Andrew D Noble, Joel Jacob, and Austin GravleyJesus Was a Techie: How Christians Can Lead the Technological Age
No Christian should figure out AI, social media, or any other technology alone. Technologists, theologians, and pastors must learn from each other. After over 100 episodes, that's what we've done. And we've distilled the best insights into this free ebook (with the help of AI). We believe Christians can lead the technological age through imitating Christ. Such an approach is neither anxious nor naive, neither nostalgic nor futurist, but based on the gifts of God’s Word and the church. Each page of this ebook is packed with biblical wisdom, theological depth, and practical suggestions for building and using technology in ways that honor God and love our neighbors.
This ebook has four parts:
A Christian View of Technology: Biblical Basics
Created by a Creator to Create: Be Human
Formation Everywhere All at Once: Life in Digital Babylon
The Future Has Arrived: Understanding the AI Moment
Don't be used by technology. Use it. Master it. Rule it to the glory of God. It's time for Christians to lead.
From the Book’s Preface
The goal of What Would Jesus Tech has always been to help Christians use tech, find rest, and glorify God. That was our tagline in the first episode and it remains true today. This means we want to have a posture of helping Christians use technology rather than being used by it. It means being gospel-centered and knowing our deepest needs are met not through technology but in our Savior – Jesus Christ. And it means thinking shrewdly and living wisely before a holy God, giving him honor in how we build technology. That is the goal of our podcast.
Theologians must learn from technologists. And those working in technology need to learn from pastors. All of us need to learn from Jesus. And Jesus was a tekton (Matt. 13:55, Mark 6:3).
As our podcast has grown, I’ve thought about the best episodes for new listeners. To catch up to all our episodes would take over 100 hours. This book serves you to not merely get a list of our best episodes, but to read the most essential insights from each one. We don’t like trite phrases and vague platitudes. This book contains serious reflection about technology.
As I edited this book, I have been reminded of heart-heavy truths from our guests, probing questions from my cohosts, and in some cases, arguments I only half remembered making! It has served me in editing. I hope it serves you in reading.