Episode 8 is a conversation about the relationship between faith and technology, between a Mormon and a Christian Scientist.

 

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I met Greg Lemon via email; and we ultimately spoke to each other via skype, and recorded our conversation on remote recorders in California and Illinois. While it’s obvious that technology is a convenience for modern living, it can be argued that technology gets us so comfortable we have no need for religious practices. But both of us agree that technology would never be able to replace for us the deep meaning of life we find from our devotion to God. Greg is a self-confessed geek, and I’m struggling to keep up with what I need to keep producing podcasts. So I was interested in hearing how easily Greg makes use of his technological wizardry to provide easier access to the teaching and preaching in his world of religion. But I was also curious as to whether technology can go too far and ultimately turn us into slaves or even victims of technology. Ray Kurzweil argues in his book, Spiritual Machines, that technology has advanced so far that within the relatively near future, we’ll be able to download even our spiritual elements into embedded computers in our bodies. This way, we can live as long as we continue to download our internal computers. The moral dimensions of these issues are deep and complex, but Greg and I concur that our true natures are spiritual and therefore will not be dominated by man-made creations. Let us know what you think about this conversation, here on Spirituality and Christianity.com. As usual, we think this is a very large topic that could benefit from thoughtful discourse.

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Let me introduce you to Greg’s faith life on his church website and his personal life on his own website:

Greg’s faith life
Greg’s website: Myth Show and Myth Minute Podcasts
Greg’s podcasts on his Myth Show