Dear friends,
I would like to invite you to attend the Stellenbosch University Faculty of Theology Open Day on 2 February 2015.  There is no cost and it promises to be an interesting and topical day of input and reflection on some of the current i…

I love a good celebration – a birthday, an anniversary, a holiday or the dawning of a new year.I wonder how many times I have missed the miracle of today, this ordinary day, because my eyes have been fixed on the future, anticipating something to come?…

More than 10 years ago I wrote about this challenge in my doctoral research. At the time it was not yet feasible, but as the story at this link shows, robots can now commit crimes (or at least perform actions that we would consider criminal).

http://fusion.net/story/35883/robots-are-starting-to-break-the-law-and-nobody-knows-what-to-do-about-it/?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email

The issue that the referenced article doesn’t consider is whether the acts are actually criminal. Did the robot have criminal intent or was it just randomized action on the part of a non-conscious machine? While we may consider these actions criminal I doubt the robot had any sense of the difference between the ‘criminal purchases’ and other randomized ‘non-criminal’ purchases.

Still, it highlights an interesting ethical issue, what do we do when criminal activities take place by non sentient, self directed, machines or programs? Perhaps at best we could deactivate the machine and aggregate its code or re-program it with more sophisticated coding that takes our sense of criminal activity into account. In more serious cases we could ask whether the creators of the machine or program had criminal intent and pursue them for their intent and action (enacted by proxy through the machine or program).

You can read more about my thoughts and research on these issues (although I did shift from Artificial Intelligence to Neuroscience):

http://www.dionforster.com/blog/tag/neuroscience

This article in Sci-WEB used some of my Artificial Intelligence research:

http://www.dionforster.com/blog/2010/4/14/sci-fi-meets-society-my-artificial-intelligence-research-use.html

 A good friend of mine, Sanda Fata, posted a quote on his timeline last week that caused me to reflect and think very deeply. I respect Sanda and so trust his perspective. Here is the status that Sanda posted:

Most white South Africans don’t wa…

My colleague Prof Nico Norman Koopman’s column on reconciliation in today’s Burger newspaper reminded me of this piece of poetry:

I could tell you of heartbreak, hatred blind, 
I could tell you of crimes that shame mankind, 
Of brutal wrong and deeds malign, 
Of rape and murder, son of mine; But I’ll tell instead of brave and fine 
When lives of black and white entwine 
And men in brotherhood combine— 
This I would tell you, son of mine.

A prophet of hope in our time!

Here is Nico’s column from Die Burger for 16 December 2014:

Steeds op soek na helende versoening

Die 1996-Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika pleit vir die heling van die wonde van die nasie. Op Versoeningsdag fokus ons uitdruklik op hierdie helingsproses.

Drie interaksies bied riglyne vir hierdie proses. Gedurende die negentigerjare is ek en Vader Courtney Sampson van die Anglikaase Kerk kapelane op die kampusse van die Universiteit Wes-Kaapland, en die destydse Skiereilandse Technikon en Bellville Onderwyskollega. Courtney verduidelik op ‘n keer aan my dat sy bediening gedurende die verloop van ‘n jaar die moeite werd was as hy een bruin en een swart student kon help om vriende te word, en as hulle buite klasverband sosiaal met mekaar kan verkeer!

Sampson het toe al besef studente en personeellede kan saamwerk oor kleurgrense heen, maar hulle ervaar kleurgebaseerde skeiding buite die amptelike studeer- en werksituasie.

In een van my heel laaste gesprekke enkele weke voor sy dood met prof Russel Botman praat ons oor die wyse waarop sosio-ekonomiese klowe wat meermale langs kleurlyne loop, dit moeilik maak vir baie van ons studente om buite die klas-situasie oor kleurgrense vriende te word en blywende verhoudinge te bou.

By die onlangse gradeplegtighede van die Universiteit Stellenbosch pleit ons kanselier, dr Johann Rupert, telkens vir, wat ek wil noem, die heling van ons land se mense. Hy is besorgd oor die stukkendheid wat die geweldsoptrede van die apartheidsmagte, onder meer die moordbendes, in Suid-Afrika gebring het. Hy verwys ook na die stukkendheid wat die geweldsoptrede van sommige elemente in die anti-apartheidsbeweging meegebring het, onder meer deur middel van halssnoermoorde.

