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When one studies the origins of much of modern technology, one inevitable comes across some sort of spirit guidance leading the inventor towards their "great idea". Medical scientist Andrija Puharich, holder of more than 50 patents, gave his opinion about these strange inspirations:
"I am personally convinced that superior beings from other spaces and other times have initiated a renewed dialogue with humanity. While I do not doubt [their existence] ... I do not know what their goals are with respect to humankind." [Andrija Puharich, Uri: A Journal of the Mystery of Uri Geller (New York, 1975), p. 213.]
One of the most famous examples of this is Chester Carlson (1906-1968), inventor of the Xerox photocopying process, who received guidance for his invention from the spirit world. By the fall of 1938, Carlson's wife had convinced him that his experiments needed to be conducted elsewhere. He rented a room on the second floor of a house owned by his mother-in-law at 32-05 37th Street in Astoria, Queens. He hired an assistant, Otto Kornei, an out-of-work Austrian physicist. Chester Carlson devoted long hours to meditation at the behest of his wife in order to develop his psychic abilities and converse with the other side. He thoroughly believed that he received the knowledge necessary to create his breakthrough photocopying method from the spirit realm! On October 6, 1942, the Patent Office issued Carlson's patent on electrophotography. The home of Doris and Chester Carlson in Rochester, NY was known as a Zen meditation center and many would daily gather there to meditate. In June 1966 Philip Kapleau Roshi founded the Rochester Zen Center with the support of the Carlson's. After he became wealthy from xeroxing, Carlson donated significant sums for paranormal research to Duke University’s Parapsychology Laboratory and the American Society for Psychical Research (for which he served as a trustee).
In his essay "Half a Career with the Paranormal", researcher Ian Stevenson describes Carlson's philanthropic style. According to Stevenson, Carlson's wife, Dorris, had some skill at extrasensory perception, and convinced Carlson to help support Stevenson's research. Carlson not only made annual donations to the University of Virginia to fund Stevenson's work, but in 1964 he made a particularly large donation that helped fund one of the first endowed chairs at the University. Stevenson was the first incumbent of this chair. Although Carlson insisted on anonymous donations, wrote Stevenson, he was unusual in that he closely followed the details of the research, maintaining contact with Stevenson. "He rarely made suggestions, but what he said always deserved attention," wrote Stevenson.
This is confusing... Should we consider technology to be evil? Or, at least, the technology of the photocopy machine?
ReplyDeleteBut elder Porphyrios liked modern technology, as you reported on your blog earlier:
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/07/elder-daniel-gouvalis-of-blessed-memory.html
"Something especially impressive about Elder Porphyrios was that he admired and exploited technological inventions. He was amazed by the fact that God had given Man the ability to make such discoveries, and he advised his spiritual children to make use of technology. "Should it be allowed," he asked "for God to help Man make so many discoveries, then for the devil to use them and us Christians not to use them?"
I'm just pointing out a fact without moralizing it, which is unfortunately often done in these situations. To say something has an occult origin and at the same time to call it evil because of this is one absurdity I wanted to address by posting this. Too often Christians condemn things that have either occultic or non-Christian origins that are more obvious, yet when it comes to everyday things we all use them and hypocritically justify their use of them. But just because something orginates without an Orthodox Christian purpose does not mean it is evil, unless it used for an evil purpose and with evil intentions, but this can apply to anything. A candle and incense can be used ceremoniously in a Divine Liturgy as aid to ones spiritual life, but it can also be used ceremoniously in a satanic ritual. In Chester Carlson's case, we see the evil in the fact that because of his invention millions of dollars was put into funding things that promoted Eastern religions, the occult, New Age and the paranormal - yet none of this glorifies God and in fact it undermines Christianity. Could this be the reason behind the occultic origin or photocopy machines? I dont know. For all I know, Chester Carlson may have been hallucinating. Does it mean that everyone who uses a photocopy machine is evil or also has an evil purpose? No, this would not make any sense. It's sort of like saying that pagans created statues to worship the gods (which may or may not be true), therefore all statues are evil. These things do not only apply to technology, but it is interesting how this same story of occultic origins runs along the lines of modern technology where man is creating for himself another Tower of Babel to replace God and the means of attaining holiness with things that give us attributes not only of God but also of spiritual gifts displayed by the Saints. When technology is used and applied this way, as it is for many if not most people, then of course it is a means towards evil, but this does not make any technology evil in itself. This is what I think Elder Porphyrios had in mind. Technology can be used either for the devil's purpose or for a way to help people in one form or another, and maybe even to glorify God.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with John here. Technology is neutral, but can be used for both good and evil purposes. That's true of many things in life.
ReplyDelete