Technē: Christian Visions of Technology (The Center for Pastor Theologians Series)
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
Christians have an increasingly complex and often conflicted relationship with technology. As Genesis 1 succinctly and profoundly declares, God created humanity in his image, and as part of that vocation, we are called to make something of the world. Technology is one of the most important and powerful ways that human beings exercise this dominion. But while technology can extend our humanity in powerful and exciting ways, many of us feel that it can compromise or fracture our humanity at its core. As a result, questions quickly emerge. What does it mean to be human? How does our creation in the image of God affect the way we use, design, and understand technology? Should our general posture toward technology be cautious or optimistic? This collection of scholarly and pastoral essays, drawn from the 2019 annual theology conference of the Center for Pastor Theologians, offers substantive Christian reflection on a wide range of issues pertinent to a distinctly Christian vision of technology today—and in the future.
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- Presents a collection of scholarly and pastoral essays.
- Provides information from the 2019 annual theology conference of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
- Offers Christian reflection on a wide range of issues pertinent to a Christian vision of technology.
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction—Technē: Christian Visions of Technology
- Contributors
- Part 1: Theological Reflections on Technology
- 1 Seeing the Inner Essence of Technology: Pastoral Reflections on Faithfulness to Christ in the Technological World
- 2 The Path More Traveled: The Place of the (Missing) Church in Christian Engagement of Technology
- 3 The Alchemists’ Dream: Three Judgments about Technology
- 4 Why We Get Technology Wrong
- 5 Sacrament and Technology
- 6 Proceed with Caution: Lessons from Saint Augustine, Jonathan Edwards, and Miroslav Volf
- Part 2: Technological Reflections on Theology
- 7 A New Catechism for the Digital Age: Answering the Questions Posed by AI, Consciousness, and Transhumanism
- 8 Artificial Intelligence, the Ascension of Jesus Christ, and Human Flourishing
- 9 On Human Transcendence, Artificial Intelligence, and the Gathering Gnostic Storm
- 10 In the Image of Our Choosing? Personhood, the Image of God, and the Ethics of Gene Editing
- 11 Fearfully and Wonderfully Made? Christians and Embryos in an Era of Biotechnology
- 12 The Technology of Reading
- 13 Digital Life and Social Media as Secular Liturgy: A Matter of Christian Formation
- 14 Partnering with Pastors: How Early Modern Printers Advanced the Reformation
- Subject Index
- Name Index
The gifted contributors to Technē have provided a path to a hermeneutic for the church’s engagement with modern technology. Saving us from being both anti-technological monks and unbridled technological zealots, in Technē we have encounters with the use of technology that will allow pastor theologians and academic pastors to disciple believers to be tech-wise. I greatly enjoyed learning from them how to see technology as a significant part of the story of redemption.
—Eric C. Redmond, Moody Bible Institute
Technology has invaded every aspect of our lives and yet has often evaded the theological reflection of the church. Rather than blindly embracing technology or attempting to reject it altogether, the church needs a distinctly Christian vision of technology that is grounded in God’s wisdom and relevant for our contemporary context. Technē is a brilliant collection of essays that will equip followers of Jesus to be thoughtful and faithful in today’s technological world. I highly recommend it.
—Jeremy Treat, pastor for preaching and vision, Reality Church of Los Angeles
By defining technology broadly and theologically, Technē does not chase after any trend, but thoughtfully attends to the past, present, and possible future. All Christians, but especially those who bear responsibility for others, be they pastors, educators, authors, parents, or mentors, will find discussion of both questions they’ve puzzled over and also questions they haven’t yet thought to ask. I look forward to returning to the wise principles in this volume for years to come.
—Amy Peeler, Wheaton College