THE INVENTIONS OF MAN: Rethinking Technology 17 SEPT 2017

It’s often been said that one needs to know oneself, and by extension know one’s world. Indeed, Christ said the truth would set you free. Does the modern world ever stop to think about the consequences of the new technology that is inundating us so quickly??… so quickly that in 1970, the term “future shock” (which means “too much change in too short a period of time”) had to be invented to warn us about what was happening. There are many fundamental flaws in the modern thinking that believes that all new technology is both good and neutral. Numerous times Scripture warns that inventions can be evil.(A) At one pt. we read the people were defiled by “their own works” and “went a whoring [spiritually] with their own inventions.”(B)

DECLINE IN LIFE. Not all life is declining; this summer I have watched impressive monumental ant hills in the desert & large populations of cock roaches and realized that some forms of life continue to thrive. On the other hand, I have been aware of many people who found themselves with cancer, dementia & other debilitating and lethal sicknesses. All over the world, ecosystems are becoming toxic & dying. Non-toxic fish to eat is getting harder to find. Non-GMO products are getting harder to buy. Sugar is a pervasive additive in all our food, and in many other products like toothpaste. Alzheimers & dementia are a result of the brain not being able to process glucose (sugar)–in other words, the brain, which has its own process for using glucose, if it becomes diabetic, then that brain quits functioning (Alzheimers). Long story short, in general we see a decline in life everywhere. Science over the last few centuries brought our understanding of God’s creation into better focus, so now we know the specifics of the decline of life on planet earth. “The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath He established the heavens.”(C) The attitudes and values behind many modern inventions are a direct affront to what God has created and who He is.

INCREASINGLY VULNERABLE TO TECHNOLOGY. One area of concern, which is not being addressed, are the effects of computers (games & the Internet) on the millennial generation. One end result of all this that I note, is that today’s millennial generation have an attitude to base their actions on “what fits-in” and “what goes with the flow”. The concept of right & wrong and moral standards has often disappeared. I have watched them get excited from computer games that present pseudo life or death situations, which allow them to block out the pressures & realities of real life. Two people, or a person and God must develop a genuine relationship. To be successful, one must leave off manipulation. While in a computer game “relationships” are merely manipulation & control; in other words, computer games are fundamentally different than real life. Life is not repetitive like machines and computer programs, but is far more complex & ever changing. So the long term effects of computers is to radically alter the perceptions of the youth to embrace a false artificial reality…while not realizing it. For instance, winning in a computer game is totally divorced from reality.

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE. While the Word of God teaches us that there are many unknowables about life, which have to be taken on faith in God, our commitment to serve our Creator is grounded in our freedom that the truth has given us. On the flip side, today’s generation which has decided that objective truth does not exist, and which spends vast amounts of time in front of some screen, in general is not committed to serving their creator and fellow man, & is not grounding their lives in the freedom of truth. But rather, they are becoming addicted to flashing screens that given them a mental dopamine rush. That contrast between addiction vs. commitment to a higher purpose is a dangerous contrast for this new generation. We are seeing the transformation of western society. I think of the various mind-sets of people…nomadic gypsy culture…industrious Germans, or intuitive natives…and now we have a culture of screen addicts hooked on man-made false realities. To rephrase all this, Christians base their lives on truth, which gives them freedom–so their foundation to their acts is freedom. The millennials who are not Christians do not base their lives on truth, which means they have no foundation of freedom—and this is obvious because their foundation is an addiction to screen-induced dopamine rushes.

FINAL THOUGHTS. I prefer to keep these warning thoughts short. The whole subject of the undesired, unexpected dangers of technology adopted without foresight and godly wisdom could take an entire book. Christ’s wisdom is the “light of life”!(D) Yes, get that…the “light of LIFE”! What kind of light is the man-made light of TV and computer screens? Definitely not the light of life! If I have given you pause to reflect on things, then this short post has done its job. The lack of foresight by modern man of his willy-nilly adoption of new technology is already beginning to show itself. This proves just once more that man without God is a danger to himself.

(A) Examples incl. ROM 1:30, PS 99:8, 106:29, 39 and many other verses. (B) PS 106:39 (C) PRV 3:19 (D) JN 8:12