Theological Implications of Possible Extraterrestrial Life

Bible and tradition remain silent on intelligent extraterrestrial life, and few modern theologians have expressed themselves on this topic. Scientific insight suggests the possibility, even likelihood, of the development of life on extrasolar earthlike planets. It is argued that such life forms would resemble earthly life (biochemistry, genetic system, neuronal processes) and also develop a religious and moral life. As creatures with free will they would be prone to sin and in need of salvation. It is argued that this would not require multiple incarnations, since Jesus is the cosmic Christ.     

Debating the Theological Implications of New Technologies

In a recent report on focus group discussions of GMOs in Britain, Celia Deane Drummond et al. observed that public anxieties about emerging biotechnologies often reflect concerns that are ultimately theological in nature. Such concerns (whether in relation to biotechnology or other areas of technological development) may be easily dismissed as peripheral or irrelevant to the core secular issues of health, safety, environmental impacts, the politics of commercialization and research integrity. However, I shall argue that theological questions are actually integral to the ongoing development of technology and that there is a need for a public discourse that enables such questions to be articulated and debated.     

Pastoral Theological Implications of the Aging Process

Pastoral care of the aged must deliberately attend to spiritual-theological issues involved in the aging process. As clinical, empirical, and practical pastoral experiences demonstrate, these spiritual-theological problems are as varied as the range of overall problems faced by the elderly. In an attempt to focus on major issues, however, it may be helpful to examine the three epochs of aging i.e., young~ldm, iddle-old, and old-old, in order to determine the spiritual and theological issues which are particularly relevant to each epoch. This paper proposes that each of the three developmental epochs has a main spiritual-theological concem which can be expressed in a question: young-old: "What shall I do with my life?"; middleaid: "What about my dying?"; old-old: "Why must I suffer so?" Pastoral ministry is called to further examine the validity of these assertions and draw practical applications in response to these spiritual-theological issues which face older persons.     

Implications for the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life: A Theological Approach

Abstract

Recent remarks of Pope Francis spark anew an important discussion: are we alone in the Universe? The article follows traces of the idea of extraterrestrial life throughout philosophy, evaluates the current considerations about the probability of extraterrestrial life and discusses the potential implications for the discovery of such life from a theological point of view. This “thought experiment” covers basic insights on creation, revelation and redemption.     

Shame and Pastoral Care: Implications from an Asian Theological Perspective

Using the story of a Korean woman as a case study for pastoral caregivers, this article attempts to address some appropriate pastoral responses toward the “human impasse” from an Asian theological perspective. This article highlights the significance of remembrance and connection rather than repression and forgetfulness in order to bring justice to shamed persons, like this Korean woman. This article builds on Jacoby’s “social amnesia,” calls for redefining the meaning of community, and attempts to address the human predicaments such as shame experiences from an Asian perspective. In order to address pastoral responses, this article also builds upon Martin Luther King, Jr.’s concept of interrelatedness and shared destiny. It critically examines Jung Young Lee’s theology of marginality and draws the pastoral implications of this theology of marginality with respect to shame experiences. This article concludes with an Asian model of pastoral care and counseling.     

A Theology of Nature: Social Neuroscience and Its Theological Implications

This article explores social neuroscience, an emergent subfield of neuroscience, and highlights its implications for a theology of nature. This author argues that since social neuroscience and theology are both non-reductionist, they can contribute to a balanced view of human nature and nurture. Social neuroscientific research has shown the ways in which social factors impact the brain’s development, and also how social factors are necessary for the treatment of diseases. Social neuroscience can thus enrich essential teachings and practice of religions, such as sociality and healing. Finally, this article examines how social neuroscience can be used in a reinterpretation of Wesleyan soteriology.     

Theological Publishing:

No abstract available for this article.     

Robots and the Sacred in Science and Science Fiction: Theological Implications of Artificial Intelligence

In science-fiction literature and film, human beings simultaneously feel fear and allure in the presence of intelligent machines, an experience that approximates the numinous experience as described in 1917 by Rudolph Otto. Otto believed that two chief elements characterize the numinous experience: the mysterium tremendum and the fascinans. Briefly, the mysterium tremendum is the fear of God's wholly other nature and the fascinans is the allure of God's saving grace. Science-fiction representations of robots and artificially intelligent computers follow this logic of threatening otherness and soteriological promise. Science fiction offers empirical support for Anne Foerst's claim that human beings experience fear and fascination in the presence of advanced robots from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AI Lab. The human reaction to intelligent machines shows that human beings in many respects have elevated those machines to divine status. This machine apotheosis, an interesting cultural event for the history of religions, may—despite Foerst's rosy interpretation—threaten traditional Christian theologies.     

