Techne: a tool for mission, or a strange god?

We often here the saying, “its, a tool, it depends upon how you use it”, in response questions about the moral status of various technologies. We think Catholic might want to reconsider this response.

Many technologies are aimed at nothing other than war, or killing, or aborting, or sterilizing, or euthanizing, or stealing, or deceiving, or fornicating, etc..

Many are evil from the start. So, yes, a technology may be inherently evil in its existence. Debate may take place about which ones are inherently evil but sure those that contradict the 10 Commandments and the Greatest Commandment from the start would qualify.

But to be a technology doesn’t make something evil, in and of itself. The be a technology is to be made by man for a practical end. Most technologies are borne from a mix of art and science, craft and knowledge. But, the important point is that they are made by man.

We discerned and chose the tagline, “Making New Roads to Emmaus in the Digital City,”, because whatever we may feel or think about technology we are immersed in it. As we navigate and even make new roads in the thick of digital culture we seek to stay focused on God as disciples of Jesus Christ. We realize we need each other to do this.

We also see opportunities in using the digital culture itself to orient us back to God and use digital media to contribute to the life of the Catholic Church. One of the first ways we are doing this as an association is with the release a Catholic Freelancer Markeplace called Build Catholic found at Build.Catholic.Work.

Another project we are currently working on is the development of an OCIA formation platform that utilizes the best in learning technology, including the use of RAG AI, as part of the formation process.