{"id":790,"date":"2009-06-10T04:01:36","date_gmt":"2009-06-10T04:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/technology-and-theology-positive-examples.html"},"modified":"2009-06-10T04:01:36","modified_gmt":"2009-06-10T04:01:36","slug":"technology-and-theology-positive-examples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/technology-and-theology-positive-examples.html","title":{"rendered":"Technology and Theology: Positive Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to those who contributed comments to yesterday\u2019s post, and to those who communicated with me by email. As always, I am encouraged, instructed, and challenged by your insights.
\nWhen I think about the relationship of technology and theology, I wonder where to start. As a biblically-informed Christian, I know I\u2019m going to start with the Bible. But it\u2019s not as if I can turn to a chapter on the Internet and its applications. Technology does appear in the Bible (farm implements, kitchen tools, weapons, etc.), but it doesn\u2019t get a whole lot of attention.
\nThere are both positive and negative uses of technology found in Scripture. Today I\u2019ll focus on the positive; tomorrow the negative.
\nPositive Uses of Technology in Scripture<\/strong>
\nOne of the positive uses of technology in Scripture has to do with the spread the Gospel and the nurturing of communities to which the Gospel gave birth. For example, the impressively rapid growth of early Christianity depended, to an extent, on the Roman roads that made travel so much easier than it had been before. Yes, of course the Holy Spirit was the chief reason for the explosion of Christian faith throughout the Roman world. But the Spirit made good use of Roman roads. The Romans were, for their time of history, experts in the technology of road building. This facilitated, not only the economic prosperity of the Roman Empire, but also the geographic spread of Christianity. It should be noted, however, that the system of Roman roads also supported the propagation of pagan alternatives to Christianity. In the first century A.D., the Roman west was being flooded by religions from the east, including Mithraism, the worship of Isis, and so forth. (Photo: A Roman road used by the Apostle Paul, the Via Egnatia outside of Philippi. Photo from www.HolyLandPhotos.org<\/a>.)
\nAnother positive use of technology that supported the growth of the early Christian church was letter writing. Though we might not think of letter writing as using technology, in fact letter writing in the Roman world depended on the production of writing materials (usually papyrus, a paper-like substance), ink, etc. The delivery of letters from one place to another usually included means of transportation (roads, ships, etc.).
\nThe Apostle Paul was, as far as we know, the first Christian to write letters as a part of his evangelistic effort. We take for granted this fact, but it was groundbreaking in its time. Paul used the familiar form of the personal letter, adapting it for the purpose of nurturing communities he had planted or intended to visit. (Photo: A portion of a papyrus letter, P.Duk.inv. 98<\/a>.)
\nIn other words, he didn\u2019t just use the technology available to him. Rather, he adapted it creatively and critically. For example, it was common for a first-century letter writer to offer thanks to the gods at the beginning of a letter. Paul does similarly, though thanking the (one) \u201cGod and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (2 Cor 1:3).
\nPaul understood that his letters were valuable as tools of communication that took the place of his personal presence. Yet he also sensed that letters could never adequately represent him. Hence he was eager to be with his churches, and often promised to visit them personally (for example, 1 Thess 2:17-3:10).
\nPaul also experienced the limitation of letters as a form of communication. Before writing the letter we know as 1 Corinthians, he had written an earlier letter to the church in Corinth (1 Cor 5:9). This letter led to some considerable confusing on the part of the Corinthians believers, which Paul tried to clear up in his next letter (so-called 1 Corinthians).
\nThe use of Roman technology by the early Christians to spread the Gospel shows how it can be contribute to God\u2019s work in the world in a positive way. But both Roman roads and pastoral letters had certain downsides as well. In my next post I\u2019ll examine a passage that emphasizes the negative implications of technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to those who contributed comments to yesterday\u2019s post, and to those who communicated with me by email. As always, I am encouraged, instructed, and challenged by your insights. When I think about the relationship of technology and theology, I wonder where to start. As a biblically-informed Christian, I know I\u2019m going to start with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holy-week-easter"],"yoast_head":"\nTechnology and Theology: Positive Examples - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}