Christianity does not hold back technological progress: it inspires it

If the biblical authors did not have modern science at their disposal, so the argument goes, the Bible is irrelevant to modern life. On the other end of the spectrum sit Christians who believe that technological progress is the very antithesis of what humanity ought to pursue – Mennonites being one such example.

The problem with these claims is that they ignore much of what is known to scholars of history, mischaracterise the Bible, and even miss the entire point of God’s placement of humanity on Earth in the first place.

First, an admission: this writer is particularly interested in this question as both a dedicated Christian and professional technologist. The times we live in are extraordinary; as exemplified by the imminent plans to colonise Mars within a decade.

It would be hard to deny a prima facie tension, here. If Jesus is truly coming back and “the world is going to hell in a handbasket” as the popular saying goes, ought humanity even try to flourish? These days, there is widespread public divide over the definition of “male and female.” Aren’t there bigger issues to worry about than technological advancement?

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Does the Bible deal in science?

There is considerable debate among evangelical Christians as to whether the Bible speaks to scientific matters accurately, or even at all.

Many Christians believe that concordism is true. This is the view that seeks to find a tight correlation between science and the Bible. Hugh Ross, the director of the apologetics organization Reasons to Believe, for example, is an old earth creationist who believes that God refers to the Big Bang in Genesis 1:1.

On the opposite end of the spectrum stands Old Testament Scholar John Walton, who pioneered a view known as Functional Creation, which is a non-concordist view. This view claims that there is no direct correlation between scientific phenomena and the biblical text whatsoever, nor should one expect to find it.

When it comes to the question of whether the Bible speaks directly to scientific matters, Christians are far from united.

Scientific literacy in the ancient world

It would be untrue to say that ancient peoples were scientifically ignorant as the “Bronze Age goat herder” slur would suggest. Ancient Grecians, for instance, proved themselves to be skilled mathematicians and astronomers.  

In his book Universe by Design, Danny Faulkner provides this example:

“More than 2,000 years ago, Eratosthenes, a Greek astronomer living in Alexandria…measured the lengths of the stick and its shadow in Alexandria and used trigonometry to find that the sun made an angle of 7˚ with the zenith, the point directly overhead. Seven degrees is about 1/50 of the circumference of a circle, so Eratosthenes knew that the circumference of the earth was 50 times the distance between the two cities. The answer that he got was within 1% of the correct value.”

Accuracy in biblical manuscripts

As untrue as is the notion that ancient people were entirely ignorant of science, it is equally untrue that biblical authors were inaccurate in all the things they communicated. When sceptics suggest that various elements of the biblical record are legend or mythology, these claims are frequently debunked by archaeology. For instance, the character of King David was widely believed to be a legend until the early 1990s when fragments of the so-called Tel Dan inscription were found by archaeologists which mention a “House of David”.

The prophetic claims of the Bible are also quite difficult to ignore. For example, scholars have been forced to place a late date on the book of Daniel for the primary reason that its prophetic predictions were far too consistent with history to ignore. Numerous other examples could be given. The Bible recorded the existence of the Hittites long before archaeology uncovered that culture and a library of texts, and numerous cities mentioned in the Bible were discovered much later by archaeology.

Even if the Bible was written by goat herders, there is evidence that they were quite intelligent, literate, and able of mind and body.

Christianity and the modern world

The debate between Christianity and science is nothing new. A theory known as the “Conflict Thesis” was developed which seeks to demonstrate that there is legitimate tension between the Church and the Academy. (Dr. Alvin Plantinga argues that the opposite is actually true in his book, Where the Conflict Really Lies, in which he shows how evolutionary naturalism is actually in conflict with science).

Much could be said of Conflict Thesis, but there is an important point that seems to nullify it right out of the gate: early scientific methodology was developed by theistic Muslims (e.g., Ibn al-Haytham) and Christians (e.g., Francis Bacon), flowing directly from their belief that there was order behind the universe, as opposed to ancient theories of chaos.

