Search Results (64)

This paper offers a Christian ethical evaluation of transhumanism. It employs a two-part framework. First, the paper contextualizes transhumanism within the evolutionary cosmology of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and thereby suggests a theological openness to technologically influenced development as part of an ongoing cosmogenesis towards greater consciousness, or the Omega Point. Second, the paper critically evaluates transhumanist values against five key principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST): natural law, human dignity, human flourishing, the common good, and care for creation. While the Teilhardian lens does indeed allow us to interpret certain transhumanist goals as potentially conducive to humans, the CST assessment reveals serious ethical concerns that must be addressed. These concerns include threats to inherent dignity through the reductionism of the human person, the potential unchecked exacerbation of current social inequality, and significant conflicts with the care of creation stemming from an unchecked technocratic paradigm as described in Laudato Si’. This paper concludes that while engagement with transhumanism is necessary, a Christian perspective should strive to ensure that technological advancement remains subordinate to the universal dignity of all persons, the common good, and authentic flourishing in communion with God. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most influential and rapidly developing phenomena of our time. New fields of study are being created at universities, and managers are constantly introducing new AI solutions for business management, marketing, and advertising new products. Unfortunately, AI is also used to promote dangerous political parties and ideologies. The research problem that is the focus of this work is expressed in the following question: How does the symbiotic relationship between artificial and natural intelligence manifest across three dimensions of human experience—philosophical understanding, educational practice, and pastoral care—and what hermeneutical, phenomenological, and critical realist insights can illuminate both the promises and perils of this emerging co-evolution? In order to address this issue, an interdisciplinary research team was established. This team comprised a philosopher, an educator, and a pastoral theologian. This study is grounded in a critical–hermeneutic meta-analysis of the existing literature, ecclesial documents, and empirical investigations on AI. The results of scientific research allow for a broader insight into the impact of AI on humans and on personal relationships in Christian communities. The authors are concerned not only with providing an in-depth understanding of the issue but also with taking into account the ecumenical perspective of religious, social, and cultural education of contemporary Christians. Our analysis reveals that cultivating a healthy symbiosis between artificial and natural intelligence requires specific competencies and ethical frameworks. We therefore conclude with practical recommendations for Christian formation that neither uncritically embrace nor fearfully reject AI, but rather foster wise discernment for navigating this unprecedented co-evolutionary moment in human history. Full article

This study explores the role of public theology in addressing contemporary societal challenges, emphasizing ethical dialogue in response to secularization, pluralism, technological transformation, and social and environmental issues. It situates pastoral theology in the Christian tradition as an active social practice aimed at promoting justice, equality, and the common good. The study highlights the emergence of public theology as a response to the participation of religious discourse in the public arena, considering communication and digital technology, and articulating theological reflection with real-world social issues. Additionally, it examines the profound significance of dialogue within religious discourse and stresses the importance of ethical reflection in technological advancements, particularly concerning AI (Artificial Intelligence). Moreover, Catholic social thought and the concept of integral ecology are analyzed in dialogue with the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), underlining the potential of public theology to promote socio-environmental justice through a holistic approach. Full article

The fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral accentuated the sense that this architectural building is a symbol of unity and identity for the population. This symbol extends beyond its French and Christian origins, reflecting the universal nature of cultural heritage, which has the extraordinary ability to unite people across nations, transcending ideologies, religions, and political divisions. The reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral marks a profound milestone in the preservation of cultural heritage, embodying resilience, restoration, and the enduring significance of shared human history. This research examines the impacts of the restoration of the cathedral at national and global scales through the implementation of questionnaires to visitors to the cathedral’s inauguration. The restoration process, which gained extensive media coverage, not only revived the cathedral’s architectural grandeur but also sparked international discussions about heritage conservation. Through an analysis of the questionnaire results for different factors, this study highlights the complexities of managing a monumental heritage of this magnitude in a globalized world. It reflects the ethical, financial, and social challenges involved in major restoration projects, using Notre Dame as a paradigmatic example. The paper concludes that the reopening of the cathedral is not only a triumph of physical restoration but also a testament to humanity’s resilience in the face of adversity. It serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage for future generations while fostering a sense of collective responsibility. Full article

