Cybertheology - by Antonio Spadaro

About the Book

This book investigates the concept of cybertheology and its effect on the ways in which we think Christianity. It relates Cybertheology to the works of theoreticians in media studies, anthropology and theology and considers the relationships between cybertheology and Christian theology and whether these changes are similar to or different from changes experienced in thinking on Christian theology after the development of other media technologies.

Book Synopsis

This book, written by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., the Editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, has been translated by Maria Way, who specializes in topics relating to media and religion. The author suggests that since the Internet has changed, and is changing, the ways in which we think and act, it must also be changing the ways in which we think Christianity and its theology. To develop this theme, he uses the term 'Cybertheology'.

Through the theoretical works of a variety of authors, e.g., Marshall McLuhan, Peter Lévy and Teilhard de Chardin, he associates the concepts of theology with theories that have been expounded on the internet. His sources come from media studies and anthropology, as well as theology. Spadaro also considers the hacker ethic in relation to Cybertheology. How has the internet changed our notion of theology? Has the internet had similar effects on the thinking of Christianity that were experienced after the development of other media technologies?

The book aims to clarify just how thinking has changed or remained the same in an era which is often seen as one in which the media's changes have speeded up. It considers both the positives and negatives that may be associated with the internet in relation to Christianity and its theology.

Review Quotes

"The book provides a substantial introduction to the anthropological and theological questions raised by our life "on line" smartphones, Google, virtual spaces, avatars. Spadaro raises questions having to do with the need of the Church to engage the new 'intellectus fidei' in the age of the internet."-Massimo Faggioli, University of St. Thomas

"Cybertheology by Antonio Spadaro is an excellent attempt to understand Christian faith and theology in the era of the Internet and digital communication. It is a pioneering work that contributes to a new understanding of the familiar concept of theology as faith seeking understanding."-Jose Palakeel, Theologicon, Kochi, India

""He [Spadaro] stirs our religious imagination to think differently about how we communicate faith in a digital culture." -St. Anthony Messenger

"For Spadaro, the principal theological danger posed by the Internet is the classic docetic tendency to sever mind from body, word from flesh, and in its modern form, to substitute virtual for actual reality. This book will provoke much discussion."-America Magazine

"There are key questions in this book--whether or not one's congregational life is steeped in digital technologies. It is important that we consider the extent to which people's sense of the presence of others is being redefined by augmented reality."-The Expository Times

About the Author

Antonio Spadaro, S.J., is editor of the review La Civiltà Cattolica and teaches at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Maria Way was formerly Senior Lecturer in Media Theory at the University of Westminster's School of Media, Art & Design. She has published a number of academic articles, mostly on media and religion, and now works as a freelance lecturer, editor and translates from Italian and French to English. Her research interests are focused on the relationship between religion(s) and the media, particularly Vatican media.