News
Edited by Alexander Chow and Jonas Kurlberg with Peter Philips, The Oxford Handbook of Digital Theology states that it is the first comprehensive overview of theological reflections on digital technology.
“Digital theology,” according to Chow and Kurlberg in an introduction, is an umbrella term referring to theological reflection on the pervasive application of digital technology in contemporary societies and its implications for Christian faith and practice.
The handbook was launched on 16 June in Zurich during a hybrid conference of the Global Network for Digital Theology and a workshop on “Artificial Intelligence and the Church.”
Speaking at the launch online from Sweden, publication of the handbook was welcomed by Archbishop Emerita Dr Antje Jackelén, former archbishop of the Church of Sweden, who has extensive academic experience in the relation between science and religion.
“Technological development, including AI, can be a sign of the realm of God,” said Jackelén, a member of the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
“Whether and how this can be the case in various dimensions and contexts requires discernment. And discernment involves both knowledge and ethical convictions. Here, the handbook provides necessary material,” continued Jackelén, now senior advisor in systematic theology at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University. Sweden.
The handbook is made up of 32 chapters organized in four sections: Digital Theology and Methods; Digital Theology and Systematics; Theology and Digital Ministries; and Theology and Digital Societies. Topics range from the “Doctrine of God” and “Christology,” to “Theologies of Artificial Intelligence” and “Online Discipleship and Spiritual Formation.”
“It is precisely the task of this volume to bridge the divide between digitality as culture and digitality as an object of theological reflection,” writes consultant editor Philips in a foreword.
The Oxford Handbook of Digital Theology