Theological Implications of Young Earth Creationism and Intelligent Design: Emerging Tendencies of Scientism and Agnosticism

Abstract

Creationism is a worldview that does not accept the undirected formation and development of life but requires intelligent (supernatural) intervention. We analyzed texts representing Young Earth creationism (YEC) and intelligent design (ID) for their theological content and implications by assessing their position in central issues of systematic theology. YEC proponents emphasize the young age of the Earth and the necessity of literal interpretation of Genesis as prerequisites for the Fall and redemption. ID accepts the geological age of the planet, but requires intervention during evolution. YEC maintained the traditional characteristics of the Christian God (omnipotence, omniscience, benevolence), while some ID authors refused to speculate on the nature of the alleged designer. YEC authors utilized reinterpretation of scientific data as evidence for creation and to legitimize their belief in the historicity of Genesis. This could be regarded a form of scientism. YEC theodicy concentrated on the Fall as the cause of evil and the eschatological resolution of suffering. In contrast, ID proponents attempted to solve theodicy by compensated benefits of, e.g., pain. ID did not take a clear stand regarding salvation and ecclesiology, but YEC authors considered the acceptance of evolutionary theory and Christian faith to be mostly inconsistent. YEC doctrine differed from major Christian denominations by accepting scientific evidence as a proof for the historicity of Genesis and showed signs of exclusivity regarding evolutionary proponents. In ID, no satisfactory theodicy could be observed and some ID theorists could be classified as agnostics because of doubting the identity of the designer and by limiting God's omnipotence and benevolence. Both YEC and ID demonized evolutionary theory and its proponents. Creationism seems to be on its way to becoming a new kind of denomination or an emerging novel religion.     

Theological Education: A Theological Framework for Renewed Mission and Models

Abstract : This essay explores renewed ways to reimagine theological education. Incarnation is used as a theological lens that engages anew “the transmission of Christian memory, the education for God's peace and justice, and the formation of church and community leadership.” Attention is given to apprenticeship, project‐based learning, distributed learning, and global learning, and concludes with implications for governance and faculty.     

Theological Reflections

[In January 1960 a meeting at the premises of the London Society of Analytical Psychology was convened to discuss the relation of analytical psychology to theology. It was given the provocative title "Who shall have the last word: psychologist or theologian?"; the aim was to stimulate debate. Kenneth Lambert was to open and Victor White was to be one of the discussants. So as to forward the discussion, Lambert sent Victor White a number of questions and his answers to them were to follow. To the great regret of everybody Fr. White could not be present at the meeting owing to ill health, but at my request he sent me his replies and agreed to allow their publication. They raise a number of interesting issues and it is hoped that they may promote further discussion in these pages. Editor .]     

Middlesex: A Pastoral Theological Reading

This article, written for the Group for New Directions in Pastoral Theology’s conference on the theme of “Emotion, Mood, and Temperament,” focuses on Middlesex, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, Professor of Creative Writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. The novel, set in 20th century America and written as a fictional memoir, is a coming-of-age story of Cal/Calliope, a man with an intersex condition caused by 5-alpha-reductase deficiency. The mission statement of the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) states that the organization is “devoted to systemic change to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for people born with an anatomy that someone decided is not standard for male or female.” This essay employs the resources of pastoral theology to assist in the project of ending shame regarding intersex conditions by offering a pastoral theological reading of Middlesex. As such, this essay is an example of the discipline of pastoral theology being employed in the field of medical humanities in particular and the field of clinical humanities more broadly, and it also serves as an example as to how one might offer a pastoral theological reading of a novel.     

Lutheran Theological Libraries in Asia:

No abstract available for this article.     

Advent: Theological Reflections on IVF

Abstract

This article is a theological reflection upon the experience of undergoing a treatment cycle to conceive a child through IVF. It sets the techniques and medical procedures associated with the new reproductive technologies in the context of wider social, cultural and theological conversations rather than isolating them as specialist medical concerns or abstract ethical dilemmas.