By Peter Jones
Creation was good when God made it. Creation is still good to some degree after the fall because God became a part of it in the Incarnation.
God made man to rule over creation.
God made man to cultivate creation and make it flourish.
God made man to guard creation from enemies.
God made man to do all of this in obedience to Him and for His glory.
Christ came to be what Adam and Israel failed to be: a faithful king and priest. He is taking dominion and he is guarding the true Temple all to the glory of his Father. (Psalm 2 &110)
Redemption is tied to the original purpose for creation. Christ did not save us just to keep us from Hell. He saved us so we can be faithful sons of God here on earth. He saved us so we can help fulfill what Adam failed at.
Non-Christians still have the original task of taking dominion and under common grace fulfill it, though they are not redeemed. Making creation flourish is part of what humans were made to do. However, those who are redeemed in Christ are more fully restored to this original task. We can never do it perfectly in this life, but none the less we become little Adams and Eves. Our redemption is what allows us to fulfill the dominion mandate in a way that honors God. Our corner of the world becomes a workshop and a garden where we fulfill our callings in obedience to God’s Word and give thanks to him for all he has given.
God put us here to change and make things. In a sinful world, progress is not inevitably good, but it can be good. God expects us to build things and grow things. Christians should not be afraid of computers, cars, cell phones or power plants. Many Christians react to the negative uses of technology by painting all progress as evil. This mindset is foolish and should be rejected.
Sin does not live inside of technology or things. Computers do not make us sin. Cars do not make us sin. (All of us gun advocates should recognize this argument.) Sin is our misuse and corruption of created things. Someone who gets rid of their TV is not getting rid of sin. They are putting one particular area of temptation out of reach. This is not bad. It will prevent sinning, but does not take care of his heart issue. If a man lacks self-control with his computer, he does not gain self-control by getting rid of the computer. But he does close a gate where his lack of self-control tended to take him off the road. The important thing to remember is the computer was not the problem. The man is. A righteous man will recognize those situations where he is tempted and avoid them. But a righteous man will also know that sin and temptation are in his own heart not in the machine.
Though sin does not live inside of machines, technology does have direction. It shapes our lives in particular ways. The biggest problem Christians have is we don’t think about how technology shapes our lives. We just keep buying things and using things without a care for how they are changing the way we think and live. Technology rules over us instead of us ruling over it. We fail to be faithful kings and priests with our technology. For example, how has our world changed by the automobile? We used to live our entire lives in one city or town. We could not drive 45 minutes to a church that we liked better. Much of what we bought, especially food, was bought locally because there was not any way to ship it. Now I can get food from all over the world. The automobile has completely reshaped our lives. How has this reshaping hurt the Christian life? How has it help? Another example, how have our lives changed now that the Internet follows us around on our phones? What impact does this have on our communication, our peace of mind, our ability to focus, our corporate worship, our family time, etc.? It is not inherently bad, but it has changed things. We need to be more deliberate in our thinking about technology. Many secular sociologists think more carefully about technological advances than Christians do.
With all technology something is gained and something is lost. We should figure out what those things are. Should what was lost be kept? Is the gain worth it? Should we actually desire what the new technology is giving us? For example, for hundreds of years farming or something like it, was essential to the life of most people. Now, due primarily to technology, farming represents a very small percentage of our population. Something was lost when we made the transition from plowing to typing. What was lost? Should we try to retain what was good about farming while still using the newer technology? What has been gained by our moving to a more city oriented society that does not grow its own food? I have found these questions to be helpful. Often the lure of new technology can give us amnesia about the past. We forget the value of certain older ways of doing things. I am not saying we should go back to those older ways. That is impossible and the desire for those older ways is often rooted in sin. But what we should do is ask how did those older ways benefit us and what can we do to keep the benefits while still using new technology.<>
