IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2017 - 21

So science as such does not ap -
peal to any outside revelation, it
is an examination of the empirical
facts before us. But in the case of
religion, we do not rely solely on our
reasoning brain but on what God
has revealed to us, through Scrip-
ture and in the case of an Orthodox
Christian, through Scripture and
Tradition. Technology, is something
we would wish to judge in the light
of our religious beliefs. Not all of the
things that are possible for us to do
applying our scientific knowledge
are necessarily good. Technology
by itself cannot supply us with the
ethical standards that we wish to
apply. So then religion is some-
thing by which we assess the value
or otherwise of technology.

enquiry necessarily answer all the
questions that we may wish to
raise. There may be areas where
science cannot give us the answer.
For example, do we survive death?
Is there a future life? That is to me
a religious question. And I do not
think that our faith in a future life
can be proved from science, nor
do I think it can be disproved by
science. Equally, if we say God
created the world, we are mak-
ing a religious statement that in
my view cannot be proved or dis-
proved by science. So religion and
science are both pursuing truth
but on different levels and by dif-
ferent methods.

Are there any principles
or examples in the JudeoChristian tradition which
point to the uses and abuses
of technology?

Could we go insofar as saying
that science and religion could
be in conflict? Or at least is
there a point where they might
become incompatible one with
the other?

How did the ancient world
generally understand and
practice technology?

One precious element in the Judeo-
Interpreting technology in the broad-
Christian tradition is respect for
est possible sense, I would consid-
the human person. We believe as
er that you cannot have a civilized
Christians that every person is of
human life without some form of
infinite value in God's sight. Each
technology. If you choose to live in
person is unique. God expects from
a house that you have built yourself
each one of us something that he
or somebody else has built for you,
doesn't expect from anyone else.
We are not just repetitive
stereotypes. We are each
made in the image and
likeness of God, and we
realize that likeness and
The aim of science, as
image, each in our own
way. Humans are unique
I understand it, is truth.
basically because we pos-
sess freedom. Therefore we
instead of living in a cave, already
make choices. And these choices
that implies a use of technology. If
which are personal to each one of
you wear clothes woven of linen,
us determine what kind of person
instead of sheepskins or goatskins,
we are. Now, any technology which
that again is a use of technology.
diminishes our personhood, which
In that sense, technology is not
degrades us as humans, this I see
something modern, it came into
as wrong. For example, to inter-
existence as soon as people began
fere with people's brains by medi-
using fire and cooking meals for
cal experimentation, I would see
themselves, for example. Clearly,
as wrong. Medicine that aims to
the amount of technology that
enable our bodies and our minds

I do not believe that there is a fun-
damental conflict between science
and religion. God has given us a
reasoning brain, he has given us
faculties by which we can collect
and organize evidence. Therefore,
fundamentally all truth is from
God. But there might be particu-
lar ways of using science which on
religious grounds we would think
wrong. So there is not a fundamen-
tal conflict, but perhaps in prac-
tice a certain clash. Problems can
arise when, from the point of view
of religion, we try to answer ques-
tions which are not strictly scien-
tific. It can arise when scientists
go beyond the examination of evi-
dence and form value judgements
which perhaps could conflict with
religion. I would see conflict aris-
ing, not so much from science as
such in the pursuit of truth, but
from scientism, by which I mean
the view that methods of scientific
march 2017

to function correctly, that clearly
I would see as good. But experi-
ments that have been done by
different governments in the 20th
century, whether by Communism
or in Nazi Germany, that I would
see as an abuse of technology
because it does not show proper
respect for the integrity of the
human person. So this would be
my great test - how far technology
is undermining our personhood?
Clearly our freedom has to be lim-
ited because we have to respect
the freedom of other people. And
therefore, much of politics con-
sists of a delicate balancing of
one freedom against another. But
technology should be used always
to enhance our freedom, not to
obliterate it.

∕

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

21



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