On Kuyper and Technology, or How a Voice From the Past Can Speak to our Digital Age
Document Type
Blog
Abstract
In this reflection, the author shares some insights he has found in Kuyper that can inform his discipline of computer science and engineering. He begins with a critique of a speculative idea Kuyper proposed about how the “greater things than these” referred to in John 14 might refer to technology. The reflection then presents five ideas from Kuyper’s writings that exemplify how his work might be fruitfully applied to issues in modern technology. These ideas include the impact of automation, the importance of a comprehensive life and worldview, the notion of common grace, the assertion that there are no neutral spaces, and finally the importance of a personal faith commitment (or palingenesis). The reflection concludes with a reminder to avoid what C. S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery,” the notion that all ideas from the past ought to be discarded in favor of the new. This reflection illustrates how, like a prospector, we can sift and mine the resources from the Christian past, in authors like Kuyper, to help inform our contemporary time, including in matters related to modern technology. This reflection came out of a presentation given by the author at the 2018 Kuyper Conference held in Grand Rapids, MI, on May 1, 2018. Derek C. Schuurman is Professor of Computer Science at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI where he currently holds the William Spoelhof Teacher-Scholar-in-Residence chair.
Publication Date
1-15-2020
Recommended Citation
Schuurman, Derek, "On Kuyper and Technology, or How a Voice From the Past Can Speak to our Digital Age" (2020). University Faculty Publications and Creative Works. 781.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/calvin_facultypubs/781