Rev. Ralf Peter Reimann is the Internet Commissioner of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland.
He holds a master's degree in computer science and serves as President of the World Association of Christian Communication (European Region)
An early 90s collection of essays on ‘Cultures of Technological Embodiment’ states in its introduction that ‘It should, perhaps, come as no surprise to us that, in an increasingly hyper-aestheticized everyday life, it is through various fictions that we endeavour to come to know ourselves.’ In this paper I analyse the ‘various fictions’ of three sci-fi movies to explore how societal ideas of and feelings towards technology and embodiment have shifted in the past 40 years and where we might (want to) go in future. I do this by examining how they treat three binaries: body/mind, human/technology, female/male. I hope to show a significant (though by no means unambiguous) trajectory: earlier science fiction, especially cyberpunk, portrayed the human mind as good, technological bodies as bad. RoboCop exemplifies this inclination. The birth of the internet began a shift, clearly demonstrated by The Matrix’s adamant insistence that the human mind cannot be trusted. Dangerous technology lurks not only in the physical machine but in the digital mind. Advancements in Artificial Intelligence and the explosion of social media now lead us to seek refuge in our bodies, rather than our weak minds. Transcendence will help us explore this final movement. Underneath this primary story I want to tease out a significant subplot, exploring the ways in which gender gets mixed up in these portrayals of bodies, minds, humans, cyborgs, and technology. If theology and the church are to engage in public discourses around religion, science, and technology, we must examine the way we culturally code and imagine technology, including its relation to embodiment – as well as understanding the fears that drive these characterisations. Only then can we meaningfully respond to them.
Simon is the Digital Lead for Coffee Shop Sunday, a Methodist project and the Community and Digital Pastor at an Essex Baptist Church. He has several postgraduate qualifications in theology (including digital) and in 2023 started the University of Chester Professional Doctorate program focusing on the theology of the avatar
Anita Cloete is a full Professor at Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her research areas are Youth culture, Spirituality, Religion, and media. She published and supervised several postgraduate students in these areas. She edited a book with the title: Interdisciplinary reflections on the Interplay between Religion, Film and Youth (2019)
Tai currently serves as Academic Lead at The Shepherd's Academy of Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life.
Rev Dr Steve Taylor PhD is a public scholar, working for AngelWings Ltd in research consultancy. Steve is author of 4 books, 56 published academic outputs and over 270 public writing pieces and maintains academic accountability as Senior Lecturer, Flinders University
Rev. Daniel Washbrook is a curate in the Church of England and is currently completing his MA in Digital Theology with Spurgeon’s College. He is interested in concepts of digital placemaking, particularly within the context of video games
Rainer Gottschalg (*1985); degree in German (B.A.) and Theology (Dr. theol.); graduated in Münster, Germany, then pursued a doctoral scholarship in the theological excellence program "Cultures Religions Identities" at PLU Salzburg, Austria. Currently undertaking a post -doctoral project on an anthropological foundation for a theological theory of science in the context of digitalization.
Bio: Elsa Marty has a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Chicago and is currently a Teaching Fellow at the Institute for Vaishnava Studies.
Michael Toy is a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington researching digital religion in Aotearo
Paper Title: Gen-Z Religious e- Xpression: The Iruption of Digital Spirituality and The Disruption of Cybertheology Cathecesis in Indonesia."
Bio: Elizabeth Widya is an independent researcher and theology learner at Marturia Christian College in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In her theological learning process, she is interested in and delves into areas such as digital theology, Asian theology, disability theology, and contextual theology
Axel Siegemund
Ramayana and Confucianism: Mainstreaming Asian Religious thought through digital design
Axel Siegemund contributes to Ethics of technology from an engineering perspective. His habilitation thesis in intercultural technology ethics was awarded with the Hanns Lilje Prize for Technology and Economy in 2023.