Since Bookwi.se now has more than 450 book reviews, I felt it was time to start making the back catalogue a bit more useful. Over time I am going to add a series of topical books review summaries that highlight particular book subject areas.
From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology by John Dyer
Our world is changed by technology and in many ways we look to technology to make us better, give us more, solve our problems. God created us with the ability to create and use technology, but technology is neither all good nor all bad. Technology is both shaped by us, but also shapes us in often unexpected ways. Cell phones give us the ability to leave our homes, go to the park with our kids while we are on-call, but then we often spend the time talking or texting instead of playing at the park. If you are going to read just one book about how to think Christianly about Technology, this is it.
Digital Disciple: Real Christianity in a Virtual World by Adam Thomas
Theme of this book is that God is with us whether we are in the virtual world or the physical world. Thomas is a young Episcopal priest and his youth makes a difference in this book in a positive way. Not a perfect book, but it would make a good discussion book, especially among a mixed age group. One of the good parts of this book is that he has a basically positive view of technology.
The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies
I wrote three posts, a general summary, a discussion of authority and thoughts on Challies’s Reformed background. In spite of the fact that I really think he is wrong about authority, this is well worth reading. Challies’ pastoral focus and desire to really think through the implications of our actions makes him worth reading even when you disagree.
Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps
This is the oldest of the books on this list. It is more about Marshall McLuhan’s idea that the medium is the message. Because the medium that is discussed here is primarily technology based, it becomes a book about how Christians deal with communicating in a technological world. I have posted posted three times prior to a summary review. Essentially, I agree with his final position, but have lots of issues about how he got there. The book is well worth reading, even though I think Hipps uses lots of hyperbole and overstatement to try to push you in his direction.
Other books about technology
I have to include Walter Isaacson’s bio of Steve Jobs. While this is not a Christian book and Jobs was not a Christian, this book is very insightful about the role of technology in our culture and especially the role of desire and perfection.