Christians In Cyberspace Christians In Cyberspace Cyberspace is not just a place where geeks spend their time, but where more and more of us will end up 'living' much of our lives. Therefore we believe that it is important to consider the implications for our lives, faith and society of such a phenomenon.
In late July, Professor David Lyon, a sociologist from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario and author of many books (including Future Society, and Jesus in Disneyland) and articles on postmodernity, cyberspace and surveillance society, visited Perth, Western Australia for a short visit.
The group (about 25 persons) met at Mount Pleasant Uniting Church with David who provided a presentation that stimulated discussion within the group - had to 'pull the plug' at 9.30. Many stayed for supper afterwards.
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Network World: Hope Beyond the HypeThe mythmakers want us to think that we're on the cusp of a new world, created by the Internet and new media. Employment, education, entertainment, family life are all being transformed, we're told, by the power of the new network society. While we can (and should) deflate such claims, what are we left with? The hope beyond the hype is that we can engage the new media technologies responsibly, choosing together what are human ways forward. This applies not only to email use or to surfing the net, but to rethinking the meaning of work, citizenship and politics in the age of speed. |
We hope that David's visit will be a catalyst for ongoing discussion on the implications of the new world of cyberspace for our society and most importantly for serious Christian reflection on how we should respond to it as Christians.
READING GROUP: We currently have a reading group that meets once a month and is concerned with issues of Culture and the Gospel. Contact us if you are interested in attending.
NOTE: These activities and web-site are not associated with the Mt Pleasant Uniting Church or any other church organisation.
The following papers were written by Professor David Lyon and will be used as a starting point for our discussions. All files are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader that is freely available from Adobe's web-site.
Cyberspace: Beyond the Information Society? (PDF File)
Beyond Cyberspace: Digital Dreams and Social Bodies (PDF File)
Facing the Future: Ethics for Everyday Surveillance (PDF File)
Professor David Lyon's Home Page
God Is My Palm Pilot. Sojourners 2001
Why the Future Doesn't Need Us. Bill Joy. Wired April 2000
Net Future. Online Journal with editor Steve Talbott
ChurchinPerth local Western Australian Christian web-site supported by the Tay family. Includes articles, discussion and news on local and international events.
To start talking about the spiritual and ethical implications of life in cyberspace and to canvas issues that should be raised with David Lyon we organised a meeting of interested people on April 28, 2002.
To continue talking about the spiritual and ethical implications of life in cyberspace and to canvas issues that should be raised with David Lyon a second meeting of interested people was organised on June 16th. As a starting point for discussion input was provided by Alex Reid (University IT Policy Executive Officer and Professorial Fellow) and Paul Newhouse (lecturer in Education). The article God Is My Palm Pilot. from the Sojourners online journal provided some background reading - the downloads and links sections on this page also provided other potential background reading.
Read a summary of the presentations and discussions at the meeting.
The meeting only committed to meeting again with David Lyon in July.
Ian Barns: barns@murdoch.edu.au
Paul Newhouse: p.newhouse@ecu.edu.au
Note: This group, web-site, and associated activities are not associated with any organisation, church or other.
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Last Updated: September 23, 2005