Networked Theology: Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture

by Heidi A. Campbell, Stephen Garner, William Dyrness (Editor), Robert Johnston (Editor)

Overview

The Theological Implications of Digital Culture

This informed theology of communication and media analyzes how we consume new media and technologies and discusses the impact on our social and religious lives. Combining expertise in religion online, theology, and technology, the authors synthesize scholarly work on religion and the internet for a nonspecialist audience. They show that both media studies and theology offer important resources for helping Christians engage in a thoughtful and faith-based critical evaluation of the effect of new media technologies on society, our lives, and the church.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801049149
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/20/2016
Series:	Engaging Culture
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	1,194,484
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Heidi A. Campbell (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is professor of communication at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and on PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

Stephen Garner (PhD, University of Auckland) is academic dean and senior lecturer in theology at Laidlaw College in Auckland, New Zealand. He holds an MSc in computer science and previously worked in the information technology sector. He speaks frequently on technology and new media.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction: When New Media Meets Faith
1. Theology of Technology 101: Understanding the Relationship between Theology and Technology
2. New Media Theory 101: Understanding New Media and the Network Society
3. Networked Religion: Considering How Faith Is Lived in a Network Society
4. Merging the Network with Theology: Who Is My Neighbor in Digital Culture?
5. Developing a Faith-Based Community Response to New Media
6. Engaging Appropriately with Technology and Media
Index

Editorial Reviews

06/13/2016
Campbell and Garner, both professors studying the intersection of digital culture and religion, collaborate in this addition to Baker’s “Engaging Culture” series, which aims to “help Christians respond with theological discernment” to issues in contemporary culture. Who the authors imagine this volume’s intended audience to be, however, is less than clear: even as they provide definitions of common words such as “theology”—for which few if any Christian readers need explanation—they offer dry summaries of scholarship on digital culture and religion, which is unlikely to be of interest to readers looking to think theologically about their own use of technology. Perhaps most salient is this book’s lack of specific examples: in a discussion of how the Internet has enabled laypeople to challenge the authority of more official theological gatekeepers, the authors cite the abstract studies of other scholars rather than including mainstream examples—for instance, Rachel Held Evans being named to a President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for her role as a blogger. At its core, the book seeks to explore “what it means to love God and love your neighbor” in a digitally networked world, but it seems unlikely to be helpful in that regard, loaded with far more citations and unnecessary definitions than original insights. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly