It is logical to preface this series with some thoughts on worldview. For the record, a worldview is a framework by which we guide our ethics, our morality, and eventually, our actions. The question of what constitutes a biblical approach to technology requires a worldview that accepts a few basic postulations. These are as follows:
That the Bible constitutes the foundation for this worldview and is therefore treated as inerrant and absolute in its message although at times subjective in its contextualization or application.
That the Bible is capable of teaching a worldview that adapts to technological advances.
That a consistent approach to interpreting Scripture is necessary to arrive at correct interpretations of this worldview.
I will be using the inductive Bible study method for segments where I reference Scripture. You can read about it here: http://www.intothyword.org/pages.asp?pageid=53489
So here we are, talking worldview. How is this relevant going forward? Well, to begin with, we need to realize that in adopting a worldview we are accepting the idea of universal absolutes. If we dare to say, "Thing A is true" than we are also saying that "Thing B, which is opposite to Thing A, is NOT true." To say that "Things A and B, which affirm opposite statements of the truth, are BOTH true" is to speak the language of paradox and not of reason, or in other words, gibberish. Something cannot be completely true and completely false at the same time, and thus absolutes do exist. The trick, of course, is in finding them!
The second realization that we need to have is that absolute truth must then be applied to individual situations, so we have to understand how take The Big Idea and see in what way our current problem/situation/emergency/question/et cetera fits into the Big Idea. For example, God told David to attack the Philistines, but that doesn't mean that that's what He wants you to do on your Jerusalem tour this next summer (if you can even find yourself some Philistines, in which case a book deal and a lot of money are probably in your future). However, the Bible teaches that demon worship (which was practiced by the Philistines) is condemned by God in a universal way. It is ALWAYs wrong, it is ALWAYS to be rejected and resisted. It will ALWAYS result in death of a spiritual and usually physical kind.
The question that the Christian poses, then, is: "How do I know when to apply the Bible literally and when to abstract a biblical concept and then distill it into practical actions?" We'll talk about that question quite a bit in this series of posts, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew right now...this is already getting long! To close today's post, I just want to clarify what I am NOT going to do in this series:
I am not going to cover every possible scenario or question related to the intersection of technology and Christian theology.
I am not going to produce a perfect work. I've never done anything perfectly in my life!
I am not going to write a theological dissertation. I will try to be faithful, accurate, and concise in my use of Scripture; I will not try nor claim to be exhaustive.
I will not make the mistake of assuming that I am an expert. I'm just thinking and praying things through and hope you enjoy doing so with me!
So, there it is, our first foray into this question of what biblical theology can tell us about technology. I'm excited and I hope you are, too! Until next time, God's blessings on you and yours,
The Husband
Coming next week: Quid veritas est?
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