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A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers
Our technology shapes the way we live, interact, work, play, and even worship. Technology and its power are both old and new—as is the wisdom we need to envision, design, build, and use it well. For Christians passionate about developing technology, it's not always clear how their faith and work intersect. How can designing and using technology actually be a way of loving God and our neighbors?
Veteran engineers and teachers Ethan Brue, Derek Schuurman, and Steve VanderLeest provide a field guide for fellow explorers working with technology. Using numerous case studies, historical examples, and personal stories, they explore issues such as:
-biblical themes and passages that relate to technology
-the ethics and norms involved in technology design
-how engineering and technology tap into human dreams for a better world
Along the way they acknowledge the challenges arising from technology but also point to the wonderful possibilities it offers us and its ability to contribute to the common good.
For Christians studying and working in engineering, computer science, technical design, architecture, and related fields, this book is packed with wisdom and practical guidance. By sharing what they have learned, the authors encourage readers to ask harder questions, aspire to more noble purposes, and live a life consistent with their faith as they engage with technology.
Veteran engineers and teachers Ethan Brue, Derek Schuurman, and Steve VanderLeest provide a field guide for fellow explorers working with technology. Using numerous case studies, historical examples, and personal stories, they explore issues such as:
-biblical themes and passages that relate to technology
-the ethics and norms involved in technology design
-how engineering and technology tap into human dreams for a better world
Along the way they acknowledge the challenges arising from technology but also point to the wonderful possibilities it offers us and its ability to contribute to the common good.
For Christians studying and working in engineering, computer science, technical design, architecture, and related fields, this book is packed with wisdom and practical guidance. By sharing what they have learned, the authors encourage readers to ask harder questions, aspire to more noble purposes, and live a life consistent with their faith as they engage with technology.
240 pages, Paperback
Published April 19, 2022
7 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Ethan J. Brue
1 bookEthan Brue (PhD, Iowa Sate University) is a professor of engineering at Dordt University. Previously he worked as an engineering consultant in the energy generation sector and as a research and development engineer in the agricultural science and technology industry. He has served in industry as an R & D engineering project leader for DuPont: Pioneer and as a mechanical engineering consultant in the Power Division at Black & Veatch. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the state of Iowa. His research interests include thermochemical reactor design, fluidization, biomass gasification and combustion, solar energy engineering, and the history of science and technology. He lives in Sioux Center, Iowa, with his wife, Donna, and their children.
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April 20, 2022
Summary: Explores in practical terms the intersection of faith and technology in areas of design norms and ethics and how technology might serve the common good.
It is common in Christian higher education circles to discuss the intersection of faith and learning. Often, this is highly abstract and conceptual and in fields like engineering, computer science, and design, these discussions seem far removed from the technical problems those trained in these fields are trying to solve. The three authors of this work have worked both in industry and academia and bring their experience together with a well-informed faith to offer a work that digs into the specifics of how Christian faith informs design, ethics, and the uses technology serves for the common good. They articulate what they are trying to do and why they call it a “field guide” in their Preface:
“The vision for this book is to provide a guide for Christian engineers and others working with technology to responsibly navigate today’s technological terrain. A field guide is a resource that helps the reader identify things (usually plants or animals) in their natural environment. We hope this book serves as a field guide interested in engineering and technology to identify and discern technology and its cultural environment. Furthermore, since all readers will be users of technology, and many will be practitioners, this book provides some principles and advice that we hope will be helpful to Christians who wish to be faithful and honor God in the technological aspects of their lives.”
The authors begin with the underlying hopes that inspired people like the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, and Samuel Morse and make the connection between our dreams and hope in a sovereign God who makes all things new. They root this vision in the early chapters of Genesis, a skillful creator who works iteratively to “very good” design standards, who entrusts his creatures with responsible caring and imitating the creator in their care (we were technologists from the start!), who accept deceptively marketed fruit in disobedience to their mandate, introducing futility into work and estrangement into relations, leading to a long term project of redemption and restoration.
From theological foundations, the authors focus on the responsibility of engineers, beginning with the example of New York’s Robert Moses who designed bridges with low clearances to prevent the poor from riding busses to the parks Moses designed. It was not a mere fluke of neutral bridge design but a deliberately racist and classist decision. They go on the puncture a number of myths about design neutrality, the most chilling of which was the employment of IBM engineers in the 1930’s to develop calculating devices allowing the complex control of a train system shipping millions to the camps, even after they knew how their work was being used. They point out failures of engineering responsibility in the collapse of Hyatt Regency walkways and exploding gas tanks on Ford Pintos. Beyond the failures is the positive responsibility of Christians to design technology for shalom, the wholeness and flourishing of those served by that technology.
