Has Technology Killed God?

This is the very interesting question that Andrew Klavan and Bill Whittle discussed on PJTV recently. Their conclusion was, of course, not so much but they raised the point that at least in the advanced Western world, it has greatly diminished the fear of God and that is a bad thing. 

Technology has created a false illusion of control, of insulation from life-rocking events, that makes the sudden death of someone close or the mass deaths like 9/11 or Newtown such a rude shock. It creates jaded attitudes and hubris in droves that we have nothing to fear from God. Indeed, we can flout his ordinances and commands with impunity because we are the masters of our lives, even the universe. This imperious attitude leads to the further conceit that we can ignore things like terrorists, rogue states, new super power wannabes and the like because we have C-O-N-T-R-O-L and nothing dares harm us! Wrong on all accounts.

Psalms reminds us that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..."  Psalm 111:10. True statement. The theologian Paul Tillich described God as "The Ground of Being" and that is the right starting point for wisdom - God underlies everything. At the individual level, man lives "... by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4. Sudden death does break the spell, but usually only temporarily, because we don't think it will happen to us. Ah - ignorance is such bliss! At the societal level, governments are instituted by God (Rom. 13:1) and if they ignore Him long enough, they will pass on to the dustbin of history. (See Babylon, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Soviets, etc., etc.) Finally, the entire world can end in the blink of an eye - one large asteroid, one giant solar flare at the wrong time, or who knows what else, could extinguish all life on earth tomorrow. In fact, Jesus Himself said:

"When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes." 

Matt. 24:37-39

Perhaps things haven't changed so much after all, they just happen faster and we have a wider view of what is happening. 

When tragedy hits - and it will - no doubt the refrain will be heard that God is unfair. Not true. He has warned us at every level that life is difficult and that actions have very real consequences. We can revel in our ignorance fostered by the illusion of control and ignore Him or we can fear Him and begin the road to wisdom.