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Eschatology and the Technological Future

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Eschatology and the Technological Future Eschatology and the Technological Future This book offers an insightful and timely analysis of key theorists and ideas in the intersection between theology and technology. From the religiously inspired technological optimism of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Nikolai Fedorov, to the darker technological pessimism of Jacques Ellul, the contributions of Christian theorists to under- standing the technological milieu can offer us fresh perspectives on some intractable problems of modern life. As Burdett clearly shows, technological optimism and utopianism have religious roots, and a technological culture that ignores its own roots is in danger not only of environmental devastation, but also existential and spiritual despair. A fi ne book at a critical time. — David Lewin, Liverpool Hope University, UK The rapid advancement of technology has led to an explosion of speculative theories about what the future of humankind may look like. These “tech- nological futurisms” from the fi elds of nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technology are drawing growing scrutiny from the philosophi- cal and theological communities. This text seeks to contextualize the grow- ing literature on the cultural, philosophical and religious implications of technological advancement by considering technological futurisms such as transhumanism in the context of the long historical tradition of technologi- cal dreaming. Michael Burdett traces the latent religious sources of our con- temporary technological imagination by looking at visionary approaches to technology and the future in seminal technological utopias and sci- ence fi ction and draws on past theological responses to the technological future with Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Jacques Ellul. Burdett’s argu- ment arrives at a contemporary Christian response to transhumanism based around the themes of possibility and promise by turning to the works of Richard Kearney, Eberhard Jüngel and Jürgen Moltmann. Throughout, the author highlights points of correspondence and divergence between techno- logical futurisms and the Judeo-Christian understanding of the future. Michael S. Burdett is Postdoctoral Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford, UK and a Visiting Fellow at the University of St Andrews, UK. Routledge Studies in Religion For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com 12 Theology, Creation, and 19 Buddhism and Violence Environmental Ethics Militarism and Buddhism in From Creatio Ex Nihilo to Terra Modern Asia Nullius Edited by Vladimir Whitney Bauman Tikhonov and Torkel Brekke 13 Material Religion and Popular Culture 20 Popular Music in Evangelical E. Frances King Youth Culture Stella Sai-Chun Lau 14 Adam Smith as Theologian Edited by Paul Oslington 21 Theology and the Science of Moral Action 15 The Entangled God Virtue Ethics, Exemplarity, Divine Relationality and Quantum and Cognitive Neuroscience Physics Edited by James A. Van Slyke, By Kirk Wegter-McNelly Gregory R. Peterson, Kevin S. Reimer, Michael 16 Aquinas and Radical L. Spezio and Warren Orthodoxy S. Brown A Critical Inquiry Paul J. DeHart 22 Abrogation in the Qur’an and Islamic Law 17 Animal Ethics and Theology By Louay Fatoohi The Lens of the Good Samaritan 23 A New Science of Religion Daniel K. Miller Edited by Gregory W. Dawes and James Maclaurin 18 The Origin of Heresy A History of Discourse in 24 Making Sense of the Secular Second Temple Judaism Critical Perspectives from Europe and Early Christianity to Asia Robert M. Royalty, Jr. Edited by Ranjan Ghosh 25 The Rise of Modern Jewish 34 Religious Ethics and Migration Politics Doing Justice to Undocumented Extraordinary Movement Workers C.S. Monaco Ilsup Ahn 26 Gender and Power in 35 A Theology of Community Contemporary Spirituality Organizing Ethnographic Approaches Power to the People Anna Fedele and Kim E. Knibbe Chris Shannahan 27 Religions in Movement 36 God and Natural Order The Local and the Global in Physics, Philosophy, and Theology Contemporary Faith Traditions Shaun C. Henson Robert W. Hefner, John Hutchinson, Sara Mels and 37 Science and Religion Christiane Timmerman One Planet, Many Possibilities Edited by Lucas F. Johnston and 28 William James’s Hidden Whitney A. Bauman Religious Imagination A Universe of Relations 38 Queering Religion, Religious Jeremy Carrette Queers Edited by Yvette Taylor and Ria 29 Theology and the Arts Snowdon Engaging Faith Ruth Illman and W. Alan Smith 39 Sainthood and Race Marked Flesh, Holy Flesh 30 Religion, Gender, and the Public Edited by Molly H. Bassett and Sphere Vincent W. Lloyd Edited by Niamh Reilly and Stacey Scriver 40 Making European Muslims Religious Socialization among 31 An Introduction to Jacob Boehme Young Muslims in