Less than two weeks ago (I?m writing in early May), I was dragged out of the dark cave of prehistoric electronics and forced to stand blinking in the fierce bright light of cyberspace.

This came about because a group of men I work with, unhappy that I alone among them, had no e-mail address, gifted me with a brand new computer with e-mail capacity. And, just to make sure, they sent one of their own over to install it for me.

I am deeply grateful to my good friends for their wonderful gift. It is indeed a massive leap from my 1986 vintage Apple II, which for me was just a typewriter in disguise. And I do not wish that my remarks to follow make me sound like what we - in a less politically correct time - used to call an ?Indian giver?. I am still actually enjoying all the tricks I can do, and the little snippets of talk I can let fly into electronic space. But, I do want to take this opportunity to share with you some of the reasons why I am always a little reluctant to embrace a new technology. They have, I believe, much to do with spirituality.

Some of you will perhaps recall the scene from ?Space Odyssey 2001?, where one of the apes accidentally picks up a dried out and sun-bleached legbone and realizes that he can use it to break other bones, and the heads of apes from a hostile troop. In such a manner, probably, the first technology emerged. For technology simply refers to any way in which humans (and sometimes animals) extend their activities artificially through the use of a tool. Buttons, electric lights, automobiles, hair-dryers, tomahawks and Tomahawk missiles, eye glasses and fire hydrants...all are tools, all are part of technology.

Technology therefore is the natural - we may say God-given - result of human ingenuity and creativity. But, like the gifts of beer and tobacco, it has its bright side and its dark side. We do well to be cautious about any new tool or technology that comes on the market. Let me explain why I am cautious.

My first reaction to any new product that I am told I should have is to wonder: ?How is this going to complicate my life?? I am no Luddite or Amish farmer who disdains all or most modern technologies. But I think they are to be commended for their concern that such technologies may unduly complicate or even compromise their lives. I choose to share in some of their reservations.

Although I could afford them all, I have no microwave, no CD player, no Cable TV, and for 25 years I rode the same three-speed Raleigh bicycle. I still am not on-line, and, as you realize by now, it was just yesterday that I consented to post an e-mail address for all the world to hail me. I also drive a simple automobile that does not have automatic door locks and remote ignition. My rationale for all that is simplicity. The more things you have, the more you have to spend time taking care of them. The more sophisticated they are, the more they can break down. The better quality units you have, that is, the more technologically sophisticated, the more you have to protect them from thieves. And despite their claims of being ?user friendly?, you will notice that they all come with manuals and extensive ?Help? prompts. (My new computer comes with six manuals and two CD-Roms!) That was not the case with my old Raleigh bike. You didn?t need manuals because the units were simple to operate. And unless you are willing to spend a great deal of your time, talent and energy hovering protectively and nurse-like over these various treasures - and I am not - the glowing promises of productivity and entertainment fade just a little.

Deeper than my desire for simplicity however is, I think, something in me that is akin to fear. Yes, fear -fear of where this new technology might lead me. Most people I talk to about technology pooh-pooh my reservations. They counter that fear with one of the most naive statements that the human race has ever made ?Oh, not to worry. All technology is neutral. It?s just a tool. You can do with it what you want?.

They make the statement, and in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they stubbornly adhere to it. No tool is neutral. Every tool exerts demands on its user, requires its user to conform to its own exigencies. Consider an early tool - a hunting knife. It had to be kept sharpened. It required a handle. It had to be carried in a safe place, such as a sheath, which someone had to make. It had to be cleaned. It had to kept away from children. Now, these are small demands, but they are nonetheless demands, the Rules of the Knife, so to speak.

Some of our larger technologies have rules that do not just modify the work habits of their owners. They change the very culture in which they are put to use. Take the automobile for example. Because of its nature and potential, it needs long, wide, flat stretches of roads that flatten farmland, inner cities and national parks. Because it burns petroleum, it pollutes our air and water. Because it requires just one driver/passenger, it contributes deeply to the instability of the family and community. Hence, the Rules of the Car require that the very culture change its rules. This is hardly neutral.

All of this may be said - in spades! - of other great technological changes in our society - the electric light, the radio, movies, television. All have their own rules, and all have worked an enormous change in our society. We say that it is all right because we ?allow? these things to happen. But, after a while, the technology outstrips our permission and simply makes its own headlong way. What began as a ?good idea? often turns out to be an unhappy bargain ---- like the one Esau made (Genesis 25.)

Esau was one of two sons of the patriarch, Isaac. He was a hunter, while his younger brother, Jacob, was more likely to farm and hang around the family tent. Esau came home one day from the field, famished, and found his younger brother Jacob cooking a fragrant stew. When Esau, staggering from hunger, begged for ?some of that red stuff? wily Jacob saw an opportunity. Guarding the stew, he demanded, in very unbrotherly fashion , that Esau forfeit his status of birthright to him as a price. Consumed with hunger, Esau recklessly agreed and gulped down the stew. From that day on, he lost his status in the family, and had to make his own way, becoming indeed the founder of a clan, the Edomites, that eventually became enemies of the clan of Jacob. The story ends with the sad commentary, ?Esau cared little for his birthright?.

It is a question we need to ask ourselves. ?How much do we care for the birthright God has given us, the life of the spirit??

The ingenuity and prosperity of our people have made many things, many technologies available to us -- stuff! The spiritual person will not just reject them, may frequently adopt them, but will always ask,

?How will this affect the birthright of my spirit??