The First Epistle of Peter is a writing that addresses a new way of understanding and practicing worship among the followers of Jesus. The Christians, recipients of the letter, due to the imminent identity distinction from the Jews and their distancing from the practices of imperial worship, live in a difficult social and religious situation. This situation demands the author to recall the theological foundations of Christian identity and redefine the meaning of traditional ritual concepts in new ethical and communal terms. This article, through a historical and theological analysis, examines the concepts of “sacrifice” and “submission” in their Christian reinterpretation and how they shape the worship practices of Jesus’ followers. To this end, the cultic elements present in the exhortative discourse are analyzed to explore the development of their theological significance at the dawn of the second century. Furthermore, considering the current appreciation of these attitudes as outdated values, this article evaluates whether the ethical discourse of the letter can have an impact on contemporary society. The study seeks to offer a renewed reading of 1 Peter that contributes to understanding the particularity of Christian worship in the Greco-Roman society of the first century and to ascertain whether its message is still relevant today. Full article

Early post-Vatican Catholic moral theologians made significant global proposals for renewed theological ethics in their own time and culture. However, after the culmination of the work of these great scholars in the 1980s and 1990s, Catholic moral theology became anchored in contingent polemic and polarized debates. It ceased to offer integral proposals of fundamental Christian ethics for the new challenges in the personal, intersubjective, and social scenarios. Subsequent studies often focused on bioethics, sexuality, family, and social justice but rarely attempted to renew a public fundamental morality for the 21st century. The essential features of this article are the proposal of new categories and debates for fundamental moral theology, grounded on the conviction that promoting this discipline as a humanization proposal builds on the profound potential human beings are called to fulfill. Humanity understood in all its complexity requires a theological ethics capable of incorporating this human condition and its categories, such as vulnerability, corporality, and recognition from a transdisciplinary point of view. These challenges underscore the urgent need for a renewed ethical framework articulated in a significant language for our time. Drawing on extensive literature and analytical research methods, it examines the interplay between these multifaceted issues. Full article

The centrality of disruption as a graced moment of awakening social imagination to a new dawn where human flourishing becomes a possibility ought to be the focus of the church’s praxes of sacramental rituals. In fact, Christianity is itself a religion of disruption. The God–human reality that manifests itself in Jesus Christ is itself a graced disruption. God chooses to disrupt the familiar world of fallenness and thus offers God-self as a mediating gift that reorients creation to a new way of being that transcends the familiar orientation towards sin. Disruption, as an existential phenomenon, is not alien to the human condition. In fact, all aspects of human life are saturated with disruption. In fact, grace is itself God’s disruptive intervention in human history. Since creation embodies the goodness of God, creation can be said to be a sacramental symbol of disruption. In a social world where racism and other structures of marginality operate, victims of such marginalities embody in their existence the disruptive grace that can transform such a society. Black bodies are loci for encountering the disruptive grace intended to end the vice of racism. They also serve as the loci for the church to imagine a new way of being a sacrament of disruption in the world because of their existential proximity to the historical realities defining the life of Jesus Christ as a victim of the hegemony of empire. This work shows how black bodies can help foster a new imagination of the human in our contemporary world where systems of marginalization continue to shape human life in general. It attempts to address the following question: how can one conceive of black bodies in a world defined by systems of erasure that directly affect black persons and their embodied agencies? To do this effectively, this work appropriates a constructive theological approach that grounds itself in an interdisciplinary discourse with the intent to argue that to speak of the human person is to instantiate a polyphony of insights: insights that appeal to an ethical consciousness that is defined by altruism. Full article

The latest technological advancements, above all artificial intelligence, are raising pressing questions regarding the relationship between machines and humans. Not only have previously known challenges arisen in the new context of digital technological achievements, but machines have now penetrated into spheres of human existence where they were not present until now. In addition to other ethical problems, there are therefore fundamental anthropological questions needing answers, which would clarify the role of the latest digital technologies in the context of our individual and social lives, and define the boundaries of the inviolable human spheres. In this study, we compare responses to these challenges from two important sources. First, we will review how the use of artificial intelligence and the anthropological challenges it poses appear in the teaching of Pope Francis, in line with the Catholic Church’s wider teaching on technology. Second, we examine how this problem is treated in the legislation of the European Union, which is a leader in the regulation of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence. We will highlight four concrete challenges posed by artificial intelligence to the human person (profiling, predictive algorithms, human intervention and manipulation), to which the legislation of the European Union has responded partly on anthropological grounds. We will argue that a systematic analysis of the relevant EU regulations on digital technologies (the General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Services Act, and the Artificial Intelligence Act) can shed light on new aspects of the legal concept of human dignity, which—even without religious justifications—clearly mirror significant elements of Christian anthropology that are present in Pope Francis’ teaching on artificial intelligence. The anthropological approach of the European legislation is remarkable from a comparative perspective, since other globally relevant regulators have not yet taken such a position and seem to prioritize practical advantages, especially effectivity in the context of new technologies. Full article