Scandinavia Four Centuries of Thought and and Western Europe Reception Edited by Mark Sedgwick Edited by Ariel Hessayon and Sarah Apetrei 41 Just War and the Ethics of Espionage 32 Globalization and Orthodox Darrell Cole Christianity The Transformations of a 42 Teaching the Historical Jesus Religious Tradition Issues and Exegesis Victor Roudometof Edited by Zev Garber 33 Contemporary Jewish Writing 43 Eschatology and the Austria after Waldheim Technological Future Andrea Reiter Michael S. Burdett This page intentionally left blank Eschatology and the Technological Future Michael S. Burdett First published 2015 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Taylor & Francis The right of Michael S. Burdett to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Burdett, Michael S. (Michael Stephen), 1981– Eschatology and the technological future / Michael S. Burdett. — 1 [edition]. pages cm. — (Routledge studies in religion ; 43) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Technology—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Technology and civilization—Forecasting. 3. Future, The. 4. Eschatology. I. Title. BR115.T42B87 2015 236—dc23 2014033290 ISBN: 978-1-138-82633-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-73939-7 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC To Emily This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures xi Acknowledgements xiii 1 Introduction: Our Technological Future, Philosophy and Religion 1 PART I Visionary Approaches to Technology and the Future 9 2 Planning for the Technological Future: Technological Utopianism 11 3 Science Fiction and the Technological Imagination 47 4 Transhumanism and the Future 80 PART II Theological Responses to Technology and the Future 111 5 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Eschatology: The Technological Optimist 113 6 Jacques Ellul and Eschatology: The Technological Pessimist 141 x Contents PART III Philosophical and Theological Issues in Technology and the Future 169 7 Heidegger: Ontology, Technology and Eschatology 171 8 Possibility and Promise: A Christian Response 203 9 Conclusion: Hope in a Technological World 236 Index 247 Figures 2.1 Frontispiece to Instauratio Magna . 15 2.2 ‘American Progress’, John Gast, c. 1872. 26 2.3 Drawing of Chambless’s Roadtown (1910). 28 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements Any work of scholarship is a product of the thoughtful and generous atten- tion of many. This work is no exception. Many institutions helped to con- tribute signifi cant resources towards the completion of this text. Regents Park College, Oxford and the Centre for Christianity and Culture provided a stimulating environment that helped nurture this book in its infancy and contributed substantial bursaries whilst completing it. In the fi nal stages the faculty at St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews provided the stimulation and space to complete it. Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and its part- ner Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford have been my academic home in recent years and have provided research opportunities that, without them, this book would never have seen the light of day. Stan Rosenberg deserves special mention for his loyalty and for encouraging this burgeon- ing academic. Other colleagues and friends offered important feedback in informal set- tings and seminars. Thanks are due to Clark Elliston, Stephen Backhouse, Jinhyok Kim, Mathew Kirkpatrick, David K O’hara, Bradley Onishi and Andrew Dunstan. Many conversations about theology and technology helped form germinal ideas found herein and supplied important theologi- cal and philosophical scrutiny. I would also like to extend my appreciation to other scholars in the fi eld that cast a critical eye on various parts of this book during the different stages of its completion. I am grateful to Paul Fiddes, Peter Harrison, John Perry, Joel Rasmussen, Brent Waters, David Lewin and Ronald Cole-Turner for their thoughtful criticisms and advice. Prof George Pattison supervised the initial project and provided impor- tant insights and tutelage, knowing exactly what to provide at just the right time. I originally turned to issues of theology and technology because of his book Thinking about God in an Age of Technology and where it might seem his name is not on every page, his guidance and expertise were the driving force behind each one. Indeed, it is often those we are the most indebted to that we don’t know how to properly cite. xiv Acknowledgements Finally, I would like to thank my family for their indefatigable support while I pursued a new career in theological higher education. Particular thanks are due to my wife, Emily, who has supported me whilst we both became academics and has challenged my thinking and loved me uncondi- tionally. I could not have done this without her.
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