David W. Gill Archives - Bob on Books

Questioning Technology with Jacques Ellul

Questioning Technology with Jacques Ellul, David W. Gill and Lisa Richmond, eds. Pickwick Publications (ISBN: 9798385244430) 2025

Summary: Essays on the technological thought of Ellul, both foundational principles and applications.

In 1954, French sociologist-philosopher-theologian, Jacques Ellul published La Technique: L’enjeu du siècle. It didn’t get much notice until published in English ten years later as The Technological Society. It is one of three books on technology Ellul wrote, along with The Technological System and The Technological Bluff. One of the most significant ideas from his works is the idea of technique. He sees technique as the ultimate stage of technology which he describes as “the totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency (for a given stage of development) in every field of human activity.”

Does that sound familiar? As our generation comes to grips with what it means to live in a highly networked society with technology integrated into the fabric of our lives, all toward the end of increasing efficiency, Ellul sounds prescient. Likewise, as we grapple with the implications of the rapid advances in artificial intelligence and its implementation, Ellul’s descriptions are eerily prophetic.

In 2024, the International Jacques Ellul Society met for its biennial conference on the topic of Ellul’s thought on technology. Out of the conference presentations arose the 31 essays in this volume. I could write a review on each one, given their depth and breadth. I won’t do that but rather try to give you a sense of the richness of Christian thinking on technology, inspired by the writing of Jacques Ellul more than seventy years ago!

The book is divided into two parts: Foundations and Applications. The first part focus on the contours of Ellul’s thought, sometimes in conversation with other thinkers. Carl Mitcham opens the section charting and critiquing Ellul’s thought within the larger discussion of the philosophy of technology. Jennifer Karns Alexander takes Ellul’s ideas about efficiency and raises questions about the “efficiencies” of AI, noting the ways its inefficiencies are offloaded to other sectors of society. I was fascinated by the contrast Justine McIntyre makes between technique’s appeal to satiety and nature’s promise of sufficiency. Several essays weigh Ellul in light of other thinkers: Weber, Mumford, Fuller, Charbonneau, Illich, and Arnold Gehlen. Finally, Felicia Wu Song closes out the section with a Christian ethic of non-power in a digital world focused on technique and productivity.

The second part opens with what I thought one of the most important essays of the whole by David W. Gill, one of the conference organizers. In “The End of Technicized Work” he explores the implications of our technopoly on the displacement of workers and its economic consequences and what work and vocation might look like in this brave new world. Some of the essays explore the implications of technology on music, art, organizations, law, education, and the state. For example, I would highlight T. Bone Burnett’s essay on recording technology, tracing what he sees as a deterioration of sound quality in the technological advances and what he is doing to counter this. Several essays explore what it means to be human in a world of technique. Geraldine E. Forsberg’s essay on a theological perspective particularly stood out in this regard

The second part closes with two essays of particular applicative import. Firstly, challenging church use of technology, Luke Proctor, calls the church to incarnational, not virtual reality. Secondly, noting Ellul’s focus on the individual, Matthew Littlehale argues for the role of local communities to resist the incursion of technique.

In conclusion, this volume represents some of the best thinking extending the insights of Jacques Ellul. In particular, it challenges those of us in the Christian community to discernment rather than passive adoption of the latest technology. Where do we draw the line and not bow to the god of efficiency? And what does it mean to walk in the “non-power” of the cross? What will it mean for us to both minister to and advocate for the displaced? Finally, how will we live into the incarnational, embodied life of human community in an increasingly digital world?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Workplace Discipleship 101, David W. Gill. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2020.

Summary: A practical guide to living as a follower in one’s workplace focused on how we get ready for our work, impact our workplace, and beyond our workplace.

As a teenager who had been raised in a Christian home and church, one of the things I struggled with in high school was making the connection between Sunday, and Monday through Saturday. Had it not been for the Jesus movement and later, the collegiate ministry I was involved with, I may have walked away from Christianity. To say Jesus is Lord but then live six days a week as if he has nothing to do with them seemed just a wee bit inconsistent. Atheism seemed more consistent and less hypocritical.

David Gill writes out of a similar conviction. Observing that we spend the largest part of our waking hours at work, Gill contends it only makes sense for those of us who follow Jesus to learn how we may do so during those hours. He then proceeds to give us a book (part of Hendrickson’s “Theology of Work” series) grounded solidly in a theology of both discipleship and work and incredibly practical in its applications.

The book is organized in three parts. The first considers how we might “get ready for our work.” He begins by inviting us to commit to be a workplace disciple and share it with someone else who won’t let us evade that commitment. He then writes about prayer, both crisis prayers and ongoing prayer with models of workplace prayers and even how to use the Lord’s prayer in praying about our work. He addresses the other side of our communication with God in listening to Him in scripture, understanding it as centered around Jesus and God’s mission in the world, and then offers ways to engage the scriptures personally and in groups. He urges us not to go it alone but to have a “posse” of the like-minded and offers helps for forming such a group. Finally, Gill believes we need to be lifelong learners, and particularly commends the importance of reading (I knew there was a reason I liked this guy). He makes extensive suggestions of books to get us started on a theology of work.

Having gotten us ready for work, the second part of the book speaks of our impact as Christians at work. First of all it means aligning our work with God. After looking at God the worker, he makes recommendations about understanding our gifted passions and pursuing them as disciples of Christ. Our model as imitators of Christ is a big part of our impact, living with the qualities of righteousness, peacemaking, and joy. He encourages us to be light in our workplaces, bringing the unique insights and questions that our shaped by our reading of scripture, with humility but without apology. We don’t have to say, “the Bible says,” but simply, “what do you think of this?” As we live in these ways, we will have chances to share our faith. As we listen to others, they will be ready to listen to us. Gill suggests various ways we might initiate but concludes “that the best time to share the gospel is when someone asks you about it and wants to hear your answer” (p. 163). Sometimes we will be confronted with wrongdoing or conflict in the workplace, and the challenge here is to be overcomers. He talks about how to identify serious wrongdoing in the workplace and how to address conflict with humility, courage and prayer.

The final part of the book moves beyond our workplace with a number of ideas of how we may contribute the gifts and skills we use in the workplace to the benefit of the wider church. His last chapter is on rest and the importance of sabbath in our lives as workers. He contends that intentional efforts to schedule and set aside sabbath, vacations, date nights, and periodically, longer sabbaticals, is crucial to gaining control of our time.

The text is broken up with periodic “chalkboards” summarizing key points and chapters conclude with a “to do” list and questions for reflection and discussion. This makes the book ideal for use in a church or workplace group. It also includes a postscript for pastors, urging them to address the workplace life of a congregation, including visiting people on the job.

What distinguishes this book from many I have read is that it is at once solidly grounded in a theology of work (without the author showing all his work!) and at the same time extremely practical and applicable. The challenge of this book is not figuring out what the author is saying or how to put it into practice. Rather, will one practice and live into the clear steps of discipleship laid out by the author? Again, having a posse will add to the impact of this book as you urge each other on the path of workplace discipleship.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.