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Welcome! At Signs and Wonders we sift through the World Wide Web looking for evidence of emerging religious futures. Our mission is to provide our readers -- religious futurists, ministers, and just plain spiritual people -- with a guided tour of the web, stopping wherever we see the future of faith unfolding before our eyes. We update this site every three days or so, so come back again and join us on our next trip. If you want to comment on anything you read here or discuss religious futures in general, come over to our forum. |
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May 03, 2000 [technological] -- If technology defeats death, what, then, is the meaning of life? by Cody Clark at 8:39 AM (EST)  From Feed Magazine, another skeptic of transhumanism calls for a debate on the transhumanist agenda, death, and what it means to be a living human being. As life-extending technologies, stem cell therapy, nuclear transfer cloning, and telomerase enzymes mature, will humans become like immortal gods or the walking undead? editor -- An emerging issue for the Churches to get in front of [economic] -- What happened to the "Leisure Society?" by Cody Clark at 8:29 AM (EST) In the 1960's many futurists predicted that we would be a society of leisure by now, looking for ways to spend our copious free time. Obviously we were wrong. What happened? In a scathing essay on our current economy author Fay Weldon says we could have our leisure society if it weren't for the tyranny of our work ethic -- the "ergonarchy." [technological] -- Will Human Nature limit technology's influence? by Cody Clark at 8:18 AM (EST) An essay by Steven Pinker, professor of psychology in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and author of "How the Mind Works," points out that the nature of our prehistoric brains will limit the changes technology will impose on humanity. Essentially, the evolution of the human mind, not the march of technology, is the limiting function on human progress. editor -- Not exactly news to me, but it is interesting to see scientists who otherwise would be elbows-deep in technology stopping to reassess (conservatively) the effects of technology on humanity. [social] - Americans desires for the future have changed little in the past decade by Cody Clark at 8:03 AM (EST) More research from Barna surveys the ideal futures of American adults and teens. From the survey: "People's priorities have not changed much in the past decade. Comparing the responses to the February survey with a similar survey in February 1991, the outcomes look virtually identical. There have been three shifts worth noting. In 1991, 67% of all adults said that living close to family and relatives was a top priority. Interest in such proximity has declined to 60%. The 1991 research also found that half of the adult population (50%) expressed high interest in being part of a local church. That interest has diminished to about four out of ten adults (42%) today. The previous survey reported that while more than one-third of all adults wanted a high-paying job back then (36%), closer to one-quarter of the adult population (29%) now prioritizes that outcome." editor -- Seems consistent with the view that, while people envision much change on a society-wide scale, thier expectations about their personal futures change very little. The shift in desire for church membership supports current trends we're tracking. [economic] -- Spirituality of the dot-com economy? by Cody Clark at 8:04 AM (EST) A new book gets notice as a sort of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" for the Silicon Valley startup set. Valley veteran Ray Komisar's "The Monk and the Riddle" features a revealing motorcycle ride through Burma, where a seeker encounters an enigmatic monk with a riddle that will conveniently unlock the key to a life well lived back in Silicon Valley. editor -- Interesting to see this popular book wrestling with the incongruities of spirituality and dot-com opportunism. May be evidence of an emerging trend where ethicists and thinkers reassess the influence of the Internet on society and spirituality. [social] -- Interdependence, not Independence, is a goal of most religious people by Cody Clark at 7:42 AM (EST) A study from Ohio State University indicates that the desire for independence is the key psychological difference that separates religious and non-religious people. Religious people expressed a strong desire for interdependence with others. Those who were not religious, showed a stronger need to be self-reliant and independent, said Steven Reiss, co-author of the study and a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University. "The writings of many religions express the desire to become one with God, to merge your self into a greater reality," Reiss said. "People who find that appealing are not likely to put as great a value on independence." In contrast, independent-minded people "may dislike being in need of anyone, even God." |
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