Is Technology Good or Bad?

I have a lot of discussion lately about the evils of the Internet, mostly from people considerably older than myself. Of course, there are some religious groups in this country that believe that is wrong to own technology. Don't misunderstand me, they have no problem going to a neighbor's house to call 911, but they won't allow phones in their own homes. They also don't wear any colors other than black or white, and they don't like having bright orange triangles on their horse-drawn buggies (but they accept that as a legal, safety requirement for slow-moving vehicles). It's not hard to imagine a future where most of society has accepted interstellar travel as a part of life, while some people refuse to travel in any vehicle that isn't horse-drawn.

I know a man that refers to the TV set as a "Hellavision." He doesn't own one. He has been known to sit and watch a football game on other people's sets, but, for the most part, he doesn't watch TV. Of course, there are a lot of things shown on TV that we, as Christians, really don't need to see. Very little on TV even acknowledges Christianity, and what does, generally only makes mention to poke fun of. Think about it: who is the best-known character on a television show who is known for being Christian? I'm thinking Ned Flanders. Anybody out there got a better answer? Granted, nobody on that show really gets treated with a lot of respect, but Ned is, well, for lack of a better term, a cartoon character. Even as a type that, it seems surreal; I'm complaining about a character on a cartoon show as being cartoony. I guess my point is, it would be nice to see a Christian character on a show that was known for being kind and compassionate, and for having a sincere relationship with God. 56% of Americans surveyed identified themselves as Christians; why is it that an American character on a TV show with a religious label is more likely to be Muslim than Christian?

Granted, there have been some exceptions: Suzanne Summers' character on "Step by Step" dragged her husband to church (and the writers gave the pastor of that church some real wisdom). On "The Drew Carey Show," Drew and his friends went to church in one episode. On "WKRP in Cincinnatti," Herb Tarleck once was asked to let a camera crew from a local TV station follow him around for a day for a TV special--They showed up on a Sunday morning, and he suddenly decided that it was important that the people of Cincinnati at least think that he went to church, so he got up, got himself and his wife and kids dressed for church, and led the camera crew on a tour of Cincinnati, until he found a Seventh Day Adventist's church that he swore they attended every Sunday. "Seventh Heaven" (ran for 10 seasons on WB and one on CW) was about the pastor of a small church somewhere in California, and his wife and kids (unfortunately, the show defies description: It is occasionally funny, but not funny enough to be a sitcom, it tends to be more dramatic, with a story line that keeps continuing--Is it a Christian soap opera? "Seventh Heaven" has also been called the most popular show that nobody watches). The late Michael Landon's drama, "Highway to Heaven" and "Touched by an Angel" both managed to present Christianity in a dignified and respectful manner, and still bring in viewers. "Promised Land" tried, but went belly up after only three seasons. "The Father Dowling Mysteries" suffered a similar fate. Anybody else know of other examples of Christianity on TV?

Realistically, though, evil is something that requires thought. The Internet is not evil; your television set is not evil. Both of those can be, and have been, used for evil. There are certainly things on the Internet that no Christian should ever want to be exposed to, there have been things on television that weren't any better, but there have been good things on both, too. Personally, I think it's a sad commentary on television networks that the examples I cited in the preceding paragraph are the only examples I can come up with of "Christian programming," but that doesn't make the medium evil. A good number of the people involved in planning the schedule may be evil, but the medium itself is not capable of being good or evil. If the Internet seems evil to you, then I would have to ask, what are you using it for? If you are using it to access porn, then I can understand why you may feel that it is evil, but it isn't e Internet that is evil. I would hope that if you are reading this on the Internet, then you can at least see how the Internet can be used for good, even if you don't agree with me on some of the other things that I have stated in this blog.

Update: It occurred to me that on the sitcom, "Night Court," they did an episode where ADA Dan Fielding got called up for two weeks active duty in the National Guard (something that normally happens annually, but only happened once for Dan in, what, eight seasons?). He somehow wound up stranded with an Inuit family (in Alaska?), who took care of him, and he grew fond of their daughter. She became injured, and in dire need of medical assistance. Dan proceded to find some solitude and give one of the most sincere prayers ever shown in a sitcom. Dan didn't try to bargain with God, he told God frankly that, they both knew that whatever he promised, he would end up not doing it." I believe that God appreciates honesty...