World Council of Churches and new and emerging technologies

The triangle of new and emerging technologies, disabled people and the
World Council of Churches; Able-ism: A prerequisite for transhumanism[?]
By Dr. Gregor Wolbring[?] Purpose of this ebook 4 Introduction: 5 Key findings and Suggestions 7 Setting the stage I: The History 7 The situation of disabled people in the WCC: 7
The Ninth General Assembly of the WCC and disabled people: 8 The WCC, EDAN and emerging technologies: 11 WCC member statements on genetics in relation to disabled people: 12
Biased Language: 12
The language of discrimination: The usage of the term serious: 13
The language of discrimination: Prohibition of sex selection: 14
The language of discrimination: Prohibition of genetic discrimination:
14
Other Issues such as gene therapy, genetic enhancement: 15
Linking genetic testing to cost: 15
Genetics and the role of disabled people: A case study 16 Setting the Stage II: Today and the Future: From Nanotech to Nanoscale
Technology and Sciences(53) 21 Setting the Stage III Today and the Future: Other Technologies 26 Synthetic biology (66) 26 Artificial womb 27 Brain machine Interfaces 27 Molecular manufacturing 28 Longevity, Immortality Technology 28 Enhancement of Animals: 29 Nanofood,water and Forrestry(96-98) 29 NBICS military products(99) 31 NBICS and surveilance(100) 33 Setting the Stage IV General Impact of NBICS (101;102) 36 Setting the Stage V: Today and the Future: NBICS for Development: 37 Setting the Stage VI: Today and the Future: NBICS the WCC and the UN
Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities(111): 39 Setting the Stage VII: Today and the Future: The appearance of NBICS-
medicine(112) 39 Setting the Stage VIII: A secular view of health, disease and
disability/impairment 42 Species typical functioning versus subnormal species typical functioning
42
Relationship between health and wellbeing:(50) 43
Determinants and models of health and disease (50) 43
Medical model of health and disease 43
Social model of health(50) 43
(213) 44
Models of disability and disabled people (50) 45 Moving from Species-typical functioning to Beyond species-typical
functioning 46
The new kid on the block: the transhumanist/enhncement model of
health(50) 46
The new kid on the block: the transhumanist/enhancement model of
disability, impairment and disabled people (50) 48 The Action: 49
1) The Medicalization of the human body 50
2) The Transhumanization of Medicalization 51 Setting the stage IX: Science and technology, disabled people, and
transhumanism(50) 51 Setting the Stage X: The politics of Ableism(242;243) 55 Setting the Stage XI Transhumanism and Religion: 62 Characterization of Transhumanism: 62 Secular development I: The appearance of enhancement medicine 63 Secular development II: The decrease in curative medicine and the
appearance of the transhumanist/enhancement burden of disease 63 Secular development III: The Techno Poor Disabled and the Ability divide:
64 Secular development IV: An intensification of the personhood and species-
ism debate 65 Secular development V: The concept of responsibility. 65 Secular development VI: Disabled people drift towards the
Transhumanist/enhancement model of 'disability/impairment' 65 Secular development VII: Scientific and techno solutions for social
problems? 66 Secular development VIII: Scientific and techno solutions for social well
being? 69 Secular development IX: Medical health and environmental safety 'Yes',
Social Safety 'No' 70 Secular development X: A hierarchy of social groups: 70 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches I: What will be the
theological view of health, disease and disability? 70 The meaning of health, disease, sickness, illness, disability and
impairment within the WCC sphere of influence: 75
EDAN and the meaning of health, disease, sickness, illness, disability
and impairment 78 Drawing lines: Un-tenability of the term serious: 79 Drawing lines: Un-tenability of the line between medical versus social/non-
medical reasons 80 Drawing lines: Un-tenability of the line between therapy and enhancement
82 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches II: Transhumanism,
disabled people and imago Dei 84 Imago Dei and disabled people 85 A transhumanist Imago Dei 87 Imago Dei versus Species-ism 90 Imago Dei versus Personhood 91 When does a Robo Sapien become a Homo sapien and vice versa: 92 Personhood and disabled people 93 The Dignity Journey: From individual to species to Posthuman 93 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches III: The concept of
responsibility 95 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches IV: A transhumanist view
