That Hideous Strength

The Babel story is about humanity’s desire to save itself through technological innovation. Genesis 1-11 is a descending spiral of humanity’s attempts—and failures—to find life apart from God; Babel is the culmination.

Note that they have the technology before they have a use for it. First, they have bricks, and only then do they decide to make a city and a tower. In other words, the means drive the ends. What a true description of our current struggles with technological innovation—we gain the power, and then we think of ways to use it. Just because we can do something, however, doesn’t mean it’s wise for us to do so.

I predict that the great struggle for humanity in the 21st century will be a struggle over technology: either we will master our technological powers, or be mastered by them. In the Babel story, God stops the builders before they can complete their project. Will God need to save us from ourselves in the same way?

P.S. I’ll give a gold star to readers who can correctly identify the source of this post’s title.