The name of this site, TheoTech originally stood for a Theology of Technology, referencing a community of believers in Amazon who wanted to think through the implications of Scripture on their creative acts as technologists and the impact of technology on their obedience to and faith in Jesus Christ. We read books like From the Garden to the City (affiliate link) and compared Amazon Leadership Principles with Scripture. As a practical exercise in intentionally developing technology that would promote the values of Scripture, we hosted a few casual “hack-a-thons” where we would code up ideas for a weekend and share our progress with each other afterwards.
The heart behind all of this was to foster a movement of technology entrepreneurship for the gospel. There have been times in history when the gospel was the driving force behind innovation, as well documented in The Book that Made Your World (affiliate link). One prime example was Gutenberg’s printing press, which he intended to unleash the Word of God upon the whole world instead of it remaining constrained by the tedious work of copying by hand.
In my case, these are the specific technological initiatives that I believe have the potential to advance the gospel as well as bless the world at large:
- Ubiquitous multilingual churches – what if worshiping God in many languages together (like Urbana, if you’ve ever attended) became the norm?
- Worldwide biblical literacy – What if people around the world could remember the whole counsel of God in their heart language?
- Personal relationship management – What if technology could help you not simply connect with people, but cultivate healthy relationships?
All these things and more are possible with the technology we have today–it is simply a case of asking “the Father to send more laborers into his harvest”. I plan on elaborating on these themes in future posts, but in the meantime, you can read more of my personal thoughts on these and related matters at www.meritandgrace.com. Thanks for reading this hastily put together entry!
–Chris