Jerusalem and Silicon Valley: Two Poles of Modern Civilization

Abstract

The question posed by Tertullian in the 2nd century: «what can be in common between Athens and Jerusalem?» (Here Jerusalem is the hearth and symbol of Christianity, Athens is named as the center of ancient pagan culture, where it reached the pinnacle of its development) — applied to our time, it can sound like this: what can be in common between Silicon Valley and Jerusalem? In this case, «Silicon Valley» is a symbol of modern technetronic civilization. The author of the article builds an analogy based on the fact that the incompatibility of the Hellenic culture with the Christian Gospel, which was obvious at the beginning, then turned into the involvement of the intellectual forms of antiquity in the formation of the dogmatic teaching of the Church. In line with the analogy with this synthesis, alternative projects that have taken place in the history of science, which constituted a counterbalance to the secular approaches of natural science in modern times, are considered. In conclusion, it is concluded that it is necessary to shift the focus of attention in this problematic from scientific theory to a person, its creator, in whose hands are the key landmarks of civilization: whether it serves the idol of progress, or aims at the ideal of transformation.