The Ethical Challenges of the Digital Age

This article examines the ethical challenges of digital transformation in three steps. First, it offers a survey of the various dimensions of digital transformation and the ethical challenges that are associated with them: the exposure of private life through access to data; the change of communication culture through algorithms; the concentration of corporate power; changes in the world of work; the military use of digital technology; and the fusion of the human being and the machine. Second, it reflects upon various fundamental anthropological dimensions of the biblical tradition, which does not define humankind through itself but first and foremost in relation to, and being different from, God. Third, it draws conclusions about how to deal with digital transformation: through rescuing public discourse, making digital transformation socially accountable, and offering a perspective of theological anthropology that takes account of both the vulnerability and the deep freedom of our humanity.     

CO‐CREATING CO‐CREATORS? THE “HUMAN FACTOR” IN EDUCATION

This article presents an example of the contributions the field of science and religion could offer to educational theory. Building on a narrative analysis of Philip Hefner's proposal to use “created co‐creator” as central metaphor for theological anthropology, the importance of culture is brought to the fore. Education should support a needed revitalization of our cultural heritage, and thus enable humanity to (re‐)connect with the global ecological network and with the divine as grounding source of this network. In the concluding reflections of this article, the possibility of a secular interpretation of “created co‐creator,” in which “God” is reduced to “evolution,” is assessed.     

The virtual body of Christ and embrace of the seriously ill

ABSTRACT

Since the time of the Apostle Paul, the body of Christ has always been a virtual body, made up of members who were not always physically present to one another but were nevertheless part of the same catholic community. Virtual presence in today’s society comes most often via digital technology, a reality that prompts many Christian leaders and theologians to warn of the dangers of disembodied existence. This paper challenges the claim that virtual presence via digital technology is necessarily an inferior form of presence. Using autoethnographic research of living with advanced-stage cancer, the author explores how virtual connection via technology can sometimes be a superior form of presence for those undone by illness and other traumas. The article concludes with a call to churches to draw on biblical, theological, and liturgical resources to help imagine how digital devices can be used to practice healing forms of attentiveness to those who need it most.     

Rethinking relationships in cyberspace

ABSTRACT

The ubiquity of the internet, which has been extensively theorised in the social sciences, provides, for some, a radically new context in which we must rethink both the significance and the performance of being human. For others, the internet is an extension rather than revision of our pre-existing practices, meaning that what it is to be human remains largely unchanged. This is a stimulating and pressing context for theological anthropological reflection: theological doctrines do not specifically address cyberspace, but they suggest idea(l)s of being human that are, on the one hand, enduring and yet can also be read as flexible for different contexts. What, then, are the challenges and promises that digital contexts pose for models of theological anthropology, specifically ones that highlight the significance of human relationships? Do digital contexts overstretch idea(l)s of human nature? On what grounds can we assess and reflect on our conduct in cyberspace?     

Entheogens in the Study of Religious Experiences: Current Status*

This article addresses the potential significance of archetypal and mystical experiences sometimes reported when entheogens are employed in supportive, legal research contexts. This area of research, which has been difficult to pursue in recent decades due to Federal legislation and concerns about drug-abuse, is presented as a frontier in the psychology of religious experience that could prove to have profound implications for advancing our understanding of spiritual dimensions of consciousness. Consideration is given to how the action of entheogens may be understood, the question of experiential validity, the apparent universality of both archetypal and mystical experiences, and initial theological reflections.     

KARL BARTH AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY

It is commonly held that Karl Barth emphatically rejected the usefulness of philosophy for theology. In this essay I explore the implications of Barth's theological epistemology for the relationship and proper boundaries between philosophy and theology, given its origin in Barth's theology of revelation. I seek to clarify Barth's position with respect to philosophy by distinguishing the contingency of its offence from any necessary incompatibility. Barth does not reject philosophy per se, but the way in which philosophy is typically conducted. This is made explicit through an analysis of Barth's censure of the uncritical acceptance in theology of modernist philosophical presuppositions. I nuance Barth's response to a collection of philosophical assumptions that are rarely distinguished in theological literature. Finally, I highlight a representative instance of Barth's reflections on philosophy in relationship to theology, to demonstrate that the criterion for evaluating the usefulness of philosophical assumptions and methods in the service of theology is the same criterion by which theology is itself evaluated.     

