developing a theology of technology
TRANSCRIPT
Andrew Sears
President, City Vision University
Director, Master’s in Technology and Ministry
How Can Theology of Technology
Better Prepare Christians for Ministry?
Key Questions in Developing a
Theology of Technology
1. What are the needs we are trying to address
with a Theology of Technology?
2. Who are the audiences for a Theology of
Technology?
3. What are our goals with different audiences?
4. What are the disciplines and traditions that a
Theology of Technology can learn from?
5. Given these answers, what is the best
approach in developing a Theology of
Technology?
RuralUrba
nOnline/
Digital
Agricultural Industrial Information
The Need: Macro-Historical Trends Create a Need for
New Focus Areas of Applied Theology
Technology Influenced Megatrends:
Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities Threats
Growth in diversity Growth in deviance
Many options/connections Shallow focus &
relationships
More information More temptation
Less global poverty More domestic inequality
Decreased autocracy Decreased accountability
Increased specialization Holistic church
decrease
Megachurch network growth Wal-Mart effect on Churches
Increased Gospel access Increased access to evil
Increased Capacity for
Good
Increased Capacity for Evil
System Making
Christians Globally
(in a tech world)
Tech Christians Globally
Tech Christians in U.S.
Tech Christians in
Christian Orgs
Professional Tech
Ministers
• 77,500 full-time IT
staff
• $12.5 Billion IT
Budget
• 6.3 million
Christians in
STEM jobs
(71% in computing)
• 50-100 million Christians
in STEM jobs
Audiences for Theology of Technology
Christianity
(Following Jesus)
Theology, Culture,
Paradigms, Deep Wounds,
(Spiritual Strongholds)
Nurture (Family)
Thoughts/Emotions, Habits,
Nature: Biochemical
Social
Behaviors
MTM Program: Using Theology of Technology as
a Foundation to Prepare Future Tech Ministers
Theology of Technology(Christian worldview for a tech-driven world)
Audience, Pedagogy
& Goals
EmergingMedia
Ministry
Tech & Addiction
Theology of Work
Business &
NonprofitSkills
Tech & the Poor
Sub
ject
sA
ppli
cati
on
Theology of Tech
Theology
(general)
Science &
Religion
Theology of Work
MediaEcology
Principles
1. Theology of Technology currently
borrows primarily from 4 disciplines
2. Theology of Technology needs to
lay foundation of a coherent
worldview using sub-disciplines
emerging in the information age
Q1 Personal: Nurture
(internal-individual: I/mind)
Q2: Physical: Nature
(external-individual: it/body)
Q3: Cultural
(interior collective, we)
Q4: Societal
(exterior collective, they)
• Theology of Technology (current)
• Media Ministry
• Media Ecology
• Theology (majority world)
• Political Ethics of Science & Tech
• Creative Arts
• Theology of Work
• Technology & the Poor
• Social Entrepreneurship/Nonprofit
Management
• Business/ BAM/Marketplace Ministry
• Sociology & Social Psychology
• Technology Policy
• Social Sciences
• Technology & Addiction
• Counseling & Recovery
• Theology (traditional Western)
• Morality of Technology
• Personal Psychology of Technology
• Humanities
• Media Nutrition
• Systems Thinking
• Science & Religion
• Strategic Foresight/Future Studies
• Biochemistry of Tech Use
• Science
• Applied Sciences
Emerging Sub-Disciplines (causes & paradigms)In
div
idu
al
Co
llecti
ve
Internal External
Technology Advances
Make Things Easier to Do
• Pornography, Drugs, Sex
• All Addictions
• Opportunities for the Gospel
Christianity
(Following Jesus)
Q1: Tech Addiction Recovery
Q2: Media Nutrition
Q3: Christian Media Ecology
Q4: Tech Tools, Rules & Policies
Q1: Nurture (Family)
Q2: Nature (Biochemical)
Q3: Cultural
Q4: Social Systems
The Greatest Threat to the Body of
Christ…is the pervasive,
destructive pornography available
through the Internet.
- Josh McDowell
Choosing Paradigms & Metaphors
Sugary Media(Empty
Entertainment)
Neutral Media
Media for Growth
In-person Relationships
(Bible, Christian content/music, education, work)
(some music, games,
news, social media)
(Love God + Love Others + Sabbath)
Fresh Fruit
and Vegetables
Cheap Empty Calories
(bread, rice, potatoes)
Dessert
Exercise
Toxic or
Addictive
Media
Stop!
