Technology and Idolatry

There is an unmistakable connection between technology and idolatry. John Calvin once remarked that the human heart is an idol factory. The heart is the seat of our emotions, our will, and our desire, and because of human sin and rebellion, it lies in direct opposition to God. The heart is eager to raise up new gods, putting other things and people in the place reserved for the one true God. Most of our idols are not simple objects of wood and stone, the kinds of images the ancient pagans used to bow before, believing these objects controlled the weather patterns and enabled a good harvest. Instead, our modern idols reflect our inner desires for comfort, security, significance, and ultimately salvation.

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We become tools of our tools; rather than owning our gadgets, we become owned by them. We begin to structure our lives around them, and our actions and choices are motivated by our need and desire for the blessings and benefits that idol provides for us.

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The trouble with each of these is not the things themselves, but in the position we give to them in our lives. Each of these becomes an idol when we take something good and make it into something ultimate.

iPhone = evil?

That iPhone in your pocket is not an "evil" device. Yet it is prone to draw your heart away from God, to distract you and enable you to rely on your own abilities rather than trusting God.

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It is not technology itself that is good or evil; it is the human application of that technology.

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Rather than changing the technology to fit our understand of what is right and wrong, we change ourselves and our society's rules and mores, and we reshape ourselves in the image of the mobile phone.

Tim Challies

The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion

The upcoming book quotes will all be coming from the same book by Tim Challies. I highly recommend reading this book.

The things we create can -- and will -- try to become idols in our hearts. Though they enable us to survive and thrive in a fallen world, the very aid they provide can deceive us with a false sense of comfort and security, hiding our need for God and His grace.