From Reflection to Reflection: Towards a Thoughtful Relationship between Church, Culture, and Modern Technology Having just come through the Christmas season, most of us have seen at least one depiction of the Nativity, those familiar figures gathered around the infant Jesus, swaddled and laying in a manger. The act of nestling the new-born Messiah in a feeding trough seems like a desperate act of necessity, yet it also places the Christchild at the centre of our relationship with technologies, both familiar and unfamiliar. The manger might be a simple technological tool, almost unrecognizable as such next to the complexities of modern computers and communication systems. Yet it, like an iPhone or a digital projector, is a technology. Dr. Craig M. Gay defines technology as “the systematic application of [human] knowledge, methods, and tools to various practical tasks.” This robust definition covers a wide range of human behaviours which seek to make our work more efficient, our communication more effective, and our time less mired in repetitive tasks. Our desire for technological solutions to the challenges of life pushes us towards the automation and mechanization that continue to transform most sectors of the economy around us, a process which has only gained speed and momentum in recent centuries. Yet the onrushing current of technological development and its effects on how we see and interact with the world ought to give us reason to pause as Christian leaders. To what degree do we as the body of Christ merely reflect the technologically-driven culture around us. How easily should we rest in the cradle of the modern technological mindset? As Gay writes, the modern technological 6
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worldview that surrounds us is rooted in historical factors that have contributed to the way in which we inherently see the world today. The world appears to us as a series of components to be identified, broken down, and used for our selfdetermined purposes. Consequently, we see only a world of resources; natural resources, economic resources, human resources. We are trained to think as problem solvers, identifying first problems and then solutions, and then leveraging the resources around us to achieve our desired results. Is it possible that this kind of self-centred way of seeing the world might infect how we also see God? Could spending the majority of our weeks in workplaces that reduce employees down to interchangeable functionaries with limited individual value affect the way we gather on Sunday for worship, or how we ourselves work together? Alternatively, could the way we live in community in the church offer a better, more accurate narrative of what it means to be human than the automated systems and digital advertising that flicker across our screens? We often evaluate new technologies by asking one or more of the following questions. Can we afford the investment? Does it suit our tastes? Are we out-oftouch if we don’t adopt it? Does it help us to meet our goals? As we seek how to best follow God in a culture that relentlessly chases the next big thing, I would humbly offer two reflective questions to consider. First, does the technology in question help us to better honor God’s creative majesty by taking our focus off of ourselves and placing it on him and his desires for us? Secondly, does the technology in question
by Andrew Sutherland, ‘20 help us to better follow Christ’s obedient humanity, marked by compassion, authenticity, vulnerability, and selfless love? These open us up to reflecting on culture, rather than just reflecting it. Consider a proposal to replace traditional hymnals with a projection system. In considering how this affects our relationship with God in worship, one might investigate the effects of shifting from individually-held books to a single communal screen. The conclusions we draw might reveal our views concerning the nature and importance of unity in worship. Or perhaps a community might wrestle with replacing one binding (and bound) canon of hymns with the flexibility and need for discernment that come with being able to project any desired lyric. Which option reflects Christ more clearly? It is entirely possible, perhaps even guaranteed, that two congregations may arrive at different answers to these questions. And in their different contexts, each might make a different choice that responds faithfully to the Spirit’s leading. Yet what remains constant is the need for faith communities to discern how technologies around and within our congregations shape our perspectives and attitudes concerning God and others. As we have these conversations, we might begin to offer the people around us an approach to technology that centres us, once again, on the Messiah’s presence.
Andrew Sutherland is a third-year Master of Divinity student at Acadia Divinity College.
