Agrarians and Technology

Someone once commented that they would take nothing I say seriously because I was promoting agrarianism via a weblog. There is large group of people who do not understand our positions on technology, and a smaller group that misrepresents them on purpose to discredit our camp. I shall try to explain my views on this topic.

Technology in and of itself is not good or evil. At the same time, I want to stress that technology is not a word that is interchangeable with word progress. This is the presupposition that many have, whether they realize it or not. The phrase "you can't stop progress" has come to mean that you can't stop or limit any technology. This is the holy grail of the chronological snobs, new is always better. I also think that our hatred for any type of real work, any that produces sweat on ones brow, has helped us redefine progress as anything that "saves us labor". I am not opposed to all labor saving improvements, no one would be, but there must be a point where these "improvements" infringe on our ability to form real human relationships with family and the fellow saints . I advocate rejecting some technology because some technology inhibits our ability to have healthy, vibrant covenant communities. Some technology inhibits our ability to be godly stewards of creation. What kind of technological improvements am I exited about? How about space age electric netting that can keep chickens in and grizzly bears out, all with a small car battery! This allows us to move birds around pastures in healthy rotations which improve the soil, reduce manure run off in ground water and provide birds with a happy productive life. This is not grandpas fencing! This is technology doing good, actual progress! Should we spray toxic poison all over our food just because its "new technology"? Should we continue to kill all the life in our soils just because chemical fertilizers are newer than manure or sea water? Should we shove 20,000 chickens in one barn just because we can? I believe the answer to our problems with progress lies in our definition of progress. As a group of people, be it a nation, a town, a county or the larger community of Christ, we should be having dialog about the pros and cons of technologies and whether or not they help us live godly lives or present a stumbling block. Ideas have consequences.