Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Camden Bucey speaks with Derek C. Schuurman, professor and chair of computer science at Calvin University, about Christian wisdom in the age of artificial intelligence. Drawing upon Shaping a Digital World, Schuurman explains why technology is never neutral: people shape their tools, and those tools in turn reshape habits, institutions, and communities.
The conversation sets contemporary AI within the biblical story of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation. Bucey and Schuurman contrast Christian hope with technicism—the belief that technology can solve humanity’s deepest problems and build a technological heaven on earth. They also discuss human nature, transhumanism, responsible design, Christian higher education, autonomous weapons, and the need to keep human moral judgment and accountability in the loop.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
03:41 Derek C. Schuurman’s path from engineering to Christian higher education
08:29 Technology, cultural change, and the need for wisdom
11:45 Technology is not neutral
14:36 How tools reshape people and societies
18:08 Reading technology through creation, fall, redemption, and new creation
20:18 Two cities, two loves, and the biblical story
22:22 Babel, idolatry, and the temptation to build heaven on earth
23:21 Technicism and the promises of Silicon Valley
26:52 Transhumanism and a Christian account of humanity
29:14 Practical frameworks for responsible technological design
30:36 Dooyeweerd’s non-reductionistic view of creation
33:19 Eight norms for faithful design
37:34 Integrating Christian faith throughout education
41:21 Liberal arts, AI, and well-rounded technical formation
42:29 AI, labor, and the human calling to work
43:42 Autonomous systems, accountability, and just-war questions
45:55 Why moral judgment requires a human in the loop
49:12 Faithful presence and wise Christian vocation
51:41 Resources for engineers, designers, pastors, and parents
53:24 Calvin University’s “Wisdom in the Age of AI” conference
55:36 Conclusion
RESOURCES
Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology
ivpress.com/shaping-a-digital-world
A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers
ivpress.com/a-christian-field-guide-to-technology-for-engineers-and-designers
Wisdom in the Age of AI Conference, Calvin University, October 8–10, 2026
https://calvin.edu/faith-and-technology/faith-and-ai-conference
Magnifica Humanitas
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html
Episode resources: reformedforum.org/ctc972
Reformed Forum: reformedforum.org
#ArtificialIntelligence #ChristianTechnology #ReformedTheology #ChristTheCenter #ReformedForum
Camden Bucey speaks with Derek C. Schuurman, professor and chair of computer science at Calvin University, about Christian wisdom in the age of artificial intelligence. Drawing upon Shaping a Digital World, Schuurman explains why technology is never neutral: people shape their tools, and those tools in turn reshape habits, institutions, and communities.
The conversation sets contemporary AI within the biblical story of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation. Bucey and Schuurman contrast Christian hope with technicism—the belief that technology can solve humanity’s deepest problems and build a technological heaven on earth. They also discuss human nature, transhumanism, responsible design, Christian higher education, autonomous weapons, and the need to keep human moral judgment and accountability in the loop.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
03:41 Derek C. Schuurman’s path from engineering to Christian higher education
08:29 Technology, cultural change, and the need for wisdom
11:45 Technology is not neutral
14:36 How tools reshape people and societies
18:08 Reading technology through creation, fall, redemption, and new creation
20:18 Two cities, two loves, and the biblical story
22:22 Babel, idolatry, and the temptation to build heaven on earth
23:21 Technicism and the promises of Silicon Valley
26:52 Transhumanism and a Christian account of humanity
29:14 Practical frameworks for responsible technological design
30:36 Dooyeweerd’s non-reductionistic view of creation
33:19 Eight norms for faithful design
37:34 Integrating Christian faith throughout education
41:21 Liberal arts, AI, and well-rounded technical formation
42:29 AI, labor, and the human calling to work
43:42 Autonomous systems, accountability, and just-war questions
45:55 Why moral judgment requires a human in the loop
49:12 Faithful presence and wise Christian vocation
51:41 Resources for engineers, designers, pastors, and parents
53:24 Calvin University’s “Wisdom in the Age of AI” conference
55:36 Conclusion
RESOURCES
Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology
ivpress.com/shaping-a-digital-world
A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers
ivpress.com/a-christian-field-guide-to-technology-for-engineers-and-designers
Wisdom in the Age of AI Conference, Calvin University, October 8–10, 2026
https://calvin.edu/faith-and-technology/faith-and-ai-conference
Magnifica Humanitas
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html
Episode resources: reformedforum.org/ctc972
Reformed Forum: reformedforum.org
#ArtificialIntelligence #ChristianTechnology #ReformedTheology #ChristTheCenter #ReformedForum