The article explores the role of religion in shaping societal norms, arguing that religion, alongside law and ethics, plays a critical role in regulating social life. It emphasizes the interdependence of various regulatory systems—religious, ethical, legal, and modern standards—and advocates for reintegrating spirituality into scientific discourse on societal regulation. The study highlights the limitations of purely legalistic approaches and calls for a renewed focus on ethical and religious principles, particularly in light of global crises such as environmental degradation and social inequality. It also discusses the unique position of Christianity in balancing these regulatory frameworks and promoting a harmonious coexistence through values such as love and solidarity. Full article

This article aims to offer Yi Kwangsu’s The Heartless (Mujŏng, 1917), the first modern Korean novel, as an emblem of hybrid religiosity in colonial modernity that sheds light on an ambivalent alterity in the problem of hell in non-Western cultures. To the extent that the problem of hell in Christianity pertains to the question of why God allows evil to exist eternally, God’s omnipotent authority with justice and fairness beyond the grave is placed at the center of the inquiry into the ultimate standard of moral goodness the religious feasibility of which justifies the existence of sinners suffering eternal damnation in hell. But the co-existence of the omnipotent God and unrepentant sinners is not always questioned in the religiosity of hell in non-Western cultures. The Christian imaginary of hell in non-Western cultures often demarcates the question of God’s sovereignty from the sufferings of sinners in the problem of hell. Based on these observations, this article will investigate Yi’s narratives of hell in The Heartless, which are associated with Christianity but intertwined with his ethical demands for shaping a new individuality beyond the traditional hybrid religiosity of hell. Specifically, first, we will show that Yi’s Christian imaginary of hell is reformulated through the traditional imaginaries of hell in which, regardless of the existence of God’s sovereignty over the created order, the sufferings of sinners in hell function to secure social norms and orders. In doing so, we claim that the Christian imaginary of hell in The Heartless is relegated to a rhetorical means to beget the need for the self-awakening of the inner-self through which individual desires can be freed from the influences of Confucian morality as well as Christian theodicy. Second, in comparison with Lu Xun’s sympathetic relocation of Christian spirituality within the traditional Chinese imaginaries of hell in his longing for modern subjectivity, we explore Yi’s hybrid religiosity within colonial modernity, the vitality of which cannot be confined within the simple dichotomy between Western and non-Western cultures. At this juncture, the upshot of Yi’s hybrid religiosity within colonial modernity is that the theodicy of hell in Christianity can be displaced and thereby disenfranchised from the centrality of the search for a new individuality. Full article

The discourse on understanding and implementing sustainable development has so far focused primarily on the external aspects, neglecting the internal dimension of people. The main purpose of our paper is to contribute to addressing this research gap. Therefore, we intend to (1) substantiate existing aspects of the Inner Development Goals (IDGs), (2) complement them, and (3) link the concept of the IDGs to normative discourses in Christian Social Ethics and Social Philosophy. Our results show that the dimensions of Being, Relating, and Collaborating in the IDG Framework can be substantiated by the normative discourse on spirituality and by reference to the social principle of personality in Christian Social Ethics, as well as by the Indian Social Philosophical Perspective of Vimala Thakar which focuses on a value-based approach. This paper suggests that the concept of the IDGs will be strengthened by adding the dimension of Caring—understood as the concern and responsibility for the wholeness in the combining of the inner and outer dimensions. By linking the concept of the Inner Development Goals to the existing normative discourses in Christian Social Ethics and Social Philosophy, our research contributes to making the concept connectable and deepens the discussions on a practical and theoretical level. Full article