Hierdie geërfde geweldskultuur dra by tot ons afgestomptheid vir die wreedheid en verontmensliking in ons samelewing. Verlede week se moord van ses jongmense in Kraaifontein kry byvoorbeeld nie die prominensie en ontlok nie die skok wat dit verdien nie. Hy is ook besorgd oor talle mense wat sosio-ekonomies stukkend is.

Rupert daag gegradueerdes en akademici uit om meer aktivisties te wees, om meer daadwerklik op te tree, om meer te praat teen alles wat stukkendheid meebring, en om meer te soek na heling en menswaardigheid vir almal.

Sampson leer ons helende versoening beteken dat mense oor grense heen vriende word. Botman pleit vir die oorkoming van sosio-ekonomiese ongelykheid as ‘n weg na helende versoening. En Rupert pleit vir aktivistiese individue en instellings om helende versoening, menslikheid en vrede te bevorder.

Versoeningsdag kan ons dalk help om opnuut te ontdek dat die aktiewe optrede van elke individu uiteindelik ‘n groot verskil maak. Om weer die woorde van ‘n ou gesang in herinnering te roep: Kleine druppels water, kleine korrels sand, vorm die oseane, bou die vasteland. Vriendskappe soos dié van Courtney Sampson se studente los nie alle probleme op nie, maar dit bied hoop vir die oorkoming van stukkendheid en sosio-ekonomiese klowe, onmenslikheid en geweld.

Nico Koopman is dekaan van die fakulteit teologie, Universiteit Stellenbosch

Last week a senior minister in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa was Honoured for the role he played in serving South Africa during the apartheid struggle. He also happened to be a senior member of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) duri…

As I write this I am sitting in a rather comfy seat in the JetBlue terminal at JKF airport in New York – it is thanksgiving, the busiest travel day of the year! In hindsight it might not have been all that wise to travel home today! Still, as I told a …

Does the Church in South Africa adequately support members for their daily work life?
My most recently published research discusses this question and shares some statistical data gained from the broadest and most recent empirical research on faith and …

Last week I was asked to write an article for the Lausanne Global Pulse on Evangelism and the Christian response to Global (and local) Corruption and its relationship to poverty. I shall add a link to it here when it is published.In my reading I came a…

On the 29th of January 2015 Megan and I will be married to one another for 21 years. This has been a period of such immeasurable grace. For both of us this will make the point in our lives where we have been together for as long as we were alive before marrying one another. My experience of marriage has been as a means of grace – in fact at times I have wondered whether it was not in fact a sacrament which communicates God’s grace. We have rejoiced together, shared struggle, we have grown in our love and in maturity, we are blessed with children, we share our faith. It is a great blessing indeed. I found this letter below which was written by Tertullian a second century African Bishop to his wife. It is expresses so much of how I feel about Megan and our married life.

How beautiful, then, the marriage of two Christians, two who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice. They are as brother and sister, both servants of the same Master. Nothing divides them, either in flesh or in spirit. They are, in very truth, two in one flesh; and where there is but one flesh there is also but one spirit. They pray together, they worship together, they fast together; instructing one another, encouraging one another, strengthening one another. Side by side they visit God’s church and partake of God’s Banquet; side by side they face difficulties and persecution, share their consolations. They have no secrets from one another; they never shun each other’s company; they never bring sorrow to each other’s hearts. Unembarrassed they visit the sick and assist the needy. They give alms without anxiety; they attend the Sacrifice without difficulty; they perform their daily exercises of piety without hindrance. They need not be furtive about making the Sign of the Cross, nor timorous in greeting the brethren, nor silent in asking a blessing of God. Psalms and hymns they sing to one another, striving to see which one of them will chant more beautifully the praises of their Lord. Hearing and seeing this, Christ rejoices. To such as these He gives His peace. Where there are two together, there also He is present; and where He is, there evil is not.

Tertullian, Bishop of Carthage (c.160-225)