Christian principles come to bear throughout the design process. The field guide proposes “design norms” that inform the creation and evaluation of technology, detailing analytical, cultural, clarity, social, stewardship, harmony, justice, caring, and faithfulness norms. They recognize that there might be tradeoffs between norms, the place where theologically informed creativity comes into play. They discuss different system of ethics, and the normative standards of the field, and then challenge Christians to an ethics that go beyond these in the pursuit of love of neighbor, care for the creation, and justice.
Engineers need to be aware of the hubris of building towers of Babel, monuments to human autonomy and pride, particularly in a technicism that thinks all human problems are reducible to technical solutions. History can teach us and, in one of the most illuminating chapters, they use the example of electric vehicles, which actually preceded internal combustion engine powered vehicles. They show all the misconceptions about why this technology failed and our flawed ideas about progress that may actually have been regressive. Looking to futurist ideas is also instructive as Christians thread a way between the unbounded optimism of movements like transhumanism and technological pessimism to view technology as a gift whose use we rehearse for good as we anticipate the new creation.
Many Christians struggle with whether to leave off their technology to pursue the mission of Jesus. The authors offer a strong argument for how God may be honored in technological fields. The book then concludes with a fictional exchange of emails between a professor and former student in industry that pull together and apply the different themes of the field guide.
I appreciate the “heavy lifting” these authors have done to identify specific issues of responsibility, design norms, ethical issues, and their thoughtfulness about the uses of technology. I think of many students with whom I wish I’d had the opportunity to discuss this book (a prospect enhanced by the discussion guide that is included with the book). This is quite simply the most useful book I’ve come across for those in technological fields about how they may do their work Christianly. The combination of principles, case studies, and well-known examples make this highly accessible. This will be my “go to” field guide to recommend in the future for engineers and designers.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
It is common in Christian higher education circles to discuss the intersection of faith and learning. Often, this is highly abstract and conceptual and in fields like engineering, computer science, and design, these discussions seem far removed from the technical problems those trained in these fields are trying to solve. The three authors of this work have worked both in industry and academia and bring their experience together with a well-informed faith to offer a work that digs into the specifics of how Christian faith informs design, ethics, and the uses technology serves for the common good. They articulate what they are trying to do and why they call it a “field guide” in their Preface:
“The vision for this book is to provide a guide for Christian engineers and others working with technology to responsibly navigate today’s technological terrain. A field guide is a resource that helps the reader identify things (usually plants or animals) in their natural environment. We hope this book serves as a field guide interested in engineering and technology to identify and discern technology and its cultural environment. Furthermore, since all readers will be users of technology, and many will be practitioners, this book provides some principles and advice that we hope will be helpful to Christians who wish to be faithful and honor God in the technological aspects of their lives.”
The authors begin with the underlying hopes that inspired people like the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, and Samuel Morse and make the connection between our dreams and hope in a sovereign God who makes all things new. They root this vision in the early chapters of Genesis, a skillful creator who works iteratively to “very good” design standards, who entrusts his creatures with responsible caring and imitating the creator in their care (we were technologists from the start!), who accept deceptively marketed fruit in disobedience to their mandate, introducing futility into work and estrangement into relations, leading to a long term project of redemption and restoration.
From theological foundations, the authors focus on the responsibility of engineers, beginning with the example of New York’s Robert Moses who designed bridges with low clearances to prevent the poor from riding busses to the parks Moses designed. It was not a mere fluke of neutral bridge design but a deliberately racist and classist decision. They go on the puncture a number of myths about design neutrality, the most chilling of which was the employment of IBM engineers in the 1930’s to develop calculating devices allowing the complex control of a train system shipping millions to the camps, even after they knew how their work was being used. They point out failures of engineering responsibility in the collapse of Hyatt Regency walkways and exploding gas tanks on Ford Pintos. Beyond the failures is the positive responsibility of Christians to design technology for shalom, the wholeness and flourishing of those served by that technology.
Christian principles come to bear throughout the design process. The field guide proposes “design norms” that inform the creation and evaluation of technology, detailing analytical, cultural, clarity, social, stewardship, harmony, justice, caring, and faithfulness norms. They recognize that there might be tradeoffs between norms, the place where theologically informed creativity comes into play. They discuss different system of ethics, and the normative standards of the field, and then challenge Christians to an ethics that go beyond these in the pursuit of love of neighbor, care for the creation, and justice.
Engineers need to be aware of the hubris of building towers of Babel, monuments to human autonomy and pride, particularly in a technicism that thinks all human problems are reducible to technical solutions. History can teach us and, in one of the most illuminating chapters, they use the example of electric vehicles, which actually preceded internal combustion engine powered vehicles. They show all the misconceptions about why this technology failed and our flawed ideas about progress that may actually have been regressive. Looking to futurist ideas is also instructive as Christians thread a way between the unbounded optimism of movements like transhumanism and technological pessimism to view technology as a gift whose use we rehearse for good as we anticipate the new creation.