This study aims to explore the practice of Christian ocean stewardship on Taiwan’s marine wind farm policy, with a particular focus on the critically endangered Taiwanese humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis taiwanensis). Marine wind farms, while integral to the shift toward renewable energy, present complex ethical challenges due to their adverse environmental impacts—particularly noise pollution, which poses a serious threat to vulnerable marine species. International laws have underscored the importance of preventing marine noise pollution. Although Taiwan has relevant laws and policies, their implementation and supervision in preventing marine noise pollution are inadequate. This study critically examines the anthropocentric frameworks that currently dominate Taiwan’s marine development policies, arguing that they inadequately address the moral obligations humans have toward the broader ecosystem. Through a theological reflection grounded in Christian stewardship ethics, this research advocates for a shift away from human-centered environmental policies towards a more holistic ethic that acknowledges the intrinsic value of all creation. It emphasizes that ethical stewardship requires not merely reducing harm but actively participating in the restoration and protection of ecosystems, thus extending beyond utilitarian considerations of human benefit. The plight of the Taiwanese humpback dolphin serves as a case study for exploring these ethical tensions, highlighting how the energy transition can inadvertently contribute to biodiversity loss if not approached with caution and moral responsibility. Building on this, this study proposed four key principles to guide future marine development. These principles advocate for respecting nature, responsible management, continuous innovation, and social participation and transparency. This approach not only helps guide Taiwan’s marine policies but also provides new perspectives and practical approaches for applying Christian ethics in the field of marine environmental protection. Full article

Today’s youth navigate a complex balance between traditional and modern values in a changing world. In this context, education plays a crucial role in transforming society and promoting values that align with the Sustainable Development Goals, such as justice and equality, with Ethics and Christianity supporting these principles. Moreover, Physical Education (PE) is highlighted as a tool for promoting moral development and social inclusion; however, gaps exist in studies focusing on the integration of Ethics and Christian values in PE and sports. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of an intervention in the subjects of Ethics and Christianity on social responsibility among university students in PE Sciences. The design of this study was quasi-experimental with quantitative pre- and post-test measures and three groups (one Control Group). The sample comprised 95 students who responded to the University Social Responsibility Scale. Experimental Group 1 participated in Christianity class, and Experimental Group 2 in Ethics class. A Mann–Whitney U, Wilcoxon test, and ANOVA were used. The effect associated with the group variable was confirmed. We have partially affirmed that ethical and religious intervention positively influences students’ perception and practice of social responsibility. Future studies should explore pedagogical models that effectively enhance social responsibility among university students. Full article

Dialogue needs provocative interlocutors. Instilling a grave and shuddering awakening to the conscience, Emmanuel Levinas has provided a corpus of writings unveiling an immemorial horizon and divine calling of infinite responsibility before the other, the brother/sister stranger. Roger Burggraeve has animated Levinas’ writings within a Christian theological horizon as a source of formation in the service of promoting biblical wisdom and love in the life of faith. The writings of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis together portray a Catholic theological gravity to bring dialogue into a spiritual, practical, and social domain. Accordingly, this article develops the notion of dialogue within a Jewish and Christian lens by introducing the sense of the non-reciprocal character of dialogue, an asymmetrical relation of responsibility to the other evidencing the preconditions of dialogue. Levinas’ notion of non-reciprocal dialogue, taken further by the writings of Burggraeve, reveals a pre-original affectivity or ‘dialogical’ character of interpersonal relations of commitment respecting the other’s mystery and unknowability. This means that the dialogical relation is a pathway of ethical transcendence, a holy ground evoking an integral human ecology of maternity and fraternity. Such covenantal alterity in spiritual theological terms signifies an affectivity of atonement and redemptive love. In this way, the movement towards dialogue reveals a synodal path and holy ground to walk together and imagine an integral ecology of difference and mystery to transform words into sacrifice and truth into redemptive love. Journeying together upon such holy ground witnesses to a spiritual theology of dialogue envisioning a place to hear the “good news” (Lk 4:16) and encounter “the hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt 5:6). Full article

Papua, Indonesia, is a region of cultural and religious diversity. However, in facing social challenges, the development of youth character has become a critical issue. The Research and Development Centre for Religion, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Republic of Indonesia, conducted a survey of secondary schools. In 2021, the high school student index in Papua Province was below the national average. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship and level of correlation between religiosity and integrity among youth in Papua. We employed Christian biblical figures as models to illustrate their methods of developing and maintaining moral and ethical attributes. The method used is a quantitative approach with descriptive and correlational techniques. The findings indicate a significant positive correlation (0.629) between the religious dimension and the integrity dimension. This demonstrates a strong relationship between these two dimensions. The conclusion of this study essentially implies that there is a beneficial and strong relationship between religious discipline and integrity. This suggests that the two dimensions work together to shape and develop the personality of the younger generation. Full article