Book reviewed by Vivienne Smith, July 2025
A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers
by Derek C. Schuurman, Steven H. VanderLeest, and Ethan J. Brue
Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2022; 240 pages
ISBN 9781514001004, first edition, paperback
AU$47

As our society becomes increasingly techno-centric, the ethical and existential questions of what we should design and for what purpose are ones we need to be asking, not only as consumers of technology but especially as those who are designing and building them. In this field guide, the authors Derek C. Schuurman, Steven H. VanderLeest, and Ethan J. Brue, all either professors or professionals in engineering, frame these questions within a Christian context: how does the Christian worldview specifically inform the way we create technology?

Written in a collaborative manner, each chapter is written by a different author, tackling this important topic from a diversity of lenses ranging from historical and theological to philosophical and practical. It is written with the Christian young professional working in an industry related to engineering or design in mind, but has broad implications for the wider public as consumers of technology and for any Christian struggling to integrate faith and work.

The book begins with a chapter by all three authors and reflects on why humans invent technology. Using the example of the Wright brothers who invented the first airplane, the authors argue that we are “driven by delight in creating something new and beautiful and noble” (p. 5). Technology is born out of envisioning a different reality, and ultimately “our yearnings and imaginations reflect personal values shaped by desires and longings within our hearts … they are glimpses of the ultimate dream: the longing to see the new creation and the new Jerusalem” (p. 14).

Brue then delves deeper into how the biblical creation–fall–redemption narrative should inform those desires. We were mandated to “fill, rule over, care for and keep the creation” (p. 28). Thus, our call as engineers “is to be culture makers that enable all of creation to flourish and reach its full God-glorifying potential” (p. 28). The fall has marred this vision in the ways that we have made technology our idol and asked it to do what only God can do (that is, give us hope and comfort). But we are then invited into God’s redemption plan of bringing “beauty, hope or healing to a broken world through engineering” (p. 36).

The next three chapters make a philosophical argument of what constitutes “good technology” and provide a rubric of how engineers can incorporate not just ethical principles but this vision of a better reality into their design process. First, VanderLeest makes the case for why engineers are responsible for the effects of the technology we design by deconstructing common myths that excuse the designer from any downstream effect. Yes, a computer does not have moral agency, he says, but they still “bear the biases and embed the values of the designer” (p. 44). From glaring mistakes such as the ones that resulted in the collapse of the Hyatt Regency to more insidious choices such as the decision to overlook how IBM was being used by the Nazis to improve the effectiveness of the extermination of Jews, VanderLeest argues that the engineers behind these decisions needed to be held responsible for the consequences, intended or unintended.

Then, in the next chapter, he continues by outlining normative principles for rightly creating and designing technology, based on Dooyeweerd’s nine modal aspects of reality. For example, applying the norm of “clarity” to technology design means openly communicating its benefits and dangers. The norm of “stewardship” implies making frugal but not stingy use of resources, while the norm of “justice” means treating all people fairly with technology design and trying to avoid discrimination. These norms are to guide our design process but discernment is always necessary, and we are to seek God’s guidance as we work, VanderLeest reminds us.

Finally, Schuurman ends the philosophical segment with a chapter on engineering ethics. He outlines three main ethical frameworks: deontological ethics, that is, the following of rules (for example, the National Society of Professional Engineers code of ethics), consequentialism which finds its most well-known form in utilitarianism, and virtue ethics which focuses on moral character. “For the Christian engineer,” Schuurman states, “professional ethics are necessary but not sufficient … [we are called] not only to avoid harm but to be obedient to our call as agents of renewal in the larger context of God’s coming kingdom” (p. 103).

The next three chapters switch from a philosophical to a historical lens, by examining how sin has distorted technology in the past and how that should inform how we think about technology in the future. Schuurman introduces us to the term technicism which is “the trust in the progress of technology to solve all our problems and to bring health and material prosperity” (p. 114). He argues that this worldview “does not view creation as something to be stewarded but as something to be manipulated for power and control” (p. 111) and as a result has amplified the consequences of sin. We need to be asking ourselves: to what direction is the technology pointed? Is it pointed towards disobedience or obedience to God?

Brue then takes us through a fascinating historical look at why the electric vehicle failed in the second half of the nineteenth century. Along with a host of complex reasons, he emphasises that it was the cultural value of automobility, that is “the desire to escape ordinary life whenever and wherever a person wanted to do so” (p. 126) that ultimately caused its downfall. Thus, in designing future technologies, we need to be aware of the cultural values that are shaping what is considered progress.

To this point, Schuurman contrasts two different ways of viewing what is considered progress when thinking about technology: technological optimism and pessimism. While technological optimism, such as the transhumanism movement, places a lot of faith in technology to fix current human limitations, technological pessimism, as played out in many science fiction books or movies, sees technology as the root of society’s problems. As Christians, Schuurman argues, we must not veer towards either optimism or pessimism —our hope cannot be solely in technology, but we also cannot blame technology for society’s problems. The problem lies within the human heart and thus the solution must address that.

The final two chapters lay out practical ways we can love God and neighbor by designing technology; we need not leave our neural nets to follow God. VanderLeest acknowledges that there is a group of Christians who scorn technology, believing it more holy to avoid it altogether. He points out, however, that there are many biblical examples of technology such as fishing nets or city gates, and that technology itself is not the root problem. Indeed, there are ways to better share the gospel via technology, love our neighbor better (for example, through video conferencing apps) and even love God better (for example, telescopes that help us enjoy God). Even the very act of designing technology is fulfilling our cultural mandate in the same way that composing music or writing poetry honors God. “Technology design can become an end … [where we] find joy and delight in the creation of the tool especially when we design it for someone else” (p. 178).

In the final chapter, Schuurman explores several thorny and practical ethical issues that a young Christian engineer could face. He does this in the form of fictional letters exchanged between an engineer and his mentor. The mentor gives him several pieces of good advice: being salt and light in your workplace means doing your work diligently, remembering to rest and sabbath, being honest with managers and customers, or speaking out if you are unsure about design or safety norms.

As a field guide, this book does an excellent job of covering a host of practical ethical questions Christian engineers should be asking, while also giving the proper theological, historical, and philosophical framing to these questions. While the book briefly touches on how to apply these principles to a current and controversial topic such as transhumanism, I would have loved to see more case studies on how a Christian should approach similar issues.

I would highly recommend this book as a good starting place for any Christian professional in engineering who wonders how their faith relates to their work. This reviewer hopes more works of a similar nature are published in the near future as we struggle to keep up with the pace of technological progress and its implications for Christians living faithfully in this world.