Many Christians struggle with whether to leave off their technology to pursue the mission of Jesus. The authors offer a strong argument for how God may be honored in technological fields. The book then concludes with a fictional exchange of emails between a professor and former student in industry that pull together and apply the different themes of the field guide.
I appreciate the “heavy lifting” these authors have done to identify specific issues of responsibility, design norms, ethical issues, and their thoughtfulness about the uses of technology. I think of many students with whom I wish I’d had the opportunity to discuss this book (a prospect enhanced by the discussion guide that is included with the book). This is quite simply the most useful book I’ve come across for those in technological fields about how they may do their work Christianly. The combination of principles, case studies, and well-known examples make this highly accessible. This will be my “go to” field guide to recommend in the future for engineers and designers.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
May 19, 2024
One problem in society (and church) is the belief that technology (and technical careers) are 'neutral.' Yet this is not true; "Not all beliefs are articulated in doctrinal statements, some take shape in wood and metal." "Technology has deeply religious roots. Our yearnings and imagination reflect personal values shaped by desires and longings within our hearts." We are all religious, and how those in technical careers do their jobs is also shaped by beliefs. How should Christians, then, approach such things? In this book with a very long name, Christian engineers and professors provide thoughts on how Christians can responsibly participate in technical fields without ignoring or sacrificing their faith.
It starts with understanding God's purposes and how things ought to be. God created the world and gave humans a unique station in it. Part of that is to build culture and, with it, technology. This should all be done under the great commandments to love God and neighbor, recognizing our dependence on both. The fall of man distorted things, but our purpose and mandate remain. "A central purpose of engineering and technology, then, should be to enable all creatures to freely honor, serve and depend on each other, as a means of becoming fully what we were created to be." "Done well, our technological dreams become reality in building God's kingdom. Done poorly, our technological dreams become nightmares that pervert creation and harm our neighbor."
Technology is not neutral; it is value-laden. Things are designed with a goal in mind, which reflect hopes, values, and dreams. "The designer is evident in the design." Things we create have "build-in biases and preferences that make some activities easier and others more difficult." There is thus an idealogy behind anything we create. And this is not a one-way street: we are shaped by what is produced, for "the tendencies built into our tools subtly change the way we think, work, and interact. Ultimately, those tendencies are rooted in our identity, our culture, and our faith." We shape technology, and then technology shapes us. We must thus tread carefully.
After the above core concepts, the authors talk about design norms, including 15 modal aspects that, per philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd, are "a way to think about reality." The authors here claim that "these aspects help us think about how to design technology." These aspects help us see that any given engineering project is far more than just coming up with a solid design; there are many other factors to consider (social, economic, aesthetic, and so on), all done under the auspices of glorifying God and blessing our neighbors.
The authors then look at various beliefs about technology, from those who make it an idol (thinking it can solve all of society's problems and create human autonomy) to those who spurn it (thinking it is the source of our problems). The right response, though, is "directing technology in obedience to God and in service to our neighbor and the rest of creation."
-------------------
As an engineer, I was excited to read this book. It is a basic guide, covering the same ground (concerning the cultural mandate and devoting every aspect of life to glorifying God) as many other works do. That wasn't bad, but the book's value is more in the technical focus. I appreciated how the authors pointed to various portraits of technology in the Bible (though we rarely recognize it as such), and that there is a very religious bent to everything we do—even in seemingly 'neutral' things like designing an app. The section on design norms was interesting, and they spent time looking at the past and speculating on the future, too, which was decent. With three authors, I felt it did get repetitive, and they didn't go as deep (or cover the complexities/nuances in some matters) as I hoped. Still, there is value for those unfamiliar with how to integrate their faith with all of life.
It starts with understanding God's purposes and how things ought to be. God created the world and gave humans a unique station in it. Part of that is to build culture and, with it, technology. This should all be done under the great commandments to love God and neighbor, recognizing our dependence on both. The fall of man distorted things, but our purpose and mandate remain. "A central purpose of engineering and technology, then, should be to enable all creatures to freely honor, serve and depend on each other, as a means of becoming fully what we were created to be." "Done well, our technological dreams become reality in building God's kingdom. Done poorly, our technological dreams become nightmares that pervert creation and harm our neighbor."
Technology is not neutral; it is value-laden. Things are designed with a goal in mind, which reflect hopes, values, and dreams. "The designer is evident in the design." Things we create have "build-in biases and preferences that make some activities easier and others more difficult." There is thus an idealogy behind anything we create. And this is not a one-way street: we are shaped by what is produced, for "the tendencies built into our tools subtly change the way we think, work, and interact. Ultimately, those tendencies are rooted in our identity, our culture, and our faith." We shape technology, and then technology shapes us. We must thus tread carefully.