In The Bible Among the Myths, Dr. John Oswalt explains the turning point:

“It was when the gospel of Jesus, presupposing the Israelite worldview, penetrated into the Greco-Roman world that the stage was set for the combination of the Greek and the Hebrew worldviews in the distinctively Christian way. As a result of that combination there was now an explanation for the Greek intuition of a universe: there is one Creator who has given rise to the universe and in whose creative will it finds its unity. At the same time the Greeks showed the Hebrews the logical implications of their monotheism. In the Hebrew idea of sole creatorship by a transcendent deity there is a basis for the idea that this world is a real one: God has spoken it into existence as an entity separate from himself; it is not merely an emanation of the gods. But the Greeks could show the Hebrews that in this real world there is a linkage of cause and effect that the Hebrews tended to overlook in their emphasis upon the First Cause. Now there is a basis for the law of non-contradiction in the recognition that God is not the world and the world is not God. There is such a thing as truth because the one Creator of the universe is absolutely reliable and faithful to his Word…Then for the first time logic and science began to be worked out in detail. At last logic and science had an understanding of metaphysical reality under them that was fully consistent with them. At the same time the Christendom of the Dark Ages was called back from the bifurcation between heaven and earth that had sprung up from an essentially magical view of faith.”

In this way, atheists who endorse “scientism” (the belief that only the hard sciences provide truth) are biting the hand that fed them. If one is going to claim that Christianity was written by the ignorant, for the ignorant, and logically precludes progress, one must also deny much history to the contrary.

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The beginning and the future

The early chapters of Genesis are the subject of many modern debates. One fact, however, enjoys universal agreement among Christians: God put humanity here to do something. In Genesis 1:28 (CSB), God tells Adam and Eve to:

“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

Throughout the Bible, instructions are given for humans to care for their bodies, other humans, animals, and even plants. In order to care for something properly, however, it must be understood. Science is a tool developed by humans that allows them to gain further understanding of the natural world, and the technological progress that results can be - and has been - used in order to help sustain and conserve life on Earth.

Given the biblical data as well as the facts of history, it would seem that Christianity not only has the worldview resources to make sense of technological and scientific advancement but it could also be argued that the modern world as we know it would simply not be possible without the Christian movement.  

Science and faith in public life

Finally, one must also consider the vocal Christians of the 21st century who not only believe in technological and scientific progress but also help to facilitate it.

Dr. Francis Collins is a prominent Christian who spearheaded the Human Genome Project - the successful effort to map all of the human genes. In his book The Language of God, Collins declares: “The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. He can be worshipped in the cathedral or in the laboratory. His creation is majestic, awesome, intricate, and beautiful.”

Dr. John Lennox is a mathematician, philosopher of science, and a Christian, who has debated some of the world’s most prominent atheists, including Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. He is Professor of Mathematics (Emeritus) at the University of Oxford, Associate Fellow of the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and Emeritus Fellow and Pastoral Adviser of Green Templeton College.

Dr. Stephen Hawking famously claimed, “Heaven is a fairy story created for people who are afraid of the dark.” According to Lennox, though, “Atheism is a fairy story for those who are afraid of the light.”

Dr. Kurt Wise has a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University and is currently director of the Center for Creation Research and Professor of Natural History at Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Georgia. He was trained and awarded his Ph.D. by Stephen J. Gould, a prominent palaeontologist and outspoken anti-creationist of the 20th century. In Faith, Form, and Time, Dr. Wise declares, “The doctrine of the Creator (that God created the physical world so all people everywhere through all time could come to know Him through it) is the foundation for all the presuppositions of science. Science, then, is founded upon presuppositions that are themselves founded on the truth of Scripture - and thus on the nature of God.”

In sum, Christianity is not only consistent with a view toward human progress and technological advancement, but may well be responsible for it.

Jesus Christ was not a “superhuman.” No, he was God, but also the most natural human; a human without sin, who carried out God’s will and intention for mankind. God has given us an amazing world to explore, steward, and subdue. The universe is our playground, and it inspires awe in the child of God.

Far from hindering or eschewing technological progress, thoughtful Christians should promote it and pursue it for the glory of God.

Steve Schramm is an autodidactic writer, Bible teacher and host of the Bible Nerd Podcast. He’s authored four books, including Truth Be Told: A Believer’s Guide to Sharing Christianity, Overcoming Objections, and Winning More Souls for Christ