The Gospel and Technology

To some folks, talk of the Gospel conjures up visions of tight ties on hot Sundays in stuffy churches with creaky floors. It’s the smell of worn hymnals filled with obscure music no one likes and long sermons thundered by angry people. It’s lists of what you shouldn’t ever do or what you should’ve already done. This kind of religion offers the illusion of control by life.

Technology, on the other hand, manipulates invisible ones and zeros. Bright screens mimic reality dumping us into a sea of information undrinkable in a dozen life-times. Hold palmed box to face and talk around the world or, sip coffee while seated in a chair that races through sub frozen air 6 miles high. Technology offers the illusion of control over life.

We know, of course, that neither religion nor technology defines real life. With Jesus, the author of life, ashes turn to flowers. Mourners rejoice. Captives go free. Where despair ruled, hope blossoms. Where death reigned, life flourishes. The truth is that the good news is so good that we dare not keep it to ourselves. We’re compelled to share. We’re commanded to tell everyone, everywhere.

Unfortunately, in some cases, “you can’t get there from here.” Obstacles block the way. Jungles swallow. Mountains hide. Desserts isolate. Human institutions sequester the very ones they’re charged to nurture. In those instances, God provides tools to bridge barriers and technology to tunnel firewalls. Airplanes turn days on trails into minutes in seats. Radios span distance. Computers train where teacher can’t go and student can’t reach.

Technology isn’t the only tool in the Church’s box. Speaking the truth on street corners and passing out paper tracts often fills the need. But, for those folks hidden in the planet’s forgotten corners, technology can be the perfect instrument in the Master’s hand.