After the above core concepts, the authors talk about design norms, including 15 modal aspects that, per philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd, are "a way to think about reality." The authors here claim that "these aspects help us think about how to design technology." These aspects help us see that any given engineering project is far more than just coming up with a solid design; there are many other factors to consider (social, economic, aesthetic, and so on), all done under the auspices of glorifying God and blessing our neighbors.
The authors then look at various beliefs about technology, from those who make it an idol (thinking it can solve all of society's problems and create human autonomy) to those who spurn it (thinking it is the source of our problems). The right response, though, is "directing technology in obedience to God and in service to our neighbor and the rest of creation."
-------------------
As an engineer, I was excited to read this book. It is a basic guide, covering the same ground (concerning the cultural mandate and devoting every aspect of life to glorifying God) as many other works do. That wasn't bad, but the book's value is more in the technical focus. I appreciated how the authors pointed to various portraits of technology in the Bible (though we rarely recognize it as such), and that there is a very religious bent to everything we do—even in seemingly 'neutral' things like designing an app. The section on design norms was interesting, and they spent time looking at the past and speculating on the future, too, which was decent. With three authors, I felt it did get repetitive, and they didn't go as deep (or cover the complexities/nuances in some matters) as I hoped. Still, there is value for those unfamiliar with how to integrate their faith with all of life.
July 30, 2022
This was an excellent book, and will be a great reference for Christian students who want to see a stronger connection between their faith and work, and might need a little "confidence boost" that their work matters. The book can be read from start to finish, or could have chapters chosen that seem most relevant.
I could also see it useful for practicing engineers, who might likewise want to reflect on the role their faith plays (or doesn't play) in their job.
It also includes some practical advice and some case studies that illustrate the points well.
The book is very readable and approachable for students and engineers (which was one of the goals), although there are a few pages or paragraphs that bog down a little bit in philosophical/ theological jargon. These can be skimmed without losing the meaning of the chapter, and should not deter anyone from reading it.
[disclosure: I was not paid for my review but do know the authors and I teach in a Christian engineering department, so this is a topic dear to my heart.]
I could also see it useful for practicing engineers, who might likewise want to reflect on the role their faith plays (or doesn't play) in their job.
It also includes some practical advice and some case studies that illustrate the points well.
The book is very readable and approachable for students and engineers (which was one of the goals), although there are a few pages or paragraphs that bog down a little bit in philosophical/ theological jargon. These can be skimmed without losing the meaning of the chapter, and should not deter anyone from reading it.
[disclosure: I was not paid for my review but do know the authors and I teach in a Christian engineering department, so this is a topic dear to my heart.]
April 11, 2023
Reviewed for Foreword Books Indies Awards.
The bulk of this book can be summed up in one word: ethics. All of the good that can be done with technology, the considerations we must make for inclusive design and avoiding harm, and the general principles guiding engineering, boil down to ethics.
I find it interesting also that the authors have a VERY clear definition of how far the Bible wants us to go in incorporating technology or not. The Amish apparently take technology minimization too far, per the authors' assertions. And thank goodness they were able to make up a tool designed to produce abortions as a negative of technology, rather than naming a real-life example!
The bulk of this book can be summed up in one word: ethics. All of the good that can be done with technology, the considerations we must make for inclusive design and avoiding harm, and the general principles guiding engineering, boil down to ethics.
I find it interesting also that the authors have a VERY clear definition of how far the Bible wants us to go in incorporating technology or not. The Amish apparently take technology minimization too far, per the authors' assertions. And thank goodness they were able to make up a tool designed to produce abortions as a negative of technology, rather than naming a real-life example!
August 3, 2024
I read this as a suggested textbook for a class I am teaching this fall. It is a bit of a shotgun approach addressing a number of topics. It is well written and each chapter contains some valuable material for students. I'm not sure it hung together as a single text, but I am not using it as such so - OK.
The thrust is to encourage technical people to approach their disciplines from a Christian perspective. Technology always has a people side to it, so there is always a need to approach it ethically.
The thrust is to encourage technical people to approach their disciplines from a Christian perspective. Technology always has a people side to it, so there is always a need to approach it ethically.
March 1, 2023
Never have I ever seen a book like this. How many books are there discussing how engineering and technology are the means by which Christians can bring blessing and flourishing to the world? Theologically wise and practically useful. Listen to the authors discuss the book on the Re-integrate Podcast.
https://www.re-integrate.org/podcast/
https://www.re-integrate.org/podcast/
May 31, 2023
Great book for group reading and discussion. Appreciated reading a book with an application specific to Christian engineering.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews