Genetically Modified Theology

Couple of things of interest this week.

Firstly, Four Door Films have released the rough cut of their 90 minute documentary file “Building Gods” on Google Video. (See Building Gods Rough Cut - Google Video). Haven’t looked at it beyond the first few minutes but it looks like an interesting survey of perspectives on transhumanism. Includes interviews/engagement with Nick Bostrom (philosopher), Kevin Warwick (cyborg), Hugo De Garis (computer scientist), and Anne Foerst (theologian). I downloaded the iPod version and it came in at just over 300MB (ouch!). In the next few days I hope to work my way through it.

Also, I’ve been writing up stuff on different perceptions of technology (and definitions of technology) and in the course of that came back to the following paper. It’s one of the few I’ve seen which goes beyond identifying the gap between the ‘lay’ public’s attitude to technology (here biotechnology) and that of those who make the decisions about the technology. It includes the description of and engagement with some of the concerns raised by ordinary people that came out of individual and group interviews and discussion groups. See

Deane-Drummond, Celia, Robin Grove-White, and Bronislaw Szerszynski. “Genetically Modified Theology: The Religious Dimensions of Public Concerns About Agricultural Biotechnology.” Studies in Christian Ethics 14, no. 2 (2001): 23-41. (There’s a version online here (though with the footnotes removed).

The questions raised and unease expressed by the public

touch on deep issues concerning the nature of human personhood – indeed of human nature itself. It seems conceivable that the intensity of current controversies around genetically modified crops and foods arises in part from the fact that, in their regulation in the public domain, conflicting ontologies of the person are making themselves felt in the politics of every day life. If this is the case, then Christian theological understandings of the person may be of central analytical significance for helping throw light on what has been going on.