Dehumanization: The Cost of Progress (part 2)

(See part 1 here: http://nitasbookclub.blogspot.com/2012/09/dehumanization-cost-of-progress-part-1.html )

In light of what men like Jacques Ellul and C.S. Lewis warn us about concerning the dehumanization of humanity by the powers behind technology ("any complex of standardized means for attaining a predetermined result"), how should we followers of Jesus resist the powerful pull of "progress" in today's world?

In this post I will touch on the personal walk of the believer as it relates to this topic...

This reality isn't new; as Ellul so well points out in his book, The Meaning of the City, all of this has its roots in the building of the first city by Cain. Jesus acknowledged that the world systems lie in the hands of the evil one, so as long as we live in this age, we can't escape from the systems of the world. Jesus spoke of being in the world but not of it. Having recognized that this is not a new reality, it's important to be aware that the "noose" is being tightened around humanity with each generation's technological advancements.

In these posts I'm not pretending to give thorough or easy solutions to this but want to share simple thoughts that I have had about it. I believe that the following are some ways of living prophetic-ly as persons who love and follow Jesus:
1.   Being awake to what we're immersed in, having a healthy suspicion about all that technology promises to give us and the awareness of what we lose when we indiscriminately engage it. (A great presentation related to this is Shane Hipps' talk about how technology shapes us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkZ9G6ZxtmI.)  Without such awareness, we unwittingly live subject to the powers at work in our technological society.
2.   Being intentional about walking away from the technological devices (smartphones, ipods, TV, e readers, computers, etc., etc), refusing to jump onto them every time the urge comes and developing the ability to do nothing for awhile. Disengaging them altogether for a set time may be needful from time to time. 
3.   Continually abiding in Him who is Truth. This abiding is active and prayerful dependence on Him, trusting Him in the midst of confusing times. Only in Him can we hope to have at least a bit of objectivity when it comes to the influence of these powers over us...He is able to help us be sensitive to what's going on around us that most people aren't aware of.

(In part 3, I'll touch on our prophetic role as a collective people related to this...)