One problem in society (and church) is the belief that technology (and technical careers) are 'neutral.' Yet this is not true; "Not all beliefs are articulated in doctrinal statements, some take shape in wood and metal." "Technology has deeply religious roots. Our yearnings and imagination reflect personal values shaped by desires and longings within our hearts." We are all religious, and how those in technical careers do their jobs is also shaped by beliefs. How should Christians, then, approach such things? In this book with a very long name, Christian engineers and professors provide thoughts on how Christians can responsibly participate in technical fields without ignoring or sacrificing their faith.
It starts with understanding God's purposes and how things ought to be. God created the world and gave humans a unique station in it. Part of that is to build culture and, with it, technology. This should all be done under the great commandments to love God and neighbor, recognizing our dependence on both. The fall of man distorted things, but our purpose and mandate remain. "A central purpose of engineering and technology, then, should be to enable all creatures to freely honor, serve and depend on each other, as a means of becoming fully what we were created to be." "Done well, our technological dreams become reality in building God's kingdom. Done poorly, our technological dreams become nightmares that pervert creation and harm our neighbor."
Technology is not neutral; it is value-laden. Things are designed with a goal in mind, which reflect hopes, values, and dreams. "The designer is evident in the design." Things we create have "build-in biases and preferences that make some activities easier and others more difficult." There is thus an idealogy behind anything we create. And this is not a one-way street: we are shaped by what is produced, for "the tendencies built into our tools subtly change the way we think, work, and interact. Ultimately, those tendencies are rooted in our identity, our culture, and our faith." We shape technology, and then technology shapes us. We must thus tread carefully.
After the above core concepts, the authors talk about design norms, including 15 modal aspects that, per philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd, are "a way to think about reality." The authors here claim that "these aspects help us think about how to design technology." These aspects help us see that any given engineering project is far more than just coming up with a solid design; there are many other factors to consider (social, economic, aesthetic, and so on), all done under the auspices of glorifying God and blessing our neighbors.
The authors then look at various beliefs about technology, from those who make it an idol (thinking it can solve all of society's problems and create human autonomy) to those who spurn it (thinking it is the source of our problems). The right response, though, is "directing technology in obedience to God and in service to our neighbor and the rest of creation."
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As an engineer, I was excited to read this book. It is a basic guide, covering the same ground (concerning the cultural mandate and devoting every aspect of life to glorifying God) as many other works do. That wasn't bad, but the book's value is more in the technical focus. I appreciated how the authors pointed to various portraits of technology in the Bible (though we rarely recognize it as such), and that there is a very religious bent to everything we do—even in seemingly 'neutral' things like designing an app. The section on design norms was interesting, and they spent time looking at the past and speculating on the future, too, which was decent. With three authors, I felt it did get repetitive, and they didn't go as deep (or cover the complexities/nuances in some matters) as I hoped. Still, there is value for those unfamiliar with how to integrate their faith with all of life.
Rating: B
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