This lecture deals with the ideational-ideological aspect of the transformatio processes in contemporary spirituality and religion following the rise of Cyber culture, via a study case: divination rituals (such as a Tarot cards’ spread). In the shift of those rituals from the physical traditional space to cynerspace, I argue that a new rationale emerges – namely sanctified randomness.
The lecture (in Hebrew) took place in a session organized by Marianna Ruah-Midbar, on the subject of computer culture and contemporary religion. It was held in the annual conference of the Israel Society fir the History and Philosophy of Sceince, at the Sceince Museum in Jerusalem, March 23rd, 2006. Brenda Brasher, The Internet and religions scholar (author of Give me that Online Religion) participated in the session. More perticipants were Boaz Huss, and Noam Seri, and the chair was Philip Wexler.
This lecture presents a study that was also published as an article and presented in English in another conference. See links below.
Another session organized by Ruah-Midbar at the same conference was “On the Sceintificality of Studying Spirit” – see link below.
Abstract
An interesting question about internet culture is how cyberspace changes activities which are allegedly “copied” from off-line realms. The cyberspace doesn’t fit the cosmology, ethics and sociology previously imagined. Thus it contributes to a new spirituality, containing a new theological imagination. I’ll focus on the new logic affected by virtual divination (such as a spread of Tarot cards), which I name “sanctification of randomness”. Practitioners are aware of the need to update the validation of divination when shifted to a virtual realm.
The new cosmology affects in its turn the spiritual discourse and practices beyond cyberspace: There is an individualization of divination processes, inflation of divination methods, and new ethics of counselors and priests.
The case of virtual divination is an example of the re-enchantment of technology in current alternative spirituality and of the interactive linkage between theology and technology.
Author
Marianna Ruah-Midbar
Links
Date
March 26th, 2006
Language
Hebrew
Academic/Non-academic
Academic item
Bibliographical citation
One is advised to refer to the relevant article, see link below.