From the Historical Reformation to the “Digital Reformation”

This article analyzes the challenges presented for contemporary theological thinking by the current shifts in communication, starting from the concept of a “digital reformation” as a counterpart to the theological revolution that occurred with the historical Reformation. It goes on to consider how processes of communication on the Internet require us to rethink certain theological categories – from the new and renewed ways of constituting and manifesting theological knowledge within the digital environment through the emergence of new loci, subjects, and theological syntheses. We conclude that the challenges of contemporary digital culture and the need for a connected theology mean that theology, as a field of knowledge, requires a new theological synthesis.     

THE HUMAN BEING SHAPING AND TRANSCENDING ITSELF: WRITTEN LANGUAGE,BRAIN, AND CULTURE

Recent theological anthropology emphasizes a dynamic and integral understanding of the human being, which is also related to Karl Rahner's idea of active self‐transcendence and to the imago Dei doctrine. The recent neuroscientific discovery of the “visual word form area” for reading, regarded in light of the concept of cultural neural reuse, will produce fresh implications for the interrelation of brain biology and human culture. The theological and neuroscientific parts are shown in their mutual connections thus articulating the notion that human beings shape and transcend themselves both at the biological and at the cultural level. This will have relevant implications for the timely topic of human uniqueness in science and theology, and in proposing a new research perspective in which theology may consider culture along with its biological import, but not necessarily in strictly evolutionary terms alone.     

De‐schooling the Theological Seminary: An Appropriate Paradigm for Effective Ministerial Formation

The most common paradigm of contemporary Protestant theological education for ministerial formation is that of schooling, seen in the institution of the theological seminary/college. This article notes the limitations of the schooling paradigm for educational intervention in the range of domains inherent in effective ministerial formation; recognizes that teaching and learning take different but still legitimate shape when used to describe educational processes in this context; and argues for an integrated, formational, and missional community paradigm modeled especially on the relationship of Jesus with his disciples as being both more consistent with biblical precedents and more effective educationally. The implications of this for the role of faculty of theological institutions are explored.     

GOD'S ACTION IN THE REAL WORLD1

Abstract. The scientific and theological enterprises are regarded as interacting and mutually illuminating approaches to reality. The theological consequences of the transformation of the scientific worldview through twentieth-century physics and cosmology are considered with respect to notions of God's transcendence, time, continuous creation, determinism, and multiple universes. The theological implications of the worldview of biology are similarly assessed with respect to certain features of biological evolution: its continuity, its open-endedness, its mechanism, and the role of "chance" and law. The model of human agency for the agency of God in the hierarchy of natural systems is examined. The article concludes with some reflections on a science-informed understanding of God's relation to the world as transcendent, incarnate, and immanent.     

The Roman Catholic Pedophilia Crisis and the Call to Erotic Conversion

Abstract

The abuse of children and associated cover-ups have damaged the laity's trust in priests, unsettled the church's finances and exposed a culture of self-deception. Consequently, there is more focus on priest's sexual orientation and a clerical culture that includes hidden sexual behavior. Yet, Rome and the bishops are creating an environment which encourages the suppression of sexuality. In this climate, priests may be more prone to a less healthy and less mature incorporation of sexuality into daily living. Meanwhile, little theological discussion has occurred regarding the contribution of the church's narrow view of sexuality on this crisis. As a response, this article will use Lonergan's methodology to introduce the notion of Erotic Conversion, or, ‘turning with’ our sexual energies in an affirming manner. This concept will be brought into dialogue with the concept of embodiment and those theologies which have arisen from the gay and lesbian liberation movement.     

Offline: The possible effects of Internet-related behavior on work values,expectations, & behavior among Ultra-Orthodox millennials

ABSTRACT

This work examines differences in the work-related values, expectations, and behaviors between millennials who are significant users of technology and social media, and those who are not. We delineate the development of millennial behavior using a unique group of millennials, those in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish (known as “Haredi”) community in Israel. Due to religious and community norms, many Haredi millennials were shielded from digital technology, and particularly the Internet and the various technologies associated with it, such as text messaging and social media. Those who were raised and remained in Haredi communities did not encounter the Internet with any regularity as children. Many as adults are still unfamiliar with social media. Thus, this community presents a unique natural experiment, comparing Haredi millennials who are immersed in social media with those who are not.     

