The Good, The Evil and The Technology

Synopsis     1Sam 13:17-14:4    9/13/2018

The Philistines and the Israelites massed troops in anticipation of battle. The Philistines sent three detachments to probe Israel‘s position. One of these took up a position near Michmash.

King Saul’s son Jonathan led the Israelite forces near Michmash. And so, he decided to personally reconnoiter the Philistine position. He did not tell anyone where he went. And, he took only his armor bearer with him.

In those days, there were no smiths (as in metalworkers) in Israel. The Philistine’s ruled over Israel. So, in an effort to prevent the Israelites from developing their own weapons, the Philistines did not allow them to do metal work.

Philistine Control  Over Technology

The Philistines controlled the development of technology in Israel. This had two effects. The first was that it kept the Israelites dependent on the Philistines for access to even the peaceful use of technology.

For example, the Israelites had to go to the Philistines to have their ploughshares and other tools sharpened. This forced unnatural control over the marketplace. So, in practical terms, the Philistine smiths and merchants extracted too much of the Israelites wealth.

But the more intended purpose was to control the use of technology to keep the Israelites at a military and economic disadvantage.

The Good, The Evil and The Technology

Technology is neither inherently good or evil. In fact, technology is nothing more than applied wisdom. And wisdom is about process. And through understanding of processes people change the world.

By itself, perhaps we could say that technology is morally neutral. But technology doesn’t exist by itself. It is the product of human effort. It’s good and legitimate purpose is to advance human culture.

Of course, we all know technology can also be used for selfish, unloving and evil purposes. So rival people always work to gain a technological advantage over each other.

But as Christians, we consider technology from the perspective of Christ. So, the purposeful end of technology is to advance culture. And the purposeful end of culture is that men will love God and love their neighbors. As a result, technology used for any other purpose has missed the mark.

“Will the ax boast against the one who hews with it? Will the saw exalt itself above the one who wields it? As if a rod could sway the one who lifts it, or a staff could lift the one who is not wood.” Isaiah 10:15