on 'God's Children' 97 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches V: Playing God versus co
creator. Synthetic biology and other emerging technologies. 98 CoCreators , Creatio Continua and synthetic biology 98
Perception of disabled people 101
A clash of perceptions and values 102 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches VI: Cognocentrism versus
the Soul 104 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches VII: Who promotes a
Culture of Death? 108 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches VIII: Transhumanist
Blemish? 110 Step one: The blemish of deviating from a norm 110 Step Two: The transhumanist blemish: The language of perfection 112 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches IX: The New Techno Poor
Disabled/Impaired 114 The Techno Poor Disabled and the Ability Divide 114
A divide between the have and non-have 'traditional disabled people'
115 Issues for theology, religion, faith and Churches X: Moving away from
Androcentism, abilitynormocentrism and Anthropocentrism to
Intellicentrism, Cognocentrism, transabilitycentrism? 116
Step One: Questioning Anthropcentrism 117
Step Two: Questioning Androcentrism 117
Third Step: The Move towards Intellicentrism/Cognocentrism 118
Fourth Step: Move towards Transspeciesabilitycentrism 118
The Final Step: From ability centrism to Vario-ability theology and
Vario-abilitycentrism 118 Action required from WCC and EDAN 119 Need for Action: 119 EDAN, WCC and the transhumanist/enhancement model: 121 Bottom up or Top Down? 121 The rejection of Able-ism (sin of able-ism) and the involvement of the
most marginalized 122 The responsibility of a Co-Creator (sin of consumerism, sexism, age-ism,
racism) 124 Alternative Globalization Addressing Peoples and Earth AGAPE: 125 Recommitment to the Decade to Overcome Violence 127 Final report of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the
WCC 129 Indigenous voices 130 Interreligious relations & dialogue 130 A need to address ableism and its consequences (244) 134 The field of Ability Studies 134 Appendix: I Synthetic biology applications 136 References: 140 Purpose of this ebook
The purpose of this ebook is to function as a starting point of discussion
of four seemingly different but as this e-book will show interrelated
topics a) the relationship between disabled people and the WCC b) the
reaction of the WCC towards advances in science and technology c) the
relationship between new and emerging technologies and disabled people and
d) the impact of new and emerging technologies onto the WCC. The e-book was
written with the explicit intend to break down the artificial and untenable
walls between these four different areas, to diminish the 'silo thinking'
so prevalent in today's discourses and to show how the four topics
influence each other. After finishing this e-book, the reader will better understand how the
different issues are interrelated. The author also hopes that the reader
realizes that what is done to the most marginalized is in the end done to
everyone and that it might be very prudent to follow Matthew 25:40
"whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did
for me'" (New International edition). We should all evaluate and
investigate new and emerging technologies from the bottom up of the most
marginalized and take into account seriously the We-You critique of the WCC
voiced by EDAN (Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network) at the 9th General
Assembly The We-You changes markedly with the advances in new and emerging
technologies as this e-book shows. The e-book also shows intrinsic biases
especially towards how disabled people are perceived in the WCC discourse
around new and emerging technologies and the consequences flowing from
them. Last, but not least, the author hopes that the e-book shows the
disruptive potential of the new and emerging technologies for the different
members of the WCC, the WCC as an organization and the reconciliation
process between the WCC and other faith and churches as the new and
emerging technologies will affect different faiths and different churches
in different ways. Different products made possible by the new technologies
will challenge beliefs and challenge doctrinal foundations of different
faiths, religions and churches in different ways. This book is another step in a journey
A booklet on converging technologies(1) was distributed at the 9th General
Assembly as a initial discussion primer for converging technologies which
was again a result of a Bossey seminar on new and emerging technologies.
The ecumenical conversation and the mutirão were another step after the
publishing of the booklet. The e-book can be seen as another step of
deepening th