Technology
We are called to use technology thoughtfully and put it to the use of Gospel values.
Key Insights
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Good Or Bad
Technology is not inherently good or bad, but is a tool that can be used to improve (or detract) from our lives and relationship with God. Time
Ironically, the advent of supposed "time-saving" appliances actually increased hours spent in housekeeping, because cleanliness standards also were raised. The Internet also makes it easier than ever to waste time. Can we reclaim a more intentional use of our time? Evangelization
Social communication is a tool that can be applied to all aspects of the call to evangelize. |
Idolatry
There is a danger of putting too much faith in technology to solve all of our problems and let it replace God for us. Mobilizing Community
The Internet has revolutionized how people can connect across geographical boundaries. This has proven to be a powerful force for good in the world, from grass-roots political revolution to raising money for the poorest of the poor. How can we use technology to bring people closer together? Favor the Commons
The movements to promote open and free technology (and information and art) over the proprietary have a lot in common with the Gospel. We should utilize and promote Creative Commons and other initiatives to share technology that does not exclude the poor. |
Relationships
We need to be conscious how technology is affecting our relationships with others. Are interactions through social networks, emails, and text messages as meaningful as in-person communications? Are we less polite or more hurtful when communicating through electronic media (especially when commenting on public sites)? Distraction vs. Intentionality
Carrying around a smart phone has led many of us to lead much more distracted lives. |
Quotations
The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent. Our time is already completely full. [I]n these troubled times, let me ask: how can we ensure that this wondrous instrument first conceived in the context of military operations can now serve the cause of peace? Can it favor that culture of dialogue, participation, solidarity and reconciliation without which peace cannot flourish? The Church believes it can; and to ensure that this is what will happen she is determined to enter this new forum, armed with the Gospel of Christ, the Prince of Peace. Pope John Paul II regarding the Internet
The Church sees these media as "gifts of God" which, in accordance with His providential design, unite men in brotherhood and so help them to cooperate with His plan for their salvation. |
It is important, too, that people at all levels of the Church use the Internet creatively to meet their responsibilities and help fulfill the Church's mission. Hanging back timidly from fear of technology or for some other reason is not acceptable, in view of the very many positive possibilities of the Internet. The Internet causes billions of images to appear on millions of computer monitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it is only when his face is seen and his voice heard that the world will know the glad tidings of our redemption. This is the purpose of evangelization. And this is what will make the Internet a genuinely human space, for if there is no room for Christ, there is no room for man. |
The concept of friendship has enjoyed a renewed prominence in the vocabulary of the new digital social networks that have emerged in the last few years. The concept is one of the noblest achievements of human culture. It is in and through our friendships that we grow and develop as humans. For this reason, true friendship has always been seen as one of the greatest goods any human person can experience. We should be careful, therefore, never to trivialize the concept or the experience of friendship. It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbours and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation. If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development. |
Church Documents/Addresses
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New Technologies, New Relationships.
Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship. Pope Benedict XVI Full Text (Vatican) |
Books
Soul & Silicon
Carl A. Goldman Silicon Valley, California. Home of the microchip, the Web browser, the $300,000 "starter" house, and two million souls. Here are the personal stories of people looking for meaning in the fast-paced, high-tech, big- bucks world of Soul and Silicon. (Amazon) |
Videos
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Articles
- The Church on Facebook: Why We Need Virtual Community (Lenora Rand, Lumunos)
- What John Paul II Said About the Internet (Michael Journal)
- Technology and Spirituality: Can They Be Happy Bedfellows? (Damien Walter, Wired)
- Pope: 'Technology has filled, sped up our lives, we have no time to let God in' (Agence France-Presse)
- The Church and the Internet (Society of Archbishop Justus to the Anglican Church)
- Stanford Calming Tech Center Wants to Keep Technology from Stressing Us Out (Paul Strauss, Technabob)
- The Biblical Model of File Formats... and Open Source Too (Open Source Church)
- What Would Jesus Hack? Cybertheology: Just how much does Christian doctrine have in common with the open-source software movement? (The Economist)
Organizations & Websites
Calming Technology
The Calming Technology Lab at Stanford University explores how to use technology to induce cognitive, affective, and physiological calm. |
Open Source Catholic
Helping Catholic developers and organizations involved in software and web development find effective solutions for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. |
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Parish Ideas
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Technology Fasting
Encourage experimentation with fasting from technology, especially during Lent. The goal is to make more time for God and our relationships, but also to raise awareness about how technology affects us so we can be more intentional about using it in the future. |
Promote Online
Utilize the internet to promote your parish. More and more potential parishioners do their research online to learn as much as they can about a parish before visiting in-person. Make sure your parish website is communicating what you want to these people. Consider creating a Facebook page or Twitter account for your parish. But also take care that any online resources stay active and up-to-date. A Facebook page that hasn't been updated in a year is worse than simply not having one. Encourage your parishioners to post positive reviews on Yelp! Provide daily life resources on your website. |
Related To
Header photo by meanmachine_ie (Creative Commons License).