“You Shall Be Like God”: Technology from Sub-creation to Displacing the Creator Part 4
How Should We View Technology?
Due to the many technological innovations of the past century plus, we have come to expect that we can find technology to accomplish whatever we wish. Many times, I have joked: “Let there be light” when turning on a light switch. However, we do tend to think that we can find a technical solution to any problem, be it traveling in space to healing every disease. However, now we seek to use technology to create new realities.
Fields Devoted to Creating New Realities
In recent decades, the field of biological engineering, or bioengineering has arisen. This is a wide and diverse field which includes genetically altering lifeforms to creating various forms of prosthetics. In some ways, these are things mankind has been doing since the dawn of time. The ancient practices of selective breeding and cross-pollination can be seen as forms of genetic alteration. Likewise, the simple peg-leg is really an early prosthetic limb. What has changed is that we are now working to accomplish these types of changes in more advanced ways.
However, I cannot help but wonder what we should do we do with Lev 19:19? “You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.” It is easy to write this off as OT ceremonial law, but what is the principle behind it? There is clearly a message about keeping God’s people separate from the pagan nations. However, we might also wonder if we should respect the limits of God’s created “Kinds.”
Arising out of Bioengineering is the theory of transhumanism. Behind this is the idea that we can and should transcend our present limitations to create a new stage of humanity. This is founded on the theory of Darwinian evolution; however, the idea is that we have now progressed to the point where we can guide our own evolution. Some seek to do this much like the old The Six Million Dollar Man show, where through technological prosthetics, he was given superhuman abilities. More recently, there is the move to alter genetics to give superior powers to some. Others seek to do this through attempting to upload their consciousness into the internet so that it can live on after their bodies die.
Behind this, it seems clear, that there is a desire to take over the Creator’s role. This is certainly intended to move our own development forward as we see fit. For many, this includes the desire for immortality. In essence, trying to undo the curse. What is curious, is that in Genesis 3, mankind was barred from the Tree of Life in order to prevent our living on forever in this fallen world, yet this is what the transhumanist seeks.
Somewhat related to transhumanism, but more attainable, at least in appearances, is transgenderism. Rather than trying to live on forever, transgenderism is about allowing us to define what we are not by physical reality, but by our image of ourselves. This movement clearly rejects God’s role as creator and essentially accuses God of making a mistake by creating one in the “wrong” gender.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has been making the news a lot in the last few years. In many ways, AI is already being used to help analyze things in areas like medicine and even law. The development of the Large Language model AI, such as ChatGPT, presents provocative promise, as it is even able to write papers that are original and can be tailored to a specific voice or style. I understand that it is even able to write a Lutheran sermon.[1]
With AI, there is a fear of it becoming sentient, which is called the Singularity. The fear is that it will take over the world in fashion like Skynet or the Avenger’s Ultron. Some philosophers have even argued that when this happens, as humans our best course of action is to treat the new sentient AI as a god. Now, this very advice gives us a good insight as to how it should be viewed from a biblical perspective, as this is really idolatry!
How Should a Christian Respond?
The question that is before us, is what do we, as Christians, do? Do we take, in the spirit of Rod Dreher, take “The Benedict Option,”[2] or in this case, more of what we could call “The Amish Option?” The Amish Option would be to separate ourselves from the larger society and make a hard line as to what technologies we use and what we reject. It is a mistake to say that the Amish reject all technology; the horse and buggy is a technology after all. Here, I think we can learn from the Amish, as they deliberately chose to reject the forms of technology that they believed were undermining their families and faith.
The problem is that the Amish Option seems to permanently relegate the Church to the fringes of society, and most importantly, all but negate our ability to share the Gospel with others. Beyond that, we also have to wonder how well we could love our neighbors if we have essentially opted out of society.
On the other extreme is a full and complete embrace of all technological advances without any real consideration as to what their effects are. This course could lead us to allow the world and its philosophies to rule us. As Jesus warned: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
Between these two extremes lies a vast array of possibilities, but we also need to forge some principles to help guide us in using them.
Some Proposed Guidelines in the Use of Technology
The first, and most basic guideline has to be found in the 1st Commandment. No matter what the technology is, if we are putting our fear, love, and trust in anything above God, then we are in the wrong.
The second principle can best be called the sub-creator vs. substitute creator. Are we using this technology under God as stewards of His creation and to give Him glory, or are we trying to usurp some aspect of His role as The Creator?
The third principle that I suggest is that of the love of neighbor. We need to take a serious look at how each technology can be used to help and harm our neighbor and choose only the former. Of course, any technology can be used to bring harm. Consider how the knife can be used to cook a nourishing meal, or to slit or neighbor’s throat. While technology is often seen as a neutral in this way, depending on how we use it, the reality is that technologies change us. As Neil Postman observed in Amusing Ourselves to Death, technologies from the printing press to television have changed us and how we think.[3] Very often, this aspect of technology is not carefully thought about.
Today some consider 2007 to be a key turning point in human history on the same level of the invention of the printing press. Do you know what happened in 2007? Apple unveiled the first iPhone. At that time, people were talking about the advancements that it represented and the almost unlimited possibilities it opened up. However, today many are aware of the addictive nature of the smartphone. The problem is, we became addicted to this technology before we even realized it could be addictive.
All of this means that we should neither reject nor uncritically embrace technologies. We also need to move slowly, working to put up cautions. The famous quote from Jurassic Park should stand as a warning to us: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” Ultimately, one of the roles of the Church must be to advise whether we should create and use something or not, and if so, how.
[1] For the record, I have never tried this.
[2] Rod Dreher, The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation (New York: Sentinel, 2017).
[3] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, 20th anniversary ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 2006).