Address by
His All-Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
during the lunch at the IAFSC House
His All-Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
during the lunch at the IAFSC House
(Wednesday, January 22, 2020)
Distinguished guests,
It is a unique pleasure for us to be among you this afternoon and to
share some thoughts, from the perspective of the Eastern Orthodox Church
and Orthodox spirituality, on the great challenges that our
contemporary world is facing. Our world today is undoubtedly changing
with rapid pace. The cause of the astonishing changes is the amazing
development of technology, and the revolution of information and its
multifaceted branches—an event which constitutes the greatest worldwide
cultural revolution in the history of humanity. As it was properly said,
“technology today holds the key to all the areas of life: science,
politics, economics, medicine etc. No one can disregard it without being
punished with marginalization or even extinction.”
Indeed, technology is the “great power” of our time. It effectively
serves the human being, the prevention and treatment of diseases, it
prolongs our lifespan, it facilitates our daily life, the outpouring of
knowledge and information, it promotes communication and favors economic
development. What was once considered to be irreversible and fatal—an
insurmountable obstacle—today, it can be addressed and overcome. Most
likely, the words “fate” and “fatal conditions” are unpleasing terms for
contemporary understanding of development and of the trust to the power
of science.
No one can deny the positive contributions which emerge from the
progress of science and technology. Moreover, no person can close his
eyes to the numerous negatives of the complete domination of technology
in all aspects of life or, in the words of a contemporary theorist, of
“the surrender of culture to technology.” Technology has been
autonomized from the human being’s basic needs. “Information” is
glorified and thus acquires a metaphysical status. The computer leads us
to evaluate everything (i.e. things, events, even people) as “data,” as
something to be processed, hence, making fast and measurable
effectiveness the chief aim of human thought and action. The almighty
means of electronic communication do not simply transmit information;
they shape our views regarding life and its meaning, they steer our
desires and needs, and they influence the ranking of our values.
Consequently, age-old traditions are weakened, symbols erode and
progress itself ends up being identified with technological progress.
Unfortunately, within this context, we can easily forget that our
greatest problems are not of technical nature and do not derive from a
lack of information. Violence, crime, loneliness, starvation and social
injustice, fanaticism and the clash of civilizations, are not caused by a
lack of information or technology, nor can they be addressed through
computer science. We see that some of these issues are actually growing
hand in hand with the technological progress of society.
Bearing these aforementioned reasons in mind—while still enjoying the
benefits of technology—we simultaneously worry for our endangered
freedom, our precious traditions that are lost and the natural
environment that is being destroyed. Finally, a quantitative reality is
not the only thing that exists. Also existing, is the “dimension of the
depth” of reality, its mystery, art, poetry, philosophy, the meaning and
the beauty. Science is a “great power” but it is not almighty after
all! In one way or another, whatever is scientifically and artificially
feasible, does not necessarily mean that it is also essential and good.
For this reason, it is erroneous to hold the view that nothing but
self-deception exists outside of science; when, actually, it is not at
all self-deceiving to expect solutions from outside of science when the
latter is unable to provide them.
What then can be said from the perspective of faith and religion in
the face of all this? First, that we cannot ignore this immense crisis,
because it affects human beings at the very core of their existence. And
second, that nobody can face these problems alone. We need each other;
we need a common agenda, common mobilization, common efforts and common
goals. We are all called to common responsibility for the common good.
We are all parts of the problem. Therefore, we are all parts toward the
solution for the challenges that we jointly face.
It is our deep conviction that in this effort, the contribution of
faith remains crucial, since the most precious spiritual and moral
values and truths for the human being, his origin and his final destiny
are stored within the sacred religious texts of humanity. Faith
strengthens our commitment of human action, and it widens our witness
for freedom, justice and peace. Our anthropology, our image of the human
being and the purpose of his and her life, define our attitude toward
humanity and social action. We don’t see the human being as homme
machine that can be easily transformed into an object. We regard the
human being as a person (“πρόσωπον”) created “in the image” of God.
Evidently, a general orientation to the idea of “human being” is
insufficient. Man must be approached in his relation to God and in
respect to his spiritual nature. For us, the identity and value of a
culture or a society cannot be judged by the level of its economic
growth, its technological development or its social organization. In
this sense, it is impossible to declare today’s immense progress of
technology a “real progress,” given that within its framework, the human
person and his home (“οἶκος”) are broadly undermined.
Of course, criticism against the deification of technology does not
necessarily mean the devaluation of the beneficial works of scientific
and technological progress. For, such a rejection would actually equate
to us denying the very act of breathing. Science and technology have a
human dimension and contribute to the solution of humanity’s problems
today. Nevertheless, nothing amplifies the arrogance of contemporary man
as much as faith in almighty science and technology. The future,
though, does not seem to belong to the self-ordained “man-god”
(ἀνθρωποθεός), who as a new “Prometheus” ignores or even abolishes
limits and measures, as well as destroys the conditions of life on the
earth. Real progress does not exist when the human person and his
freedom are being undermined and his world is being destroyed.
Dear friends,
We reject the cynical phrase “There is no alternative.” We reject the
claim that non-conformity to the commandments of globalization and to
the “autonomy of the economy” leads inevitably to the expansion of
poverty and to uncontrollable societal developments and conflicts. From
our perspective, the magic words are “solidarity” and “cooperation.”
There is neither dilemma nor doubt of any kind when it comes to the need
of common action between technology, politics, economics and religion,
in order to address the problems that are to a great extent due to their
autonomous function—exclusively on the basis of their own specific
principles and criteria. As long as these powers continue to ignore one
another, they can never truly benefit humanity. They all have to serve
man and his world.
In fact, while technological developments are important elements,
they are not the essence of a civilization. A civilization is judged by
whether or not its final point of reference is the human person, in
relation to his true divine destiny and the protection of his world.
Thank for your kind attention.
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