Steve Bishop and I are writing a book about Christians who serve God outside the church sphere. We would like to introduce you to the inspiring work of Egbert Schuurman.
What does technology have to do with Christianity? In a world where artificial intelligence and genetic engineering are transforming our culture, can the Christian faith have anything to offer as to how we unfold and use technology? The Christian engineer Egbert Schuurman has wrestled with these questions throughout his career. For him, technology can never be neutral. Instead, it always reflects deeper spiritual and religious values.
It is vital to recognise that faith in science and technology is a powerful secular worldview that aggressively challenges the Christian faith. The famous Russian revolutionary Trotsky (1879-1940) wrote that: “Such is the power of science, that the average human-being will become an Aristotle, a Goethe, a Marx. And beyond this new peaks will rise.”
Trotsky believed in the power of science and technology to create a perfect world. There is no need for Jesus to save us from our sins because humans can create heaven on earth without any help from God.
In his provocative book Infinite Progress: How the Internet and Technology Will End Ignorance, Disease, Poverty, Hunger, and War American author Byron Reese proclaims that the Internet, human ingenuity, and technological innovation will help humans to end the five tragedies of human existence: ignorance, disease, poverty, hunger and war. With his passionate and pious faith in technological progress, Reese views the future not as a dystopia but as a utopia. Humans can perfect themselves without God!
Many others believe that technology is just a tool—neither good nor bad—but Schuurman challenges this. He urges Christians to approach technology with a sense of responsibility, rooted in faith and an understanding of how technology shapes culture and society.
When we study people on trains totally absorbed in their many devices (laptops, smartphones, headphones etc) we are witnessing the huge impact of technology upon so many western people as they withdraw into their gadgets oblivious to the world around them. Eye contact and conversation vanish as friends furiously text each other.
The popular belief that technology is neutral—neither good nor bad in itself—is one of the reasons a Christian approach to technology has struggled to develop. This mindset has led to the idea that it is how people use technology that matters, rather than technology’s deeper influence on society. For example, this perspective is captured in the North America’s National Rifle Association slogan, “Guns don’t kill people, people do”. This is in stark contrast to the approach of Schuurman.
The idea of a Christian approach to technology has often been ignored and sidelined. Early advocates like Hendrik van Riessen (1911–2000) began to pioneer this field, and following in his footsteps was Egbert Schuurman, a Christian engineer with a profound vision for how faith and technology can intersect. Schuurman critically exposes our modern scientific-technical culture and calls for a focus on the deeper, spiritual aspects of technology.
Egbert Schuurman was born in 1937, in the municipality of Borger in the Netherlands. He studied civil engineering at Delft University of Technology, where he worked on soil mechanics. There he became curious about a question that few people were asking:
What is the meaning and purpose of technology?
After two years working as an engineer at Delft, he received a special grant to study philosophy at the Free University of Amsterdam, where he was able to explore answers to this important question. He completed his doctoral thesis under the guidance of Hendrik van Riessen. Schuurman’s career would span decades. He became a professor of Christian philosophy at various universities in the Netherlands. Schuurman, however, was no ivory tower academic.
He served as a member of the Dutch parliament’s Senate of the States General from 1983 to 2011, during which time he led the Christian Union party in the Netherlands from 2001 to 2011. As chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, he initiated a debate on genetic modification and its effect on society. He promoted cis-genetic modification but not trans-genetic manipulation, that is, manipulation only on genes between closely related organisms (cis = same side). Without doubt these are complex issues but humans are called by God to manage and look after this world in obedience to His wise laws. We cannot ignore these challenging issues.
Schuurman’s work shows how Christian philosophy can be applied to political, economic and social issues, shaping both policy and public discourse. While Schuurman’s life and work have been the subject of a biography, it has not yet been made available in English. It is appropriately subtitled: A Dissenting Christian in a Secular Country.
Schuurman has been inspired by Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920), particularly in his conviction that Christ’s kingdom extends over all areas of life, including technology and science. For Schuurman, technology is not a peripheral issue; it is just as important as any church-based ministry. Far from viewing technology with suspicion, he views it as a vital part of Christian responsibility and service. This perspective contrasts sharply with the views of some groups, such as the 1,400 Plymouth Brethren who, according to the Times Educational Supplement (October 6, 1989), petitioned the National Curriculum Council to exempt their children from computer lessons, viewing technology as “the hand tool of the devil.”
Schuurman stresses the need for responsible technology. He is neither a technophobe, (Plymouth Brethren), nor a technophile (Byron Reese). Responsible technology needs an ethics of technology that is grounded in a Christian worldview. Understanding technology’s spiritual and historical background is vital for understanding and unfolding a responsible, Christian approach.
The Enlightenment nurtured scientific and cultural development in opposition to a Christian mindset. The secularization, or de-Christianisation, of society is a bitter fruit of this adulation of science and technology. An ethics of responsibility based on a Christian worldview is urgently required for a cultural shift towards a more healthy, life-giving and fruitful technology. The purpose of technology is to unfold and develop God’s creation, to open up the potentialities placed within creation so that humans can flourish. This is to be done to the glory and praise of God: “Being busy with technology should mean being busy serving God.” Schuurman stresses that technology should serve the flourishing of creation, not control it.
Schuurman’s work is inspiring because it affirms technology as a good gift from the Lord. We do not have to demonise (Plymouth Brethren) or divinise this wonderful gift (Byron Reese). Schuurman is responding faithfully to the cultural mandate.
Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.
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1 Comment
Dr Philip Thomas · March 20, 2025 at 11:56 pm
Thanks for this piece, Mark. Yes, we should strive to conduct ourselves, however we use technology, with one central purpose in mind; and that is to bring glory to our Maker. Best wishes on the book you’re co-authoring.