Christian ethics in a digital age
If you survey much of today’s literature on ethics, a main critique of the Christian ethic is that it is simply unable to deal with new challenges we face today, especially in the digital age. But it shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus didn’t speak to these issues directly or that Paul and the other apostles didn’t write about how to navigate artificial intelligence, smartphones, social media, or other technologies.
While some will write off a Christian philosophy and ethic of technology as outdated or simply unusable, a biblical vision of technology ethics is more than robust enough to help us think through the challenging questions of social media platforms, how to advocate for free expression and religious freedom, and how to uphold the dignity of all human beings in the face of technologies that exploit our weaknesses. Christ summed up the foundation and goal of Christian ethics in Matthew 22:37-39: we are to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. This means prioritizing our neighbors over profit and recognizing how the tools we use—even if designed with the best intentions—can and will be exploited in sinful and dehumanizing ways as they alter our perception of reality.
One of the ways we can do this in the digital age is by learning about how technology, as more than just a tool, is shaping our lives and society. This should drive us to an active engagement rather than a passive use of these powerful tools. We should also seek to understand that tools like Facebook are being used to influence and shape the worldviews of the church and wider society, often in perverse ways. They do this by exposing us to perfectly crafted and curated messages used to sway our social engagement, exploit our natural desires to be known, and give us a false sense of control in chaotic times.
Pastors and ministry leaders need to understand that technology is one of the primary disciplers of those in our churches. This is due to the fact that our technological devices are at our side nearly every minute of the day, ready to envelope us in the personally-curated online worlds that are designed to shape our view of society. Given the ubiquity of technology today, we have to ask ourselves how we are being formed by these creations, and to what end. Most importantly, Christians must ask if we are being transformed to be more like Christ through our use of technology, or if we are ultimately being conformed to the likeness of this world instead (Romans 12:2).
This article originally appeared here, and it used by permission.
