Andrew Noble
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andrewnoble.bsky.social
Andrew Noble
@andrewnoble.bsky.social
120 followers 67 following 180 posts
Christian in Kitchener. PhD student at the University of Nottingham. Theology and Technology. Host of What Would Jesus Tech.
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A "religionless" human is a mere construct, as thin and vacuous an abstraction as the "natural man" of Rousseau and the adherents of the social contract.

In reality it never existed.

- Herman Bavinck
Idols must be named, understood, and demythologized as part of Christian formation.
Technology is not just something that mediates between our mental intentions and the physical world about us, technology gets inside our heads and affects the very way in which we conceive our reality.

- George Pattison
Every physical substance contains a spiritual reality.
It is only in Christ that we know what it is to be human.

- Herman Bavinck
Modern people have no moral ideal, no example; they are only infatuated with progress toward a misty ideal. They are, therefore, restless, empty, without authority, disconnected, and emancipated.

- Herman Bavinck in the early 1900s
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sheep.

- God
Top 7 biblical themes to teach on technology:

1) idol / identity / image
2) creation / cultural mandate / new creation
3) exile / Babylon
4) shame / clothes / ark / imputation
5) possessions / ownership / money
6) relationship / church / love
7) virtue / Spirit / fruit
Would we have gotten C.S. Lewis’ enchantment without Barfield’s participation?
Theology podcasts I enjoy:

- Into Theology

- London Lyceum

- Mere Fidelity

- Grace in Common

- Thinking About The Faith (I cohost this one with Jon Cleland)
A story in two images.
All of modernity's problems stem from man's inability to admit he is not his own.
Love is best understood not merely as an act of will, in contrast to the act of the intellect, but rather as an ontological unity, within which we properly will and understand.

- D.C. Schindler
Sympathy/empathy in Calvin.
I also don’t think you should work for the devil!

(I appreciate your work though. And AI as mirror is a good approach, as you’ve said for TGC. Shannan Vallor has some good points about AI as mirror as well though I’d prefer your take over hers. She lacks a distinctly Christian virtue ethic)
Turkle is great.

It is different in many ways.

For one, I don’t think anyone has committed suicide due to a fond pet affection (see character AI case. See recent episode of Undivided Attention)

2, Underlying Gnosticism.

Each tool must be assessed on its own. Analogies are limited.
You can leverage your Ellul insights. Dan may not be familiar with them.

I think AI as companionship is increasingly important. I like connecting this to idolatry. (Idol in relational and inducing sense not as in the ultimate god sense of idol)

AI ethics tends to be weak on Christianity
Knowing “technology” for what it is requires the recognition of what has been lost politically and ethically.

- George Grant
Three kinds of Christians who aren’t ready for AI.

Those who lean too much on:

1) Pragmatics
2) Passivity
3) Pontification

Who is ready? The ones who are strong in prudence and purpose. They will thrive while the rest stumble.
Reposted by Andrew Noble
Seeing younger Christians think like this makes my heart sing!

“It is better for a pastor to be present w/ his people and to preach a text w/o elegance or extensive research than for a corner-cutting pastor to rely on technology.” @andrewnoble.bsky.social
ca.thegospelcoalition.org/article/your...
Your Sermon Doesn’t Need AI
We need to ask more than, “How might this save me time?” Ultimately, a pastor must ask himself and his elders: Is my use of GenAI ethical?
ca.thegospelcoalition.org
Let us Christians, therefore, give thanks to the Lord our God — not to heaven and earth, as Cicero argues, but to the One who made heaven and earth.

- Augustine
I’ve read or skimmed around 5 or so books on AI.

When they talk about AI in HR, they struggle. They cherry pick data, exaggerate data, and either make AI seem better or worse than it actually is.

I sometimes wonder if AI is so vast a field that “experts” should speak more narrowly.
We nurture what we love, and we love what we nurture.

- Sherry Turkle