Wisdom from Karl Barth

Speaking of what he referred to as the chthonic powers - powers which arise from human creativity but which, in turn, seek to enslave their creators, Barth says that it is the creative person that

is the one who discovers them and sees how useful they can be in his service. It is his spirit that triumphs in their exploitation. It is he who is at the helm, who pulls the levers, who presses the knobs. Nevertheless they automatically and autonomously rumble and work and roll and roar and clatter outside him, without him, past him and over him. He finds that he himself is subject to their laws, which he has foreseen, to their power, which he as released. . . . In simplifying and easing his life, they also complicate it and make it more difficult. They take away his little anxieties but create new and bigger ones. They seem to promise courage and a greater zest for life, but increased worry about life is the fulfillment of their promise. (CL, 228)

So many things spring to mind here. Take communication technology for a start. The liberating power of the telephone, mobile phones, emails, wireless internet. How many of us have found ourselves slaves to the very things that we created to help make our lives easier?