How Expertise Suits into God’s Story

Because the starting, Logos has existed to use advances in data know-how to the Bible for the nice of the church (and by extension, the world)—and we’ve typically led the best way in doing so (e.g., as one of many earliest adopters of Unicode for multilingual textual content show).

We’ve expressed that mission in several methods through the years—at one level with the tagline “superior know-how for everlasting reality.” However at its core, our mission hasn’t modified. At the moment we seize it on this assertion, which we crafted in 2016: Our mission is to

use know-how to equip the church to develop within the mild of the Bible.

This mission is comprised of 4 major parts:

• Expertise as a software
• The Bible because the centerpiece
• The church because the consumer
• Progress because the aim

On this article, I need to deal with the primary on this listing—know-how—explaining each why and the way it options so prominently in Logos’s mission. I’ll do that by grounding our convictions within the storyline of Scripture and, by means of it, what the Bible teaches about God, humanity, redemption, the mission of the church, and the brand new creation. In doing so, we’ll lay a theological framework for correctly making use of know-how in addition to avoiding and being conscious of its abuses.

The etymological origin behind our fashionable English phrase know-how pertains to know-how as the sensible software of ability.

For the needs of this text, we’ll undertake the Concise Oxford English Dictionary’s definition. It defines know-how as “the appliance of scientific information for sensible functions.”

The Bible gives no chapter-and-verse that immediately tells us what to consider about know-how. Nonetheless, as we’ll discover, the theological ideas that undergird it are woven all through the Bible’s overarching creation-to-new-creation storyline. Let’s briefly survey this thread in an effort to ascertain a theological framework for know-how’s acceptable use, together with guardrails towards its abuse.

Creation: the institution of know-how

The theological basis of know-how is rooted within the picture of God (Gen 1:26–27; 5:1–2; 9:6) and the creation mandate (Gen 1:28–30; 2:15; Ps 8:5–8). It’s wrapped up within the ideas of humanity as his image-bearers, representatives of God’s authority, creativity, and care by means of the creation mandate.

Because the everlasting and infinitely skillful designer and Creator of the universe and all that’s in it, Yahweh owns, guidelines over, and cares for all that he has made. He created Adam and Eve in his picture and likeness and appointed them to characterize him on the earth. They have been to train their derived authority and imitate his ingenuity by exerting dominion, bringing order and stewarding creation in partnership with him (cf. 1 Cor 3:9). God calls humanity to make use of their divine-like and divinely given intelligence and ability to fill, subdue, rule over, work, and watch over the created order (Gen 1:26, 28; 2:15)—in a manner that displays Yahweh’s possession, authority, and gracious take care of his good creation, particularly for many who are in his picture.

So the muse of know-how is the infinitely masterful ability, sovereign authority, and loving care of the Creator. Technological improvement is the artistic outworking of this God-given and godlike knowledge and ability, rooted in each an indicative (i.e., who we’re, God’s picture and representatives) and crucial (i.e., the creation mandate to subdue, rule, and watch over creation). Because of this, technological improvement is each unavoidable—we are able to’t not be who we’re—and an ethical obligation given to us by our Creator.

Fall: the sinful distortion of know-how

However using know-how, like every thing else, plunged into spoil on the fall and its curse (Gen 3:1–19).

Whereas we have been made like God and made to replicate God, we’re not God. The creature isn’t the Creator. Once we get that flawed, using our ability and creativity runs amok.

• We try and be like God in methods which might be uniquely his.
• As a substitute of glorifying him by pointing others to him, we usurp him and set ourselves up as his rival.
• In our blindness, we set up our personal authority and deny our dependence on him and his provision.
• As a substitute of utilizing know-how to do good, we use it to pursue our egocentric targets, and because of this hurt others.

Tragedy in Eden

The serpent deceptively promised Eve that she’d be like God—however in ways in which weren’t appropriate together with his authority and provision (Gen 3:5; cf. vv. 22–24). Since that dreadful day, our godlikeness (1:26–27) and dominion (1:28–30) have been repeatedly distorted and utilized in ways in which don’t honor his authority and provision because the everlasting, infinite, distinctive Creator, superb sovereign, and omni-benevolent giver.

In a way, a lot of our technological pursuit is an try to shut the hole between the finite and the infinite; that’s, it’s an try and be and turn out to be godlike—exercising godlike attributes and imitating our Creator’s artistic genius to result in new issues. Think about the know-how that you just depend on each day.

1. Vehicles, air journey, telecommunication, video conferencing, digital and augmented actuality, and area journey all try to shut an omnipresence deficiency.
2. Equipment, drugs, robots, and genetic engineering are methods of lowering our lack of omnipotence.
3. Digital storage, huge information and analytics, vector embeddings and semantic search, giant language fashions and generative AI, machine translation, and brain-computer interfaces purpose to assist us with our lack of omniscience.
4. Humanity has additionally been on an infinite quest to reside ceaselessly, to attain eternality.

None of those is inherently evil, as long as they’re exercised underneath the authority of and in humble dependence on the availability of the everlasting, infinite Creator and used within the service of our neighbor (Lev 19:18). However they’re all ripe for the fallen human coronary heart to vie for authority, information, and energy that belong to God alone and to pervert for egocentric ends that hurt others.

Rebel at Babel

The story of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1–9) illustrates one of many risks of know-how in a fallen world—when it’s within the flawed arms and used for the flawed functions. The sin of Babel was the pursuit of human glory reasonably than God’s: “Come, allow us to construct ourselves a metropolis, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, in order that we might make a reputation for ourselves, in any other case we shall be scattered over the face of the entire earth” (Gen 11:4 NIV). It was additionally the refusal to obey God’s command to fill the earth (Gen 1:28; 9:1). Humanity was created to replicate God’s glory (Col 1:16; cf. Ps 19:1; Rom 8:29; 11:36) to the ends of the earth—to not set up its personal.

