In this brief article, Ong extends his discussion of the importance of
Catholics taking a future-oriented approach to the modern world (found
in articles such as "Literature and
Cultural Initiative" and "Renaissance
Ideas and the Catholic Mind"). Here, he discusses for the first
time, as far as I am aware, how Catholic theology must address issues of
technology in the modern world, particularly how the widely-accepted evolutionary
view of the cosmos can be reconciled with the Church's view of creation.
While this is an issue that should be dealt with by all Christians, Ong
believes that it is especially important to Catholics because of the Church's
emphasis on God's placement of himself into his own creation, the physical
world, through Christ. One way Catholics can respond to this issue
of technology and theology, Ong argues, is to look at the humanistic values
already established and accepted in the twentieth century and infuse these
values with theology. In fact, Ong concludes, to leave theology out
of a humanistic view of the world is to call into question the foundation
of humanism itself.