The practice of religious conversion in the 21st century has revived academic interest in the subject. Most theories and frameworks for understanding religious conversion are still based on outdated models. Recent studies have focused primarily on converts’ testimonies, which is a valuable starting point for contextualizing religious conversion. However, much of this research has concentrated on individuals and their past religious worldviews. There is a significant gap in understanding the contextualization of religious conversion in relation to culture, theology, community, and other factors. In September, OCMS will address this gap through its MBL lecture series, focusing on the contextualization of religious conversion in the majority world. Full Programme Details here
Previous Lectures
Behind the Cloud – The Ethics of AI
Overview The giant global computer companies increasingly control our personal, social and political behaviour. Their recent breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence have been hailed by technophiles as a step closer to human intelligence and the prospect of freedom from our current limitations. Technophobes fear that the same developments will eventually outsmart and even turn against the human species. This lecture will avoid both the “hype” and the “fear-mongering” and instead draw attention to the material and human aspects of AI, its underlying assumptions and worldview, and highlight real ethical concerns that are rarely discussed in the public realm.
Speaker Vinoth Ramachandra
About the speaker Vinoth lives in Sri Lanka. He served with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students in various leadership roles for over four decades. He has encouraged Christian students and professors develop a holistic, dialogical engagement with the world of the university; and has written several essays and books addressing social and political challenges Christians face in various national contexts.
