Understanding and addressing technology through a theological lens is a task both demanding and urgent. Increasingly rapid technological change is arguably the defining characteristic of global evolution over the last 150 years or so. Some have even argued that the increased pace and quantity of these changes have led to a qualitative change in the habitat of the human species. What does this change mean for the sharing and living out of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? This work is necessary for missional questions of the beneficial or dangerous situation of modern technology within the scope of the missio Dei.
As our contemporary world is affected (at minimum) or defined (at maximum) by technological change, young people today grow up without knowing any world other than the one formed by a shifting ensemble of technologies. Careful and critical theological reflection on technology teaches students to discern how the Gospel itself reworks us and our world, and how the imperatives of the missio Dei infiltrate and address this constructed world.
As daily life in the contemporary world is increasingly impacted by continual technological change, Christian mission must account for both the practical effects and theological implications of this change and offer a scripturally and theologically robust ethical response.
Despite being written thousands of years ago, the Bible has much to say about our relationship to "technology." Learning to hear and understand how seemingly modern and contemporary themes are already present and addressed within the biblical text is a key component of developing a theological perspective on such issues.
Various strands of theological discourse view technology as either a tool be used or a threat to be countered in the missional task of bringing the Gospel to the world. This course introduces and offers basic analyses of these strands of discourse.
Thinking about technology contextually is extremely relevant precisely because technology is often seen as somehow universal, existing outside of contextual relativity. Careful interrogation reveals that technological processes and developments are laden with numerous contextual elements.
Recent technological developments have affected individual and societal life on a species-wide scale. Thinking through how this global impact relates to theological themes necessarily evokes intercultural issues and questions.
A major goal of this class is that the student ceases uncritical thinking about technology as a neutral tool to be used positively or negatively, instead becoming aware of the theological implications involved in relating to and using any technology.
This class requires that students carefully analyze their daily use of and interaction with technology from a theological perspective.
