Network Apocalypse: Visions of the End in an Age of Internet Media
Published: May 2011
£50.00
In the twenty-first century, religious belief is undergoing change, driven in part by new communication technologies. Such technologies have often given rise to notable changes in religion, some of the most revolutionary of them being apocalyptic in character. What, then, is the nature of the changes in religious belief created or enabled by the Internet?
In this collection, the first of its kind, nine scholars consider whether the empowerment offered by Internet communication generally encourages the exchange of ideas or whether, rather, it allows individuals to seal themselves off into ideological ghettos of the like-minded. These nine essays explore those possibilities by documenting and analysing the diversity of apocalyptic belief online.
Andrew Fergus Wilson looks at those using the Internet to explore the syncretism that lies at the heart of the 'cultic milieu'. William A. Stahl examines the online discourse about climate change to find the apocalyptic structures undergirding it. Dennis Beesley examines End Times discourse on the video sharing Web site YouTube. J.L. Schatz explores how the apocalyptic imaginings of science fiction set the trajectory of our shared future. Amarnath Amarasingam documents how the Internet is encouraging the belief that President Barack Obama is the Antichrist. Salvador Jimenez Murguia analyses an Internet-based service offered to those wishing to communicate with their loved ones who might be 'left behind' after the anticipated 'Rapture'. David Drissel documents how social networking facilitates connections among Muslims who share a belief in a nearing apocalypse. James Schirmer examines an apocalyptic computer game individuals use to explore personal ethics. Robert Glenn Howard documents the first Internet-based new religious movement —reflected in the beliefs of the suicidal 1997 'Heaven's Gate' group, extant in their archived websites.
Network Apocalypse: Visions of the End in an Age of Internet Media
£50.00
In the twenty-first century, religious belief is undergoing change, driven in part by new communication technologies. Such technologies have often given rise to notable changes in religion, some of the most revolutionary of them being apocalyptic in character. What, then, is the nature of the changes in religious belief created or enabled by the Internet?
In this collection, the first of its kind, nine scholars consider whether the empowerment offered by Internet communication generally encourages the exchange of ideas or whether, rather, it allows individuals to seal themselves off into ideological ghettos of the like-minded. These nine essays explore those possibilities by documenting and analysing the diversity of apocalyptic belief online.
Andrew Fergus Wilson looks at those using the Internet to explore the syncretism that lies at the heart of the 'cultic milieu'. William A. Stahl examines the online discourse about climate change to find the apocalyptic structures undergirding it. Dennis Beesley examines End Times discourse on the video sharing Web site YouTube. J.L. Schatz explores how the apocalyptic imaginings of science fiction set the trajectory of our shared future. Amarnath Amarasingam documents how the Internet is encouraging the belief that President Barack Obama is the Antichrist. Salvador Jimenez Murguia analyses an Internet-based service offered to those wishing to communicate with their loved ones who might be 'left behind' after the anticipated 'Rapture'. David Drissel documents how social networking facilitates connections among Muslims who share a belief in a nearing apocalypse. James Schirmer examines an apocalyptic computer game individuals use to explore personal ethics. Robert Glenn Howard documents the first Internet-based new religious movement —reflected in the beliefs of the suicidal 1997 'Heaven's Gate' group, extant in their archived websites.
Religion, Politics, Media in the Broadband Era
Published: July 2004
£15.00 – £40.00
Religion has gone public; and the much-discussed political pendulum has been swinging widely in its effort to keep up with the eruptions of faith swelling the broadband. Private faith finds very public outlets through the media's appetite for voices and choices. Faith-based networks have become media-savvy, urging their members to send barrages of emails, faxes, telephone calls, letters of praise or outrage to politicians. Those same politicians return the volley, using the broadcast media with great skill, wooing the faithful, convincing the cynical that God is on their side. Only a deity could be on so many sides simultaneously.
Alice Bach's new book reflects her long-time focus on the Bible, religion and culture. Popular religion is expressed within our culture in rock videos, televangelism, political rhetoric, children's books, films and animations. Every sort of media from print to electronic to broadband is imbued with subtle and blatant religious imagery. The media are new; the message is not. The tightly woven pattern of religion, politics and media has been part of the American fabric since the country was founded. When one examines this cultural cloth, threads of varying colours are revealed, threads whose twists reflect both media coverage of religion and religious views of the media.
Religion, Politics, Media in the Broadband Era
£15.00 – £40.00
Religion has gone public; and the much-discussed political pendulum has been swinging widely in its effort to keep up with the eruptions of faith swelling the broadband. Private faith finds very public outlets through the media's appetite for voices and choices. Faith-based networks have become media-savvy, urging their members to send barrages of emails, faxes, telephone calls, letters of praise or outrage to politicians. Those same politicians return the volley, using the broadcast media with great skill, wooing the faithful, convincing the cynical that God is on their side. Only a deity could be on so many sides simultaneously.
Alice Bach's new book reflects her long-time focus on the Bible, religion and culture. Popular religion is expressed within our culture in rock videos, televangelism, political rhetoric, children's books, films and animations. Every sort of media from print to electronic to broadband is imbued with subtle and blatant religious imagery. The media are new; the message is not. The tightly woven pattern of religion, politics and media has been part of the American fabric since the country was founded. When one examines this cultural cloth, threads of varying colours are revealed, threads whose twists reflect both media coverage of religion and religious views of the media.