Left to Our Own Devices: Toward a Theology of Technology
Summary
The forbidden fruit of Genesis 3 is more than a metaphor for temptation generally; it is a metaphor above all for the temptation that technology poses, especially in an age where most of us have an Apple in our pockets. The standing threat of technology, greater than ever in the age of AI, is that it will lead us to forget our own dependence--and particularly our interdependence on one another--pulling us away from our humanity toward an idolatrous worship of self and of our own creations.
Bio
Brad Littlejohn (Ph.D, University of Edinburgh) is Director of Programs and Education at American Compass, Coalitions Advisor for the Digital Childhood Institute, and vice-convener of the Faith, Family, and Technology Network. Previously, he served as a Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), and President of The Davenant Institute. A leading voice in Protestant ethics and political thought, he is the author or editor of nineteen books, including earlier this year Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License. His newest project, with Basic Books, is iThink Therefore iAm: Conserving the Human Person in a Digital Age. He has published over three hundred essays and op-eds in both academic and popular journals, and is a regular columnist at WORLD Opinions. You can find his work and regular commentary at bradlittlejohn.substack.com. He lives in Loudoun County, Virginia with his wife, Rachel, and four children.