Media Nutrition Pyramid
Television Fast Food
=
Computer Supermarket
Tablet/Smartphone Convenience Store/Daily Trips
=
=
Media Type & Devices Influence Availability
of Healthy Media
Media Nutrition Log
Conclusions: Theology of Technology should…
1. Provide a helpful theological framework for
Christians in a technology-driven world
2. Be able to address needs of different
audiences
3. Build on wisdom of key related disciplines
4. Provide a foundation for new sub-
disciplines emerging to prepare Christians in
a technology-driven world
For More Information This presentation on Slideshare: http://goo.gl/W6DcYO
Master’s in Technology and Ministry Videos
◦ http://www.cityvision.edu/mtm
◦ Theology of Technology
◦ Technology Cross-Cultural Ministry & the Poor
◦ Theology of Work in the STEM Professions
◦ Emerging Media Ministry
◦ Technology & Social Entrepreneurship
◦ Technology and Addiction
Dissertation: “Disruptive Innovation in Christian Higher Education”◦ Full Dissertation: goo.gl/nzkhRP
◦ Slideshare: http://goo.gl/UOjpLK
◦ YouTube Playlist: http://goo.gl/6Wptak (will soon include this talk)
◦ Bibliography: https://www.zotero.org/andrewsears/items
Contact◦ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/andrewsears
◦ [email protected] 617-282-9798 x101
Q & A
Are these the right questions? What other
questions should we be asking?
Are these helpful answers and conclusions?
What else would people add?
Appendix
Christianity
(Following Jesus)
Theology, Culture,
Paradigms, Deep Wounds,
(Spiritual Strongholds)
Thoughts, Emotions,
Habits, Family, Social,
Biochemical
Behaviors
Jesus
Christian Social SectorAGRM, CCDA, Salvation Army,
Teen Challenge, UYWI, World Vision
Job BoardsInternships.com
Simply Hired
Christian Higher Ed for JusticeBakke U, UCC, Eastern, Fuller
Azusa, Acton, NET Institute, Christian ABE
Open EducationStraighterline.com,
MOOCs, EdX
Coursera, Udacity
Nonprofit RecruitingAllforGood, Idealist
VolunteerMatch,
Guidestar, FB Causes
Tech & MissionsICCM, Lightsys, MAF,
GEM, EMI, WIN, OB
VisionSynergy, AIBI
Wycliffe IT, CheckItOut
Tech & MinistryInternet Evangelism Day,
Mobile Ministry Forum,
YouVersion, ABS, Cru
MSTSM
Program
Tech-Justice Sector (secular)
Jesus Tech
Sector (Word)
Jesus Justice
Sector (Deed)
City Vision College
ChristianVolunteering
City Vision Internships
Tech Christian CollegesAccessED, ACU, Calvin, Taylor, Baylor
Biola, Olivet, Fuller, Wheaton, Liberty
Christian TechnologistsChristians Engineering Society,
Intervarsity Faculty, Cru Faculty
ISCAST, Code for the Kingdom
Christians in Tech (FB & LinkedIn)
Christian RecruitingMeetTheNeed, ChristianJobs
ShortTermMissions, Missions
Christian MediaChristianity Today,
Publishers, Radio & TV
Tech PhilanthropyGoogle Grants, LinkedIn
Facebook, Salesforce,
Microsoft
Open SourceDrupal, Moodle
Church Tech & ITLifeChurch, Menlo Park
Saddleback, Willow Creek
Christian RecoveryNACR, Celebrate Recovery
Urban InternshipsMission Year
Churches of the Poor
Christian Higher Ed
In Developing Countries
Low Cost Online TrainingLynda.com, Skillshare, Pluralsight
Parachurch ITCru, Intervarsity
Open Data/ContentWikipedia, Open Gov’t,
Semantic Web
Christian FundersFoundations, Individuals
Secular FundersFoundations, Individuals,
Government, Corporations
Figure 3. Global Growth of Urban Population
Figure 4. Global Growth of Internet Access
Figure 5. Increasing Time Spent in Media
Past Debates: Writing
Key Debate: Will writing hurt learning?
“For this invention [writing] will produce forgetfulness in the minds of
those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory.
Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no
part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within
them.”
– Socrates in Phaedrus 274c-275b)
Writing enabled knowledge discovery to be modularized
from rest of learning process
Past Debates: Books
Big Debate: Should a professor only teach from
books they wrote?◦ “…If we use Sasso’s book, theywill say what our
students have learned, they have learned from Sasso,
not from us” –John Paul Nicolas, 1588, expressing
concerns about not using grammer books that they
had written themselves
Books became modularized from rest of
learning process