Take the Tower of Babel for example. It is not because God feels threatened by the towering structures of mankind. For God is already All-Powerful and All-Mighty. The problem is actually with man's pride and the arrogant dependence on their own strength to usurp a position that was not meant to be theirs in the first place! God was actually protecting human beings from becoming victims of their own follies! Reinke concludes with the final question of how we can use technology today. The problem with the world of science and technology now is not how much or how little they could discover and innovate. The problem is whether they have the wisdom to push on, to pull back, or to do nothing. With God, we have the Bible as a guide. Without God, we will be lost. 

This book is a good overview of technology in history and should give us lots of food for thought about what real human progress in the area of technology should be understood. For anyone desiring to relate faith to technology, this wise book not to be missed.

Tony Reinke is a non-profit journalist and serves as senior teacher and host of the Ask Pastor John podcast for desiringGod.org. He is the author of Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books; Competing Spectacles; and 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You. 

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.