Technology relates to Theology of the Body
By Sylvi Pultorak
Staff Writer
Thursday, March 3rd, 2010
On Feb. 23, lower
campus resident assistant and graduate theology student Michael Ruszala
gave a presentation entitled “Contemporary Cultural Change in
Light of Theology of the Body” which related Theology of the Body
to the growth of technology in the culture of the past decade.
He said that the “Techno 2000s” decade is much different than the other decades because of the increase in technology usage.
“Technology is not bad,” said Ruszala. “But it reflects man whose heart is a battle ground of good and evil.”
He said that the Church does not see technology as something evil.
“God is behind what makes us do technology,” Ruszala said. “The problem is with our hearts.”
He said that narcissism is a large issue today and that people want what they want now. Narcissism leads to entitlement in the form of instant gratification from the internet and the need for fame in the form of melodramatic Twitter posts, Ruszala said.
People's imperfect inclinations can be magnified by technology, Ruszala said.
Ruszala quoted Luke 6:4, and then related it to the current culture: “Out of the heart, the Twitter tweets,” Ruszala said.
However, both Pope John Paul II and St. Maximilian Kolbe used technology quite a bit to spread virtue and build up the kingdom, Ruszala said.
The human body is an expression of the person in his or her ontological and essential concreteness, Ruszala said.
Unlike the worlds of “WALL-E” and the “Matrix,” humans are embodied rational beings and the body is essential for communication, Ruszala said.
“Communication is not this external reality, but when we go on Google we type something in and get some information,” said Ruszala. “But (John Paul II) is saying that this is not the original meaning of communication … expressing who you are as a person.”
Ninety percent of communication is non-verbal and therefore the body establishes mankind, allowing man and woman to communicate with each other more effectively, Ruszala said. Technology should be at the service of the communion of persons, not the other way around, Ruszala said.
Ruszala then said that there is a hierarchy of communication and talked about how much each type of communication expresses the whole person, body and soul. This list is merely a suggestion of the most valuable forms of communication and is not infallible, Ruszala said.
Conversations in person are at the top of the hierarchy as they easily express the body and the soul of the person through body language and intonation, he said.
Ruszala said attentive phone conversations follow, especially if in-person conversations are not convenient due to distance.
Handwritten letters allow the personality and emphasis of the words to come through more easily through the handwriting, Ruszala said.
E-mail, although it is more of a necessity today, is not the same as a handwritten letter and is close to the superficiality of many text messages or instant messages, Ruszala said.
Instant messenger and texting allow much to be said, but usually more superficially without any real meaning, Ruszala said.
“The authentic development of the human person should be measured as a matter of principle, by the measure of ethics and not only of technology,” said Ruszala.
“One thing that really stood out to me was the hierarchy of communication,” said political science major Randy Bridgewater. “With texting, you really lose the humanness of the friendship — kind of like the superficial Facebook friends.”
Bridgewater said that she has made a resolution to focus more on her friendships in person.
“I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but what I got out of it I liked,” said graduate theology student Kyle Burkhart. “It was a good opportunity to reflect on (John Paul II’s) work.”
He said that the “Techno 2000s” decade is much different than the other decades because of the increase in technology usage.
“Technology is not bad,” said Ruszala. “But it reflects man whose heart is a battle ground of good and evil.”
He said that the Church does not see technology as something evil.
“God is behind what makes us do technology,” Ruszala said. “The problem is with our hearts.”
He said that narcissism is a large issue today and that people want what they want now. Narcissism leads to entitlement in the form of instant gratification from the internet and the need for fame in the form of melodramatic Twitter posts, Ruszala said.
People's imperfect inclinations can be magnified by technology, Ruszala said.
Ruszala quoted Luke 6:4, and then related it to the current culture: “Out of the heart, the Twitter tweets,” Ruszala said.
However, both Pope John Paul II and St. Maximilian Kolbe used technology quite a bit to spread virtue and build up the kingdom, Ruszala said.
The human body is an expression of the person in his or her ontological and essential concreteness, Ruszala said.
Unlike the worlds of “WALL-E” and the “Matrix,” humans are embodied rational beings and the body is essential for communication, Ruszala said.
“Communication is not this external reality, but when we go on Google we type something in and get some information,” said Ruszala. “But (John Paul II) is saying that this is not the original meaning of communication … expressing who you are as a person.”
Ninety percent of communication is non-verbal and therefore the body establishes mankind, allowing man and woman to communicate with each other more effectively, Ruszala said. Technology should be at the service of the communion of persons, not the other way around, Ruszala said.
Ruszala then said that there is a hierarchy of communication and talked about how much each type of communication expresses the whole person, body and soul. This list is merely a suggestion of the most valuable forms of communication and is not infallible, Ruszala said.
Conversations in person are at the top of the hierarchy as they easily express the body and the soul of the person through body language and intonation, he said.
Ruszala said attentive phone conversations follow, especially if in-person conversations are not convenient due to distance.
Handwritten letters allow the personality and emphasis of the words to come through more easily through the handwriting, Ruszala said.
E-mail, although it is more of a necessity today, is not the same as a handwritten letter and is close to the superficiality of many text messages or instant messages, Ruszala said.
Instant messenger and texting allow much to be said, but usually more superficially without any real meaning, Ruszala said.
“The authentic development of the human person should be measured as a matter of principle, by the measure of ethics and not only of technology,” said Ruszala.
“One thing that really stood out to me was the hierarchy of communication,” said political science major Randy Bridgewater. “With texting, you really lose the humanness of the friendship — kind of like the superficial Facebook friends.”
Bridgewater said that she has made a resolution to focus more on her friendships in person.
“I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but what I got out of it I liked,” said graduate theology student Kyle Burkhart. “It was a good opportunity to reflect on (John Paul II’s) work.”