The Christian and Technology

If any one thing had to be selected to characterise our time, the rapid advance of technology would have to be high on the list. The touch screen is everywhere: in our pockets, on our desks and inevitably in our homes. Children seem to take to touch screens naturally, accelerating their use in every part of life. All this is not without advantages—rapid communication, easy contact between family members almost anywhere in the world, online shopping made convenient. But no-one can afford to ignore the danger signs, including the rapid spread of pornography across a wide age range, resulting in the sexualisation of young children. These things are in one sense the tip of the iceberg: there are measurable declines in true literacy and a decreasing ability to take in information that is not on the screen, or that moves away from ‘snippets’ and ‘sound bites’ and quickly accessible videos. And why do major Silicon Valley personalities who are producing these devices limit their use in their own families? John Fesko tackles the essential question: what is the Christian response to all this? As he says, ‘In the end, we need not flee from technology but we must understand it in order to use it well. One of the primary themes of this book is encouraging us to look past technology and dig into our own hearts. It encourages us to ask whether Christ so fills us that nothing else can drag us away from him.’

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