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Abstract
The Genesis story reveals that God created humankind in His image with instructions to be fruitful and multiply. We know, too, that God placed humankind over the animals and instructed Adam and Eve to subdue the earth and till the soil. However, God did not design humans to walk on all fours, near to the ground to drink from streams or lakes. Nor did He provide humans with claws with which to dig. Thus, humans are not ready-made to live in the wild. Therefore, out of necessity, humans have used our God-given creativity and intelligence to engineer tools, shelter, means of communication, and other needed items and processes to provide for the masses. Although God can speak things into existence and change a situation with a word or a touch, humans must plan and work carefully within our limitations and abilities to accomplish God’s purposes for us and for humankind.
When Eve and Adam chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden (called ‘the Fall’), their purpose didn’t change, but their work became hard and painful. Now, not only were they much more limited than God, but they also became prone to act out of selfishness and self-reliance.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, people have certainly set out to subdue the earth (e.g. through dams and terrain alterations), engineer explorations (e.g., in space, the human body, and the ocean), harness information (e.g. the Internet and Generative-AI), and seek agricultural solutions for providing food worldwide. Many of these efforts have been focused on living out God’s commands from Genesis. However, hubris has developed in which engineers often act and speak as if there is a technical solution to all of the world’s major problems. Carbon sequestration, mirrors in space to deflect the sun, and artificial intelligence are all examples of this hubris. Our ‘solutions’ have caused additional problems, such as climate change, weapons of mass destruction, and social turmoil. Yet, in perhaps a reinforcing cycle, engineers are drawn to seek technological solutions to these technology-caused problems.
We engineers must reclaim what God calls us to and what our codes of ethics faintly point to – intellectual humility. This humility recognizes our limitations and seeks to learn and grow, always with others’ needs in mind. Yet, humility is not prized in the West, so it must be taught and encouraged.
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Humans Were Created To Engineer With Humility
The Genesis story reveals that God created humankind in His image with instructions to be fruitful and multiply. We know, too, that God placed humankind over the animals and instructed Adam and Eve to subdue the earth and till the soil. However, God did not design humans to walk on all fours, near to the ground to drink from streams or lakes. Nor did He provide humans with claws with which to dig. Thus, humans are not ready-made to live in the wild. Therefore, out of necessity, humans have used our God-given creativity and intelligence to engineer tools, shelter, means of communication, and other needed items and processes to provide for the masses. Although God can speak things into existence and change a situation with a word or a touch, humans must plan and work carefully within our limitations and abilities to accomplish God’s purposes for us and for humankind.
When Eve and Adam chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden (called ‘the Fall’), their purpose didn’t change, but their work became hard and painful. Now, not only were they much more limited than God, but they also became prone to act out of selfishness and self-reliance.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, people have certainly set out to subdue the earth (e.g. through dams and terrain alterations), engineer explorations (e.g., in space, the human body, and the ocean), harness information (e.g. the Internet and Generative-AI), and seek agricultural solutions for providing food worldwide. Many of these efforts have been focused on living out God’s commands from Genesis. However, hubris has developed in which engineers often act and speak as if there is a technical solution to all of the world’s major problems. Carbon sequestration, mirrors in space to deflect the sun, and artificial intelligence are all examples of this hubris. Our ‘solutions’ have caused additional problems, such as climate change, weapons of mass destruction, and social turmoil. Yet, in perhaps a reinforcing cycle, engineers are drawn to seek technological solutions to these technology-caused problems.
We engineers must reclaim what God calls us to and what our codes of ethics faintly point to – intellectual humility. This humility recognizes our limitations and seeks to learn and grow, always with others’ needs in mind. Yet, humility is not prized in the West, so it must be taught and encouraged.