Book Review: Christian Ethics for a Digital Society by Kate Ott

 Note: I wrote the following book review for the Foothills Presbytery blog. The review was published in February 2019.

At first glance, there seem to be two competing narratives about the prevalence of digital technologies in our society. One perspective holds that the incredible advances and benefits offered by modern technologies are evidence that such products are inherently “good” for humanity. The other perspective, citing troubling statistics of increased isolation and adverse health risks, render such technologies as “bad.”

The reality, as with virtually everything else in postmodern society, falls somewhere between the either/or binary these two perspectives would suggest. Suffice it to say that modern technologies – like all technological innovations that have come before – can be used both for the wellbeing of society and for evil, destructive purposes. (For just one example, the same social media product that helped to fuel a democratic uprising in several oppressed nations also provided the platform for outside forces to influence democratic elections in our own nation!).

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In what ways have digital technologies improved the health and wellbeing of society? How has the power of technology been used to foster the peace and justice of God’s Kingdom? In what ways have digital technologies led to toxic habits and forces individually and societally? How have we as technological consumers been complicit – perhaps even unknowingly – in those forces? For the Christian community, most studies of the use of technologies to this point have arisen from one of the two aforementioned binary perspectives; the literary landscape is ripe for a more thoughtful, nuanced approach. To adequately navigate the complexities of the modern world, we must first be aware of, and have a basic understanding of, the broader ethical questions that arise from them. Naturally, this can only be accomplished through obtaining a working knowledge of the subject.

[Click Here] to read the rest of the book review over on the Foothills Presbytery blog

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Ott, Kate M. Christian Ethics for a Digital Society. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.