science

(A)theologies

Quantum Theology: Our Spooky Interconnectedness

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“We are constituted, in every moment, by our relations. Some of them we compose, but they comprise the conditions in which we are composed. Theological entanglement is a form of what’s called ‘relational theology.’ Entanglement is meant to give a more physical, and spooky edge to our interconnectedness. This isn’t just about the apophasis of an infinite God, but about the element of unknowability in all of us—as creatures made in the image of the unknowable.”

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Science & Technology

Why Evolution Should Be Taught in Church

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The church, in its ignorance of and hostility to evolution, is passing up one of its greatest opportunities to apprehend the very God it claims to represent. This irony is due to a terrible case of what may be called “small-god-ism” and is, unfortunately, encouraged by much popular theology. This theology makes claims about scripture and church practice that reduce God to a cheerleader, or a cosmic vending machine, or some domesticated and pale image of our own confused selves. 

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Culture

What’s the Problem With a Good Placebo?

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Most physicians trained in modern scientific medicine are quite skeptical of complementary and alternative medicine and other spirituality-based healing practices, but contemporary research points increasingly to what we might call the deep semiotics of health. It seems, minimally, that hope helps to heal. And ritualized hope in groups heals more effectively.

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(A)theologies

A Philosopher of Religion Calls it Quits

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Philosopher of Religion Keith Parsons hung up his hat a few months ago, after announcing that he believed the “case for theism” to be a fraud: “Theistic philosophers and apologists are almost painfully earnest and honest… I just cannot take their arguments seriously anymore.” It’s rare for a philosopher to renounce his or her own specialty—but Parsons’ rejection speaks to a broader dilemma.

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