Why Christian's don't own tech: A thread on risk, gnosticism, end times and innovation.

The past three years I have been deep within the faith based investment circles, and to some degree some boomer conservative investment groups. Learning, pitching, seeking investment for LOOR. It's been a nightmare.

For the most part, these two groups only invest their capital into two things. That's B2B SaaS and Real Estate. Both of these things are lower risk than new disruptive tech, and have much quicker exits. However, none of these create cultural influence.

Many times I would get the answer, "I am too old to invest in equity plays." To which I would respond, but we're building a multigenerational company. One guy bragged in his bio that he is an expert in building 100-year-old companies. But told me he was too old to invest anymore.

There is this boomer mentality that is focused on accumulation and then donating it all, or leaving cash inheritances. Not ownership in companies. Not training your children to take over and share your worldview. Perhaps it's because youth ministry failed so poorly.

And many of these men don't have faithful children. They would rather give the children a cash inheritance then have what they wrongly believe to be their actual legacy, their company, destroyed by their own children.

The other issue is the desire for a quick exit. To be clear, there are valid reasons in your investment portfolio to get quick returns. It's essential in your portfolio to do so. However, a focus solely dedicated to quick returns in the faith based community I believe is the result of dispensationalism and "The End is Near" Left Behind rapture theology. Compare the mindset for a quick exit, vs Arthur Guinness, who built Guinness Beer and signed an incredible 9,000-year lease. You can still see today at St. James Gate.

When Cyrus Field, a Christian built the Trans Atlantic Cable, it was said "That the cable (or perhaps Cyrus W. Field, uncertain which) is undoubtedly the Angel in the Book of Revelation with one foot on sea and on foot on land, proclaiming Time is no longer."

And this was during the time in the 1800's that dispensationalism was really just now taking hold. Now we have Left Behind series, and movies. The rapture is engrained in our culture. It's foolish to think this has not affected our investment worldview.

The radical left has a long term eschatology. It's fundamentally bizarro postmill. It does believe that things will get "better" and they believe there is an infinite amount of time for that to happen.

They invest in radically risky startups. AI, long life spans, Space and short distance drone flights.

Look at Elon Musk for example, that guy believes in building technology that will outlast him. Colonies on Mars? Making humans interplanetary. But it's missions like that, that allow his investors to get returns now. Investment is about creating a better future. With or w/o you.

Finally, there is a terrible understanding of the world in which we live in among our investors. It borders on Gnosticism.

Video games? Bad.

Artificial Intelligence? Evil.

Nuclear Power? Dangerous.

We fear new tech because of potential for bad consequences.

Our films and art are only worth investing in if they are essentially gospel tracts. Or have some sort of spiritual benefit. They can't just be a good, normal story because God loves stories. They can't be dumb, normal cartoons, they have to be evangelistic sermons.

How many times have you heard that video games and AI are somehow evil? Or movies and TV shows are idolatrous. As if these things are inherently immoral. This is gnostic to the core. The left invests in new tech and worries about the dangers later. But we have a God who placed us in a garden, not a forest, and he said to tend the garden. Make it better. Grow things. Create things. Build things. And to take dominion. He spared Noah and told him the same thing. After Jesus rose again, it was again reinstated. Go. Teach. Take Dominion.

And he gave us a promise that should motivate our investment in risky, new technology ventures: "As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." AI, Video Games, Nuclear, Space Travel, shouldn't scare you.

The tower of Babel made it hard for people to build. The reverse of that curse at Pentecost made it easier. Paper, The Printing Press, Telegraph, Trans-Atlantic cable. AI and Translation. Technology is a sign of Christ's resurrection. Christians should be all in like David Sacks.

We are called to take risks. Cowards are judged harshly in the Bible. The guy who buried his talent in the sand was cast into fire. God wants us to take risks. Justified, well-thought-out risks. Not foolish spending. But risking capital wisely is honorable.

So invest in real estate. Invest in B2B SaaS. Invest knowing that there is a God-Given stability in economic laws. But take those returns and build new things. Push the boundaries of science, medicine, technology and movies and TV.

And if you really want to invest in something crazy and radical. I'd love to talk with you about LOOR.tv and how we have built something that can disrupt Hollywood like Uber did to yellow taxi cabs. The way the world is, is not how the world should be.