Man - Technology - Culture
Maybe you're into song festivals. The song is an expression of beauty. It testifies to the creative and artistic abilities of man. It is a part of the national culture. It finds many lovers. Kidnaps people. It is sung almost everywhere, e.g.. on the streets, in homes, on trips etc..
But the question arises, or just a song is needed and sufficient for the full and harmonious development of a human being.
The value of the products of technology and culture
There are many products of technology and culture, which enrich man. What they can bring to human life ?
The convenience of life
Thanks to the development of technology, modern man is becoming more and more independent from the blind forces of nature, e.g.. epidemic, flood, fire, etc.. Machines replace people at work. Thanks to automation, man even entrusts machines with some important functions. It all contributes to this, that human life becomes easier, more comfortable. What are refrigerators for humans, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and other everyday items ?
Interpersonal bond
For example, what do we gain from television, internet ? New interpersonal bonds are formed. The whole world can unite around the lived event at one moment. For example. much of humanity has followed the flights of cosmonauts. We can observe the noble struggle of athletes, etc. with real interest. Thanks to social media, it is possible to awaken the conscience of rich nations and to sensitize them to the poverty of economically and socially underdeveloped countries. Other inventions also unite nations in their own way. The development of air communication serves this purpose, sea and land. Thanks to the advances in technology, our relatives and friends are leaving for the Far East, to North and South America, to Africa, and foreigners come to us.
Human enrichment
You have visited various monuments of architecture and painting for sure. You visit the theater and become familiar with many arts, a piece of music. Maybe you've seen numerous churches and interesting exhibits in museums. Each country takes great care of all these monuments and considers them a wealth of culture for its own nation. All these human works enrich man and contribute to his development. We speak, that they constitute the culture of a given society.
There are also international organizations, which protect all monuments and creative human heritage.
You receive - respect and develop
You have to, to make you realize, that you are just using it all, what the people who created culture and civilization built. Your apartment was designed by an engineer, and they were made by builders in accordance with the latest requirements of technological progress. When you turn the knob of the TV, you turn on the radio, you go to the movies to watch a good movie, you are going by train, by bus, by tram or other means of transport, think then, that you are drawing on the rich heritage of human genius.
When you read books, you are listening to music, you are browsing albums with masterpieces of art, you visit museums, castles and magnificent cathedrals and churches, don't forget then, that you are using the efforts of many generations. Way, you walk every day, items, you use, any furniture, which you use at home and at school, it's also devices, in which people put their ingenuity and work.
You are getting too much, so that you may not remember the benefits, which culture and civilization bring with it. But memory alone is not enough. To, what you get, you should respect. Each, who appreciates an item, regards him respectfully, and even with some reverence. Who destroys common goods, gives proof, that all the achievements of human creativity do not matter to him. What is your attitude towards the products of culture and civilization ?
Culture and civilization give you many values and allow you to benefit from them. At the same time, however, your input is needed. You are a young man, healthy and gifted. You have received these gifts for more than that, for you to use life, but for that, to educate yourself, he developed and gained new skills. Various tasks are waiting for you. Progress has it to itself, that he must keep on going. Any stagnation is the opposite of progress. You are to get to know various areas of human culture and civilization and get your bearings, which of its elements you can develop according to your abilities. You may not be a famous cosmonaut, happy inventor, the second Żeromski or the applauded athlete, but you can be a good and conscientious mental or physical worker. To, what other, more gifted and prepared, will plan and set out, you can do with real care. May you, who will benefit from your work, they judged it as evidence of your true culture and concern for the progress of human life.
Creating a culture with God's intention
For creative effort, God the Creator himself calls us to create culture and civilization. He gave man the world, that he would continue the work of the Creator with his own work. Man perfects the world with his own work and, at the same time, improves himself. He develops his spirit and his body. He gets to know the world better and better for this, to subordinate it for the service of man.
Christians understand God's purpose. Over the centuries, they have benefited from civilization and culture, but at the same time they influenced culture and thus introduced Christ into it. In these times, when countries were not involved in education, The church founded schools. Universities were established under the protection of the Church. Even today in many countries, where culture is just developing, The Church helps organize schooling. The Church played a great role in the development of art, using the works of architecture, painting, sculptures and music for the glory of God. At the same time, he looked after the artists and enabled them to be creative.
Christians today, remembering that, that they are building the Kingdom of God in their professional lives, they should try, make their professional work, the most perfect possible, it served the development of civilization and culture, and therefore the good of mankind. At the same time realizing, that they should be the light of the world, they are to develop their spiritual life and work at it, that the development of civilization and culture may be in accordance with the law of justice and love.
How will I answer God ?
You realize, what a great 'value for man does civilization and culture have. You use it every day. By studying at school you are preparing for it, to develop it further. How are you learning ? How do you respect the achievements of previous generations ?
■ Think :
1. What is the value of culture and civilization for individuals and human society? ?
2. How should I relate to the heritage of culture and civilization?, which I receive and use ?
3. What the Church has done for civilization and culture ?
4. How Christians today cooperate in creating civilization and culture ?
■ Remember :
55. Why is caring for civilization and culture building the Kingdom of God ? Caring for civilization and culture is building the Kingdom of God, because it is a transformation of the world according to God's will, it perfects man spiritually and leads to unity among people.
■ Task :
1. Talk to your colleagues, how you could look after the monuments in your area.
2. After reading this unit, read the text of Genesis 1, 28 and say, what connects them.