From the European Association of Biblical Studies, an announcement and call for papers on science fiction and the Bible. Thanks to James McGrath of Exploring Our Matrix for making me aware of this.

This workshop invites papers which engage with the possibilities of discussing the Bible informed by Science Fiction (SF). Proposals for papers are invited that apply knowledge from SF (specific works, tropes or SF theory) to consider whether new insights can be derived from applying concepts of SF to biblical concepts or passages, thereby possibly uncovering avenues of inquiry that have not been thought of before.

Themes could include but are by no means limited to: visions of future architecture or future modes of being, encounters with self and other, extraordinary physiology, biology or geography, extraordinary modes of travel, extraordinary spaces and locations, accounts of transformations etc.

Using the concept of SF is a multidisciplinary approach. SF can be used to investigate a number of literary, sociological, theological and ethical issues pertaining to cultural artefacts by putting SF or SF theory and the artefact into a hypothetical dialogue. Critical self-reflection is necessary to constructively deal with the obvious anachronism of using SF and SF theory to discuss the Bible.

Visions of future(s), alternative pasts and presents are an important aspect of SF. These visions are often utopian or dystopian, and are thought to be extrapolated from a so-called “zero world”, the cultural environment of the author. In SF, what is realistically possible can be manipulated to draw attention to fundamental philosophical questions, e.g. of what it means to be human or what it means to belong to a certain community. As such it can potentially offer an insight into ethical conundrums encountered by the authoring culture.

This workshop is open for free proposals.

Submit papers here.