Navigating the Intersections of Faith, Knowledge, and Reason.
This month, I attended a virtual conference on Christianity & Science Fiction. The conference featured academic presentations on religious connections in science fiction literature. The two-session forum was hosted by the Michigan Center for Early Christian Studies in partnership with the Department of Middle East Studies (University of Michigan). Religion in science fiction is a…
It’s just scratching the surface, but I’ve brought together a few of my favorite Star Trek episodes that deal with religion and portrayals of God. Sci-fi is a fantastic venue for exploring how people interact with religious ideas and concepts. Gene Roddenberry masterfully encouraged exploring the human condition in Star Trek. Star Trek: The Next…
Science fiction has a tendency to confront human nature by dropping familiar views of politics, civil understanding, and religion into a futuristic or otherworldly paradigm. Guess what? No matter what technology is at their disposal, people tend toward the same mistakes and problems. I am particularly interested in how science fiction portrays and wrestles with…
This is a companion page to my presentation at SBLAAR22 (Society of Biblical Literature, American Academy of Religion) in Denver, CO. Below, you will find resource materials from the course I developed, first taught at the University of Oregon, Clark Honors College, 2021, links to other resources, and information referenced in my presentation. For…
This weekend, I am giving a presentation about teaching film and religion based on a course I designed and taught approximately one year ago. Even if I knew it before teaching this course, the experience solidified that the public work of theology is being done in open forums through creative media outlets. I mean, I…
Belief in the future of AI Attention to human prejudices Thought-provoking storytelling Two great factions learning to collaborate Leading ladies Mary McDonnell, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Katee Sackhoff Extinction of the human race at stake Serious ethical discussions about war, work, poverty, abortion, terrorism, religion, healthcare, etc. Technology advancements and limitations that interfere with human…
Even if you aren’t a huge sci-fi fanatic, you have probably heard of Battlestar Galactica. After all, it is a four-season complete apocalyptic sci-fi series made for the post-9/11 world. The 2004 series, sometimes called “The Reimagined Series, ” is also referred to as BSG-TRS. The series won more than 30 awards, more than 50…
The novel Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro was only recently published in 2021. The book is very well done and reads easily. The author holds back just enough information to keep the reader hungry for more. This style can feel a little disorienting at first, but curiosity is sparked and I found the…
This week I am traveling through Texas. On Wednesday, I flew into Austin and visited with family a couple days. Then, on Friday, I arrived in San Antonio for an annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the Institute of Biblical Research (IBR). This conference is a great time to connect with…
Jump directly to Theological Ethics of Sexbots Podcast In an age of quick-paced technological developments, it’s no surprise we are seeing tv-series and films address ethical issues surrounding human interaction with robots. Even though Artificial Intelligence (AI) still has a ways to go before a synthetic being may be able to interact fully and free…