From the Garden to the City: The Place of Technology in the Story of God

Written by John Dyer

Narrated by Mike Lenz

From ancient tools to modern devices, technology is part of what it means to be human and honor God

Christian discussion of technology tends to focus along prescriptive lines. Don't look at the wrong pictures. Don't interact with pride or wrath on social media. Be careful not to join an immodest TikTok trend. Listen only to Christian music and Christian podcasts.

But a biblical perspective on technology goes far deeper than how tools are used, and involves much more than the electronics that pervade today's world. Technology is, in fact, a foundational part of what it means to be human-and it extends back to the very beginning of Creation. Technology was included in what God declared "good." But like all things impacted by the fall, it has immense power to rewire us for good or bad.

John Dyer's popular From the Garden to the City is back in this fully revised and updated edition, moving beyond moralism in order to examine the very nature of technology as essentially human and totally transformative. Perfect for both classroom use and individual contemplation, this book encourages listeners to open their minds to see our technological world with biblical vision.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: Sep 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781545922668

Reviews for From the Garden to the City

[chriskrycho · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dyer's book is an excellent introduction to a Christian view of media ecology. For those who have already spent any amount of time grappling with the issues Dyer raises, little he says will be surprising, but for many Christians, this popular treatment will be quite helpful. Dyer's prose isn't particularly beautiful, but it gets the job done well. Similarly, his exposition of Scripture isn't breathtaking, but it accomplishes its end effectively, and I suspect the vast majority of American evangelicals could use to ponder some of the points he makes in his careful if relatively topical treatment of the development of technology throughout the pages of Genesis.

[wkelly42 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read a lot of blogs about technology and the Church, and more recently I’ve been giving a lot of thought to exactly how our technology and our faith collide – how one impacts the other. So I was excited to find out about the blog tour for From the Garden to the City — it sounded like just the book I was looking for.And Dyer does not disappoint. I like the way he sets out his purpose at the very beginning of the book when he writes, “John makes a calculated choice to us a disembodied form of communication in service of the embodied life of the church, and in doing so he honors our Lord and builds up His Body.“My hope is that in the coming chapters we can learn to do the same with our technology.”Our ultimate purpose in technology has to be to honor God and build up the Church. Dyer is referring to 3 John 12-13, where John mentions that he had a lot more to write, but that those things could wait until he saw the recipients of that letter in person. In 2 John, the apostle mentions that he often wanted to write, but that there were things that had to be discussed in person. Two sides of the same coin, and two different uses of technology.Dyer points out that technology has two different “stories” — how we use technology to shape our world, and how that technology shapes us. Too often, we look at one of those stories and ignore the other — we either become pragmatists who use every new technology without thought as to whether it’s the best solution to our problem, or we become complete Luddites who shun any new technology. Both are equally dangerous.Interestingly, Dyer starts out with the Fall — this would be the “From the Garden” part of the book. He shows how God created us to be creative ourselves, to use technology to improve things. Adam is commanded to till the soil and cultivate the garden (Genesis 2:15). This fits with the overall pattern of the book, in which Dyer brings up four different categories that we need to think about in our use of technology:Reflection: Since we are created in God’s image, how does the technology changes the way we reflect that image to the world?Rebellion: Given that mankind is fallen, given our sin nature, how can this technology be perverted? How does our sin nature make us susceptible to temptation and sin?Redemption: What are the evangelistic uses of this technology? How can we use this to take the Gospel to the world? SHOULD we use this technology to take the Gospel to the world?Restoration: How does technology fit into God’s plan to ultimately restore the earth?We need to remember that technology is a tool; what we do with it is what is important. We are creative people, and we need to use that aspect of the image of God to do great things in His name.Long story short — this book has given me a lot to think about. Taken with several other books I’ve been reading and re-reading recently (Hamlet’s Blackberry, Devices of the Soul especially), I think there may be a need for me to re-evaluate how I sometimes use technology, and how often it becomes just a crutch for me.John Dyer has written a book that may be uncomfortable for many Christians, but should be read by us all. There’s the germ of a sermon series in here, or maybe an evening Bible study to help Christians of all ages deal with the technology that has become so all-encompassing and overwhelming.

[sherylhendrix · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was particularly interested in this book, which touted itself as a tome on understanding the effects of technology on our faith. It actually turned out to be a sort of theology of technology from the beginning of time until the present day, but the last couple of chapters and the recommendations were gold! His insights on how the internet and our "scanning" culture has impacted our ability to think deeply and reflect were so right on, but I'd never really thought about it before. I would recommend this book for all Christians.

[kittycrochettwo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lets face it we are all slaves to technology, from the cars we drive to the computers we use, we are so used to these things that we couldn't even begin to imagine life without them, and it seems that things are updated so quickly that they are obselete before you even get that tricky packaging off often making us feel the need to constantly update. Is it possible as Christians to live a faith based life and also embrace technology? "From The Garden To The City" uses scriptures as well as personal stories to give us the answer that yes we can, that we can actually use technology to honor and fulfill Gods plan for us.The author gives us an interesting look at not only how technology has saturated our lives but also how it has shaped and changed our lives. His use of personal stories and Biblical reference makes this book not only interesting but informative, reminding us that we must work diligently to live a Christian life while living in a world saturated with technology. I personally found this book to be quite informative and caused me to think about how I actually deal with technology in my life, and whether I am using it in a way that is pleasing to God.