Technology and Faith Formation

New Technology
I celebrated a small milestone last week: I figured out how to podcast and am listed on iTunes.

[For those of you wondering what the heck "podcasting" is, think of it as having your own "on demand" radio station through the internet. Another way I describe it is "radio on demand." Through a service such as iTunes you can subscribe to broadcasts (called podcasts) and download them to your home computer and/or portable audio device (such as an iPod) to play at your own convenience.]

The thing is, I'm not sure if all of this new technology is a necessarily good thing... or a bad thing.

First, let me back up a minute. Sometimes technology itself is bashed, when in fact it is usually new technology we are cautious of, perhaps even afraid of. I mean, the telephone--heck, even the newspaper--is a form of technology. The flood of technology that has come with the internet is not altogether different from the flood of technology that came on the heels of the printing press in the time of the Christian Reformers of the 16th Century.

Digital Divide
The first thought that comes to mind when we embrace (or consider) a new technology is: "Who is left out?" The obvious answer in most current discussions is "anyone who does not have a computer or internet access." The so-called "digital divide" has been thoroughly discussed in many circles, but it does raise a special problem for Christians who worship the God who is deeply concerned about the poor, the orphan and the widow. That is, what does it mean to embrace a new technology that is inaccessible to the very ones we are called to care for? I don't have any easy answers to this dilemma, but I think the question needs to remain front and center for us as Christians.

Radio Renaissance
What is also interesting to me is how much the spoken word has remained central, even as new technologies emerge. The pre-television medium of radio seems to be on the rise again: witness satellite radio, podcasting and the latest invention: Pandora, personalized internet radio.

However, there is a huge difference between the radio programs of the first half of the 20th Century and the first few years of the 21st. While radio used to be a communal medium that brought people together with common "texts" (programs), it is now highly individualized and choice oriented, driving the deep formation of a consumer/transactional culture. Said another way: Radio is no longer about "what we listen to together" but "what I want to hear."

Still, there is a great gift in this radio renaissance. It underlines the power of the spoken word. From ancient times, stories were told to convey meaning, to give life. The Bible was a spoken word before it was a written text. Writing will never fully replace preaching... in fact, the opposite movement seems to be occurring. In a technologically-rich world over saturated with images and text, the spoken word, the "heard word" is the word we crave.

New Technology and Faith Formation
Finally, what concerns me most about the embrace (or shunning) of new technology is what it means for our formation as people who desire to walk in the Way of Christ. Many Christian writers, including Stanley Hauerwas (if I am remembering correctly), have argued that when we are not intentionally being formed as Christians, we are still being formed--but it is by a story other than the Christian story. In other words, there is always formation going on, but it may not be the kind we need or that God intends for us.

I don't think this means that we should all shut off the electricity, get cabins in the woods and buy typewriters. But it does involve a considerable amount of prayer and discernment, perhaps much more so than we are used to. It involves asking questions deeper than, "How many cell phone does our family need?" and instead asking things like, "Should I have a cell phone at all? And how will it change me and form me if I get one? What will that mean for me, my family, my brothers and sisters in Christ?" (Shane Hipps contributes to this conversation in his book Flickering Pixels. I have not read it yet but hope to soon.).

So even as I look forward to and embrace many of the new forms of technology I wonder and pray about how these technologies will form me and all of us who bear the name of Christ in this world.