What Would Jesus Tech

Andrew pokes holes in the very product that Joel helped build: a smart thermostat. The smart devices that we increasingly place in our homes have ecological impacts that are hard to assess and harder to predict. First, Joel recaps smart thermostats (1:05), and we discuss whether a so-called "smart home" makes your life easier or worse, including security vulnerabilities (15:00), the allure of big data (21:00), and how personalized optimization impacts family life (31:00). Then we try to bring it all together with the question of whether Jesus would use a smart home (37:30).We welcome your comments and feedback! Email us at whatwouldjesustech@gmail.comThings cited:Article which references Wendell Berry's argument of extensive (quantity and speed) vs intensive (quality and care).The Wendell Barry essay itself.EcobeeAlastair Roberts on The Ecological Effect of TechnologyJohn Dyer's From The Garden To The City

To understand a Christian view of tech we must unpack a Biblical view of money.In this episode, Joel (the Tech Futurist) brings Andrew up to speed on the history of money (2:30) and Bitcoin (8:50). Then we dive into: what Jesus says about money (17:55), not letting money dictate the mission (24:40), giving to your local church (28:30), and the parable of the talents (32:22). Sorry for the slight delay - we both got sick (mild COVID).Links:Alastair Roberts' Gospel of Matthew commentaryNIV Audio Bible from Biblegateway.comGospel Patterns by John RinehartA Historical Survey of how Christianity has viewed Money - Christianity Today

God created us with limits and they are good. As creatures, we do not function in predictable, meaningless motion as a machine would - nor do we exist in every place at once with knowledge of all things as God does. No, we are only human. In this episode Andrew Noble and special guest Scott MacLellan discuss Kelly Kapic's book, "You Are Not Your Own" as well as Scott's job as Director of Engineering at Vidyard and leadership (starting at 27:00) and his work in helping distribute Bibles to 100,000+ people across the world (starting at 32:10).Links mentioned: FaithTechYou’re Only Human, by Kelly KapicKelly Kapic interview with Mere FidelityKelly Kapic interview with Collin Hansen on Gospelbound None Like Him, by Jen WilkinJen Wilkin on Why It’s Good News That God Is Not like UsVidyardThe Making of the SHAREBIBLES App (video)ShareBibles

There are many promises of the Metaverse - promises of connection, engagement, and experience - but will the Metaverse make us more or less like the humanity God created us to be? It comes down to tradeoffs. The Metaverse offers significant improvements compared to current technologies (that most Christians already use!) but will their ease of use be one of their downfalls? Will they perpetuate the problems with consumerism and expressive individualism? In this episode, Andrew and Joel define what the Metaverse is (1:00), how it may just be like yet another place that Christians will inhabit (9:30), how Christianity prioritizes in-person gatherings (15:00), Andy Crouch's perspective on what it means to be human (20:00), and finally, how the church might engage with the Metaverse (39:55).Show notes:Neal Stephenson's Snow CrashGrace in Common podcast How To Be A Modern ChristianAndy Crouch's The Life We're Looking ForAndy Crouch interview with Good Faith PodcastBiblegateway Audio Bible 1 Corinthians 5Brad East Tech for normies article9marks Ministries and their argument against multi-site podcast.

The CEO of Meta (Facebook) was recently asked, "what is the meaning of life." In this episode of WWJT, we explore his answer. The Bible teaches us that God created us to create, that every person has a purpose, and that even the activity of doing good work can give God great glory.Links to things referenced:- Lex Fridman interview with Mark Zuckerberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zOHSysMmH0&t=654s&ab_channel=LexFridman- Tim Keller sermon on "Made for Stewardship" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHIuteKTQy0&- Genesis chapter 1 in KJV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiXQmeuHTOY&ab_channel=tmantz625- Genesis chapter 2 in NIV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY_ydB-6aqY&ab_channel=RyanMorgan- Tabletalk article on doing work to God's glory: https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2018/09/working-unto-the-glory-of-god/We'll be back with another episode every two weeks. In the meantime, use tech, find rest and give God glory.

A brief introduction to Andrew Noble - Bible student - and Joel Jacob - tech futurist - and what to expect from What Would Jesus Tech, a podcast that explores how the Bible helps Christians navigate a technology-filled world. Welcome to WWJT!