How is Technology Shaping you?

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It doesn't pick and choose when there's so much to fight against websites for when others flee reverence toward and when darkness prevails.

Love remembers its strength 156 years Salvation Army has left for lost your help will never stop walking back towards life. I am Bernie Dick and I'm Cheryl Gillam, welcome back Cheryl. Hey, welcome back, Bernie, and welcome back to all of her listeners. We are glad that you are with us as we continue the series discipled by algorithms with our guest author Prof. podcast or Christ follower Jason Thacker today.

We discussed a very powerful question that's at the heart of most of Jason's work.

What does it mean to be created in the image of God and a strong grasp on how you view this as a key for the church to file why not be frightened by technology, but also to understand the limits of it reminds us that we aren't dependent upon technology but were dependent on God. I think to the entire world. Of course, was affected by COBIT.

We were all shut in or having to you know either learn to be in fellowship remotely via technology or find other ways to communicate and this was a great way to wake up call for the church to embrace technology. How is it that we can be present in each other's lives without actually being in front of each other.

It's a great tool and has its place, but it's also a good time to just remember our dependency isn't on the technology itself, but it is on on God and you and I have a mutual friend, Jeremy, and Jeremy is a voracious reader. He loves to just read all things church growth and he's very passionate about embracing the idea that a website or social media page of your church and the activities of your church is the new front door of your church people are looking for opportunities they're looking for ways that they can either stream a service or catch some teaching remotely because they've gotten comfortable with the idea of using the technology right well if you want to learn more about Jason or to listen to any of the episodes you might've missed visit Salvation Army's outcast.org we have links to his website as well as his books and his podcast, and please let us know if you have any questions forests or Jason send us an email. Radio US asset.Salvation Army.or the will will will and will you welcome back towards life. I Bernie Dick this is Jason Thacker Jason's and author of a book called the age of AI artificial intelligence and the future of humanity. I must admit this is nothing that I would've picked up for some light reading, but in fact it has really been inspirational.

I'm grateful to our producers for identifying this and we welcome you back, Jason. I'm glad to hear now for those of you that are just catching up Jason's part of the ethics and religious Liberty commission of the Southern Baptist convention. I'm sure there's an acronym in there somewhere. We welcome you want. Glad to be here today were talking about technology, and specifically artificial intelligence and how it may or may not be able to define our worth. When you hear that statement what you think of yet. There's a lot especially in terms of artificial intelligence. It causes the staff some really unique questions about what what it means to be human. Partially because we've often long assumed that what it meant to be human was that we can reason and think when you have these tools that can process information and you know what" think similarly, or in very narrow ways like a human does. Maybe not the full breath of the way we do is human ancestors say well we just a machine that really what we are some comic supercomputer type of machine or is there something more unique about humanity. I think that's really it says that we set on previous episodes. I think what is it mean to be human is actually one of the most important questions we can ask of humanity.

Of all of the issues we deal with whether his marriage and sexuality to issues of justice issues of religious freedom, international issues, even technology questions is what is it mean to be human. The core of our identity is really key to so many of the cultural conversations were having right and that think about AI's.

I think it uniquely causes us to stop and cut question cycle. What does it actually mean because if I'm just a thinking machine then maybe we can create something that's just like me, that has the same worth and value that I do or is there something different I think a lot of listeners would say oh no we can't create like God creates. We don't create humans like God creates humans, why what's unique and what's different about and that's really gets back to this fundamental question within Christian ethics is what is it mean to be made in the image of God. I think that's one of the most important questions we can be asking today and Margo day they might go to. So what does it mean to be created in the image of God. Yeah, that's one of the really interesting questions and Kenneth Christian theology and ethics that there's been a lot of debate on throughout church history, not just in various traditions, but really, the large swath of Christian history is what is the image of God. What is it mean to be made in the image of God. If you go back to the Scriptures in Genesis 1 and two is the creation account and think most listeners would be familiar with that is that God created all of these things he created the land and the secret of the animals, the birds of the air, the fish of the waters, and all these things were good and he continues to go all the way until he creates man he creates humanity and he says this is very good and in Genesis 126 to 28 says and God let go and we let us create man in our image, after our likeness in this is the unique nature of humanity, there were something different and unique and a lot of the ways that the church has historically thought about the image of God, fall into three main camps you can think of one that's going to be more were thinking creatures were rational there some some element or substance in us that makes us unique in the sense that we have a higher level of consciousness or we have the capacity for reason and a deep thought that you don't see exhibited in animals and the rest of the kingdom order another way is that we can have a relationship with not only with God, but also relationship with one another that makes us unique and distinct from the rest of creation.

And lastly, there's another way that we can think about the image in the sense that something about us that we reflect God like a little mirror we reflect God that we can function like gods in the sense that God gave us dominion. This text says dominion over the fish of the seized dominion over the world that were called to create like God creates a not exactly were also called to Stuart and to take care of the things that God has given us, and to act in income in his stead as his representative and all of these ways of thinking about the image of God can be really helpful, but one of things I think that it does is it Naturally pushes us into think that the image of God must be some part of us, or some attribute something that we we have that we can lose and so some of the ways that people push back over the years as well.

What about those who may be disabled or maybe not have the same cognitive capacities as other people.

Does that make them less in the image of God. So I think the best way that we can kind of approach lied these questions is saying that as human beings we are the image of God.

We are made in the image of God.

It's something that's a status that something that God has given to us.

He's made us unique. And while it can be seen in a lot of these other attributes. Whether it's our minds the relationships of the ways that we represent God. All of those are aspects that I think the best way to think about it is more of something that God has created us. That's it can't be taken away and that's the beautiful thing is that we say for March are specific Christian tradition is that no matter if it's the baby in the womb to the woman on her deathbed that into the end of natural life that all human beings are created in God's image had infinite value and were and that's really at the core of Christian ethics is that a driving force of all of ethical decisions is every single human being is valuable every single human being has dignity, value and worth. Not because what they do not because of what they contribute, but simply who they are.

Technology causes us to say will maybe it's about your contribution made sure utility that makes you valuable know it's not. It's actually who you are who God made you as a human being with that infinite value worth and dignity for me as a Christian person. I think we have ethical moral responsibility to be more like Jesus.

I want to believe that Jesus's time on this earth was so powerful that millions of people now know about his journey. That of course we live in a day and age where were centuries removed from his time on this earth and yet were still talking about.

That must mean something I really am encouraged by this conversation because were talking about technology and the influence that we have on the world and how we are being influenced by technology. I do not want to be made in the image of a product to be made in the image of God. I want to be seen as a disciple of Jesus Christ. And I'm so grateful for your point of view.

In this regard. We are grateful that you're here, Jason Thacker and on behalf of our listeners. I will say again, we look forward to the next episode and if you haven't read this book, or don't have a copy of it.

It's called the age of AI artificial intelligence in the future of humanity. Check it out where ever you buy your books and we hope that you'll come back and check us out for words of life next week. The Salvation Army's mission doing the most good means helping people with material and spiritual needs become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army visit Salvation Army USA.org to offer your support and love to hear from you. Email us radio USS.Salvation Army.org or call 1-800-229-9965, write us at PO Box 29972, Atlanta, GA 30359 tell us how we can help share prayer request or share your testimony. Would love to use your story here.

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