Ethics, Scarecrows, and Technocolour Dreams
“Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,Jeremiah is talking about idols of wood and stone, but reading this text recently I couldn’t help thinking of our dependance upon technology.
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.” Jeremiah 10:5
How often we say of technology, “this will do us so much good”. But will it? Can it?
A thing cannot accomplish that which is a matter of the heart. “Good” is an ethical judgment. (Thus, when someone asks you how you are, you should never respond “good” because only God is good. “Well” will suffice.)
There are no feelings of compassion within the inanimate. There exists no willpower within the unmoving. These are the things of humanity, not inert materials.
And so, technology, like Israel’s idols, is not good, but rather a thing which can be used for good by an ethical being--you or I. Just like wood and stone, which can be used to build and battle, so technology can be used with wonderful purpose.
Yet, we are constantly barraged with reminders that technology has a dark side.
How will you use it? Will you fear it? Will you master it? Will you exercise creative control over it for the good of man and glory of God? Or will you bow to its ever-obsolete systems by purchasing the latest and greatest, wearing your phones and pods like so many rosary beads around your waist? Is technology our god or is technology our servant to the glory of God.
Ultimately, all matters computer come down to this one thing. And, ultimately, the choice belongs to us as to how it will be used. Like food sacrificed to idols, technology is a thing that can do no harm and no evil of itself. It is the user that violates. It is the user that glorifies.
posted on 12/07/2005 | permalink | more bloggy goodness
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6 Comments:
Shaun,
Great post!
As far as the mechanical creations of man, I agree there are no good or evil technologies. As the old wag said, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people."
However, when it comes to certain practices, good can never come out of evil thoughts or deeds, i.e. the Nazi experiments on human beings, the documentation of infant "sexual response" by Kinsey, the idea of "theraputic" cloning of people, and the use of embryonic stem cells for research. No good can come from technology when the users of technology debase human life.
Does this mean Godwin's Law has been enacted on the very first comment on this post?
I think that this is the first time that the Nazis have come up on your blog.
It is just that that Nazis are a "good" example of evil personified. Actually, had I known Godwin's Law, I would have omitted it from the list. But the fact of the matter is that respected scientists decided after WWII to discredit all of the "research", even if there was the potential for helping people later.
Good, we can continue then.
So, let's play ethics. How about a "good" that technology can do that does harm for some, but "greater good" for the masses...can you think of one? GPS trackers in our cell phones, perhaps? Is it legit or idolatrous?
I had a long-winded answer to the question, but I continually find myself unsatisfied with the answer. I actually came to the conclusion that all technology, when first implemented, will harm some people (incremental additions, like new software, or new ringtones, may be neutral in there application). But that once the technology is there, removing it will also harm people. And by harm, I mean the loss of life, health, or personal property. As I said, totally unsatifying.
I think the only clear-cut use of technology that is completely out-of-bounds is the willful, forcible use of human life as guinea pigs for some "greater good", especially if the life must be destroyed in the order for the technology to work.
I'll send you the long-winded answer someday.
... may be neutral their application...
Stupid lack of sleep!
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