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Scholarship March 29, 2017

Power Failure: Christianity in the Culture of Technology

The Wabash Center

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Author
Borgmann, Albert
Publisher
Brazos Press, Grand Rapids, MI
ISBN
1587430584
Table of Contents
Introduction

Part 1 The Circumstances of the Culture of Technology
ch. 1 The Invisibility of Contemporary Culture
ch. 2 The Moral Significance of Material Culture
ch. 3 Communities of Celebration

Part 2 The Place of Christianity in the Culture of Technology
ch. 4 Contingency and Grace
ch. 5 Power and Care
ch. 6 Liberty, Festivity, and Poverty
ch. 7 Courage and Fortitude
ch. 8 The Culture of the Word and the Culture of the Table

Notes
Index
We live in a culture defined and sustained by technology. Usually we equate this access to technology with opportunity, affluence, even happiness: the good life. Albert Borgmann's Power Failure raises some crucial, if disconcerting, questions: If technology liberates us, exactly what kind of liberation does it promise? Do we really feel free? Are we prospering, and by what definition?

Borgmann looks at the relationship between Christianity and technology by examining some of the invisible dangers of a technology-driven lifestyle. Specifically, he points out how devices and consumption have replaced physical things and practices in everyday life. Power Failure calls us to vigorous Christian practice in a technological age. These practices include citizen-based decision making, communal celebrations, and a vital connection with the table and the word through daily shared meals and the discipline of reading.

Examining the influences that shape people, this unique and insightful text will appeal to anyone interested in technology, philosophy, or cultural critique. Chapters include The Moral Significance of the Material Culture, Contingency and Grace, Power and Care, and The Culture of the Word and the Culture of the Table. (From the Publisher)