Modern Technology and the Human Future - by Craig M Gay (Paperback)

About the Book

Technology has always shaped human life and our understanding of what it means to be human. But does it actually encourage human flourishing? By exploring the doctrine of the incarnation and what it means for our embodiment, Craig Gay raises concerns about the theological implications of modern technologies and movements such as transhumanism, offering an alternative vision to the path of modern technology.

Book Synopsis

Technology is not neutral.

From the plow to the printing press, technology has always shaped human life and informed our understanding of what it means to be human. And advances in modern technology, from computers to smartphones, have yielded tremendous benefits. But do these developments actually encourage human flourishing?

Craig Gay raises concerns about the theological implications of modern technologies and of philosophical movements such as transhumanism. In response, he turns to a classical affirmation of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, took on human flesh. By exploring the doctrine of the incarnation and what it means for our embodiment, Gay offers a course correction to the path of modern technology without asking us to unplug completely.

Gay demonstrates that the doctrine of the incarnation is not neutral either. It presents an alternative vision for the future of humanity.

Review Quotes

"In his new and captivating book, Craig Gay issues a call to right stewardship of modern technological development, so that we might live into the fullness of our embodied, ordinary, created human being. The chapters of this penetrating cultural appraisal constitute a tour de force of social philosophy, economic history, and theology, equipping us to live more Christianly. We are given reason and hope to practice resurrection."

--Susan S. Phillips, executive director and professor at New College Berkeley, author of The Cultivated Life: From Ceaseless Striving to Receiving Joy

"The two words from which we get technology--tekton and logos--were both used by New Testament writers to describe Jesus. Technology and Jesus--and therefore technology and humanity--are inseparable and delicately linked. Technology, like the human body itself, is a good servant but a bad master. Craig Gay has written a learned and lucid reflection on how it can both help and hinder human flourishing."

--John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Church, author of I'd Like You More If You Were More Like Me

About the Author

Craig M. Gay (PhD, Boston University) is professor of interdisciplinary studies at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada. He is the author of a variety of books, including Dialogue, Catalogue and Monologue: Personal, Impersonal and Depersonalizing Ways to Use Words; Cash Values: The Value of Money and the Nature of Worth; The Way of the (Modern) World: Or, Why It's Tempting to Live as If God Doesn't Exist; and With Liberty and Justice for Whom? The Recent Evangelical Debate Over Capitalism.