What is the way forward for Christians in the new technological age?

It sometimes seems the church wants to hold modern tech at arm’s length and yet also embrace its benefits. Hostile, enthusiastic or neutral – what does an authentically Christian posture to technology look like? Inspired by the recent discussion on our podcast Matters of Life and Death: ‘Neo-Luddites or Techno-optimists: Should Christians be pro or anti technology?’

Growing numbers of Christians are alive to the potential dangers of modern digital technology, with fears about the harm caused by social media and smartphones rarely out of the news. At the same time, more and more believers are becoming excited at the possibilities unlocked by tech, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). But can these two positions be reconciled? Can we be simultaneously deeply sceptical about some things pouring out of Silicon Valley and yet enthusiastic about others?

Rejecting technology

There have always been fringe movements of Christianity which have attempted to turn away from modernity and technology. Instead, they feel their faith calls them to reject much that modern life offers and instead return to a simpler way of life, often working the land in a tight-knit community. A classic example would be the Amish, who famously eschew cars or television in favour of horse-drawn carts and building wooden barns by hand. 

Now, some Christians from more mainstream traditions are echoing the concerns expressed by the Amish. There are plenty of believers who do not just control their children’s screen time but refuse to allow any digital devices inside their homes at all. Such concerns may have seemed extreme just a few years ago, but evidence is mounting that ubiquitous social media is behind alarming spikes in mental ill health. It is increasingly commonplace for Christians to be at the forefront of movements seeking to reclaim their lives from the insidious power of the smartphone. A smaller number even seek to go further, seeing contemporary technological capitalism as intrinsically corrosive to faith and trying to withdraw from society at large. 

This movement is sometimes known as neo-Luddism. The original Luddites were industrial textile workers in 19^th century England who violently destroyed early automated factory machinery which they feared would take their jobs and suppress pay. Today, neo-Luddites comprise a disparate collection of voices warning about the onward march of technological progress. 

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The naivety of neo-Luddism

But defining in detail what Christian neo-Luddism could look like is challenging. Clearly, the Christian faith is not implacably opposed to all technology. If technology is what humans make from God’s natural resources in creation, then consistent neo-Luddism would mean rejecting not just smartphones but houses, clothes, and modern medicine, even basic concepts such as the wheel or money. The Amish may live without cars or telephones, but they cannot plough their fields, build their homes or make their clothes without human technology, albeit tech which is centuries old rather than decades. A pre-technological world might seem like a peaceful idyll compared to today’s bewildering and decadent society, but it was also one in which mothers routinely died in childbirth, half of all children failed to live into adulthood, and whole generations were wiped out by diseases easily treated by modern antibiotics. 

As well as not romanticising the world before our industrial and technological age began, Christians tempted by neo-Luddism should also reflect on their own history. Since the age of the apostles, the church has often not merely tolerated existing technology but embraced new forms. The early believers famously accelerated the shift from scrolls to the new form of the book with their voracious desire for written material. The Reformers were spurred on by the power of the printing press. Christians must, therefore, become more sophisticated in their critique of modern technology, which cannot simply be dismissed as bad because it is technology. 

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The dead-end of techno-optimism

However, the other end of the spectrum seems equally unwise. Uncritically adopting everything spewed out by the international mega corporations which dominate today’s economy is clearly a hiding to nothing. The values of Christianity do not neatly line up with the values of Meta, Google or Amazon, companies focused on distracting and addicting us to as many of their services and products as possible, all so that they can sell as many adverts and subscriptions as possible. 

Some have suggested that science and technology are ways in which humankind can fulfil its creation mandate to subdue the earth and bring forth its potential. In this vision, the enormous material prosperity and huge strides we have made in creating abundance and well-being for more people than ever before is a marker of our progress towards ushering in God’s eternal promises. 

But there is a counter-narrative to his sunny outlook. Scripture does indeed have prophetic themes of the deserts bursting into life as God’s kingdom of bounty and blessing approaches. But there are also apocalyptic strains, which foresee crises, chaos, wars, famine and disease as the ‘last days’ draw closer. Christians have often disagreed strongly over how to interpret the Bible’s teaching on these end times, but many argue this is little reason to presume things will continue getting better and better before Christ’s second coming. Yes, modern technology may have lifted billions out of poverty, but it also fired the two most destructive and deadly wars in human history. Our God-given ingenuity allowed us to split the atom and unlock fresh bounty from God’s created order. With this new power, we created both clean energy and the nuclear bomb. What we will do with our 21st (or even 22nd) Century inventions remains to be seen.

Finding a middle ground

It is fine to be excited at what AI might be able to achieve for churches, enthused about space rockets, or push for unlimited, clean energy thanks to the solar panel revolution. But technology is not truly neutral. It is not intrinsically bad or intrinsically good, but it is a form of power. It is about mastery of the environment, the natural resources God baked into his creation. Different technologies are not solely impartial tools in the hands of their users, they subtly shape those who deploy them in different ways. Technologies can either enhance or diminish our humanity; they can seek to allow us to master others or become mastered by the tech itself. A naïve techno-optimism which cheerleads for the libertarian capitalists leading our current industrial revolution seems sub-Christian at best. 

Instead, is there perhaps a third way? Can we celebrate the extraordinary potential God has blessed us with through his creation and the extraordinary brains he gave us to tap into it? Rather than lapse into the pessimism of the neo-Luddite and seek solely to restrain and constrain our potential, we could focus on regulating the power unleashed by new advances. Perhaps the answer is not to forsake modernity nor embrace the free market unchecked but to impose democratic oversight for the common good. To carefully weigh each new piece of technology and consider if it honours the image of God in us or obscures it before we decide whether to use it or not.

Tim Wyatt is a freelance journalist and co-host of Matters of Life & Death.