Technology and Christianity

The Enlightenment of the 18^th century ushered in a new order of the ages, one in which man displaced God as the central focus of both thought and practice. This has had consequences. For one thing, man has taken up the supposedly vacated role of Providence. How has he done it? Not least by gaining an increasing mastery over nature, a mastery enabled by technology. The tools provided by technology have undeniably brought great blessing, but they have also brought new and unprecedented problems. Such powerful tools have given mankind opportunities for good but also for evil, and he has taken advantage of both.

In this series of articles written and published over a period of 50 years, Egbert Schuurman elucidates this complex and difficult relationship. Technology has generated a material culture capable of providing undreamed-of wealth and welfare but likewise has brought labor displacement, environmental damage, weaponry of devastating destructive capacity, and possibilities of societal control only dreamed of by history's tyrants.

Schuurman expands on all of these consequences, and he does so from a unique perspective, that of the once-dominant but since-displaced perspective of Christianity. In doing so, he demonstrates not only that there are opportunities as well as difficulties involved in the ever-expanding dominance of technology, but also that Christianity can provide the framework for properly assessing and implementing the responsible application of technology. But for this to happen, the sorcerer's apprentice needs to recognize his utter dependence on his Creator and Redeemer.

Author:

EGBERT SCHUURMAN (born 1937) studied civil engineering at the Technical University of Delft and philosophy at the Free University in Amsterdam. He obtained his doctorate in 1972. In the same year he was appointed professor in Reformational Philosophy at the Technical University of Eindhoven. From 1983 to 1984, he was engaged in research and lecturing in the United States as part of an international research team on Responsible Technology. Since 1983, Dr. Schuurman has been a member of the Upper Chamber of the Dutch Parliament. In 1995, in Berkeley, California, he was granted a Templeton Award for his work as an educator in religion, science, and technology. Dr. Schuurman is the author of several books, including Perspectives on Technology and Culture, Technology in Christian Philosophical Perspective, Reflections on the technological Society, Faith and Hope in Technology, and Technological World Picture and an Ethics of Responsibility. Several of his books have been translated into Chinese, English, Korean, and Japanese.

Specifications:

Format: Paperback
Page Count: 466
Publisher: WordBridge Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-9076660745
Size: 15.24 x 2.39 x 22.86 cm
Published: 2024