Deus ex machina - Or: On questioning life

"The category is: Dance or Die" - Lady Gaga sings in 'Abracadabra' about the choice between stagnation and change. Does this also apply to the churches? Is the Catholic Church in particular dancing with the times - or is it dying as a fossilized power structure because of its dogmas and falling victim to technological evolution? Deus Ex Machina - or: Of questioning life is an extraordinary book: an artificial intelligence asks over 150 profound questions about religious studies, the Church - especially the Catholic Church -, Christian faith and love - and answers them itself! With theological depth and social urgency, the book addresses questions that have not yet been answered by any artificial intelligence - and asks them anyway: Was Jesus really asexual - or is there evidence to the contrary: was Jesus queer? Can a church that excludes diversity survive at all? What does our church look like if it not only accepts female or queer people, but sees them as an enrichment and blesses their marriages? Is faith without dogmatism possible- or is dogmatism merely spiritual control in Sunday robes - disguised as a supposedly divine principle? After Luther's theses, now double the amount through AI: The AI asks about the relevance of abstinence and loneliness, sheds light on the cultural influences of church morals and critically questions the relationship between the church, gender, sexual orientation and authority. Questions that used to be answered with the stake are now asked freely in religious education and - thanks in part to thinking machines and social media - thought through. Who would presume to forbid an AI from asking questions? The Deus Ex Machina - the artificial intelligence - opens up a multi-layered discourse: not only for religious teachers, theologians, clergy, women or queer people - but for everyone who believes, doubts, hopes or wants to start anew. Face it: We want to face modern, questioning life: This book is an invitation - to question, rethink and hope. For ethics based on love instead of control. For a theology that thinks instead of forbids. For a church that opens up. And for people who long for a faith that liberates rather than shames. - Beyond shame, guilt and exclusion grows the credo of an inclusive church that uplifts, accepts and reconciles at its core and lives hope in community: with love without conditions.