Lesslie Newbigin and Edinburgh’s Common Call

In a world where pluralism is the norm, interfaith encounter and dialogue are essential parts of the Christian experience. Lesslie Newbigin reflected extensively on a theological understanding of the Christian encounter with those of other faiths, emphasizing the importance of both a humble orientation toward God and others and a firm commitment to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. This juxtaposition of humble witness and firm faith in interfaith encounter is also reflected in the Edinburgh 2010 mission conference’s Common Call. This article will explore Newbigin’s reflections on interfaith dialogue and consider their implications for the future of the ecumenical movement.     

A CULTURAL EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO MODERNITY: WHAT MIGHT IT MEAN FOR CHRISTIAN FAITH?

This essay introduces, for theological consideration, some recent work in the field of cultural evolutionary theory, specifically the kin-influence hypothesis. This theory holds that, following the beginnings of industrialization and economic growth, a nation's fertility rate commences a decline, which is further abetted by the consequent and increasing imbalance in the relative influence of kin versus nonkin influences on individuals in favor of the latter. It is further proposed that this process is itself a major independent factor in the emergence of many of the features of what is called modernity, among which is that of secularization. Extending further this work, I argue that, given the historic alignment of family and religious values in Christian nations, a loss of religious belief and practice is, at least in part, the spill over effect of the opposing influence of values emerging from ever more dominant nonfamily social interaction. I conclude with some reflections on possible theological implications.     

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.     

Post/Human Conditions

Abstract

Perhaps one of the most pressing issues for the twenty-first century will be the impact of new technologies on our experiences and understandings of what it means to be human. For many commentators, this signals the advent of the ‘posthuman condition’, in which digital technologies will have the capacity to reconfigure our conceptions of space and time; cybernetic devices will enhance and augment bodies and minds; and genetic modification will challenge the fixity of ‘human nature’ at the most fundamental level. This article examines some of the most influential discourses—from science, ethics and popular culture—that promise to shape the choices and values determining how such technologies will be used, and to what ends. Closer analysis reveals a multiplicity of visions of ‘posthuman conditions’, however, informed by a diversity of philosophical, ethical, political — and theological—understandings of what it means to be human in an age of technology; and this article proposes the terminology of ‘post/human’ as a critical device designed to alert us to the choices and values inherent in our engagement with our tools and technologies. The article concludes by advancing some themes by which a deeper theological critique of the post/human might be conducted: transcendence, sacramentality and creativity, divine and human.     

FALLIBILISM,FAITH AND THEOLOGY: PUTTING NICHOLAS RESCHER TO THEOLOGICAL WORK1

This essay explores the possible theological relevance of Nicholas Rescher's pragmatic‐idealist account of human reason. An initial case is made for the prospective hospitality of Christian theology to Rescher's thought, contrary to his early misgivings. The intrinsic relationship between Christian faith and a fallibilist self‐regard is then explored. Next Rescher's more recent constructive reflections are considered and their limitations identified. Finally the lineaments of a thoroughgoing Trinitarian appropriation of Rescher's thought are traced together with its implications for the character of Christian theology and ecclesial reality.     

Brain Science and the Biology of Belief: A Theological Response

Exploration of brain pathways involved in religious experience has been the focus of research by Andrew Newberg and colleagues. Although the import of this work sheds new light on the human capacity to experience divine reality, the theological implications drawn from this research are vague and lack an appropriate methodology to provide critical distinctions. This paper offers a theological response to Newberg's work by highlighting several aspects of this research including the relationship between theological judgments and empirical observations, the uniqueness of human transcendence, and the appropriateness of measuring mystical experience.     

From ��Water Boiling in a Peruvian Town�� to ��Letting them Die��: Culture, Community Intervention, and the Metabolic Balance Between Patience and Zeal

While the concept of culture has long been central to community psychology research and intervention, it has most frequently referred to the communities in which such work occurs. The purpose of this paper is to reframe this discussion by viewing community interventions as instances of intercultural contact between the culture of science, reflected in community intervention research, and the culture of the communities in which those interventions occur. Following a brief discussion of the complexities of culture as a concept, two illustrative stories of failed community interventions are provided to highlight the centrality of cultural and contextual understanding as prelude to community intervention. These stories, set 50 years apart, reflect the depth and pervasive influence of both the culture of science and the culture of communities. Next, a series of propositions about the culture of social science as a partial reflection of the broader culture of the United States are offered, and their implications for the conduct of community interventions drawn. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations which, together, provide an ecological mind-set for taking culture seriously in community interventions. Central to this mind set are the importance of focusing on communities rather than programs and emphasizing the intervention goal of choice over change.