Hubris with Uzziah

The English phrase know-how doesn’t happen in any English Bible translations, however it’s used as soon as in The Message paraphrase of 2 Chronicles 26:11–15, the place King Uzziah put in “the newest in navy know-how on the towers and corners of Jerusalem for taking pictures arrows and hurling stones” (emphasis added).

Nevertheless, commenting on Uzziah and his navy know-how, the textual content continues, “His fame unfold far and broad, for he was drastically helped till he grew to become highly effective. However after Uzziah grew to become highly effective, his pleasure led to his downfall. He was untrue to the Lord his God” (vv. 15–16 NIV, emphasis added; see additionally 20–21). Expertise can deliver energy and fame, which might deliver pleasure, autonomy, self-sufficiency, and rebel, leading to God’s judgment.

Eden, Babel, and Uzziah all present us with warnings we have to be cautious to heed: Expertise have to be utilized underneath God’s sovereign authority for his good functions and nice glory.

Cross: the redemption of know-how

The incarnation, life, demise, and resurrection of Jesus are God’s everlasting reply (Acts 2:23; 4:28; 1 Pet 1:20; cf. Eph 1:4) to the perversion of his good design for humanity and the items and tasks he gave them. By demise, resurrection, and union with Jesus (Rom 8:29; 1 Cor 15:49; 2 Cor 3:18; Col 3:11), the Picture of God (2 Cor 4:4), God restores the picture that was marred. Because of this, all of his renewed image-bearers can as soon as once more serve their unique function of being tips to their preeminent older brother (Rom 8:29; cf. Col 1:15, 18).

New creation has damaged into the current age (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15), and God has begun to ascertain his already-but-not-yet kingdom. In the direction of this finish, he makes use of his church—and their redeemed use of know-how—to advance the Nice Fee (Matt 28:16–20) as he reclaims all of the nations as his inheritance (Gen 12:3; Pss 2:8; 82:8; cf. Heb 1:2) and builds his multi-ethnic church from each tribe, language, folks, and nation (Rev 5:9; 7:9).

On this new covenant period, the mark of God’s folks is religion working by means of love (John 13:35; Gal 5:6)—a radical sort of love, the love of Jesus (John 13:34; 15:12), of not simply neighbor however enemy (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35). The cross recalibrates our software of know-how within the service of advancing God’s saving message of self-sacrificial like to all of the nations.

We apply know-how rightly solely once we achieve this underneath the authority of King Jesus (Matt 28:18; John 17:2) and in service of the development of his gospel and kingdom.

New creation: the restoration of know-how

The Christian hope is anchored in God’s promise to ascertain his everlasting kingdom (Rev 11:15). Scripture describes this as a brand new heaven and earth (2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1) marked by righteousness and peace (Isa 9:7; Rom 14:17), the place sin, struggling, sorrow, demise, and Devil have been lastly and totally defeated and eradicated. On this holy celestial metropolis (Rev 21:2, 10; 22:19), heaven and earth unite and God once more dwells together with his creatures in intimate, infinite fellowship. We are going to ultimately totally reside out what it means to be God’s picture, reflecting his glory, as we train artistic dominion in partnership with him (Matt 19:28; Rev 2:26–28; 3:21; cf. Eph 2:6) in a manner that exalts him because the thrice-holy triune Creator (Rev 4:8; cf. Isa 6:3).

Utility: the correct use of know-how

As we reside on this fallen world between Eden and Zion, the risks of technological abuse stay as ominous because the alternatives for good are thrilling. The duty of rigorously making use of know-how in our ever-changing contexts requires knowledge, humility, dependence on God, and radical, selfless love.

Avoiding all technological advances isn’t the reply. Neither is carelessly embracing the newest fad with out a strong biblical and theological framework. We should chart a path that avoids each extremes, neither lacking the alternatives to redeem the time (Eph 5:16; Col 4:5; cf. John 5:17; 9:4) and strategically advance God’s good functions nor inadvertently enjoying into the arms of the evil one who steals, kills, and destroys (John 10:10).

Subsequently, as we stroll away from this temporary high-level survey of the Bible’s good-news storyline, we are able to synthesize its insights into the next theological themes. As we’ve traced the place of know-how inside the story of Scripture, we’ve noticed:

1. Yahweh is the infinite Creator, and we’re finite creatures, made in his picture and commissioned to characterize him.
2. Technological advance isn’t non-obligatory, however a part of the compulsory outworking of the picture of God and the creation mandate.
3. We innovate rightly solely once we humbly imitate God, level others to him, and function as stewards underneath his authority, in alignment together with his good functions and in dependence on his provision.
4. The autumn of humankind into sinful rebel towards God has resulted in circumstances ripe for the misuse of know-how, and we should continuously be on guard towards its use for evil—even within the arms of his redeemed.
5. Within the demise and resurrection of Jesus we discover the answer to utilizing know-how for God’s good functions: loving neighbor and enemy and making disciples of the nations.
6. The church, because the redeemed, should be on the forefront of technological innovation, main the best way in its proper software to the achievement of the Nice Fee, the nice of humanity, and the glory of God.

These truths have guided Logos for the previous thirty-three years as we leverage advances in data know-how for the nice of the church and the glory of God. We stay dedicated to doing the identical with generative AI and no matter comes subsequent in our quickly altering world.

For extra on a theology of know-how, take into account Phil Gons’s suggestions

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