This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has three segments. Here are bits of each of them: God’s recent works — What has God done lately? Professionally, much of God’s work these days aims to help humans fly more safely, more efficiently and more profitably. As head of the Institute for Aircraft Cabin Systems […]
Philosophers, theologians, and many others have been searching for an unequivocal definition of Evil for at least 2,000 years. Perhaps a mathematical one might help? Francisco Parro, who is Associate Professor of Economics, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, School of Business, Chile, makes steps towards such things in his latest paper : The problem of evil: An […]
Butchers, bakers and donutmakers probably won’t forsee all that much trouble in cutting something in half. If you’re a philosopher on the other hand . . . Problems arise when trying (to imagine) the process of cutting something exactly in half. Given that most objects could be said to have a centre point of some […]
Has God ever been bored, or is currently bored, or might, at some stage, become bored? In a 2017 paper for the scholarly journal Religious Studies (Volume 53, Issue 1, pp. 51-70) authors Vuko Andrić (Akademischer Rat., University of Bayreuth, Germany) and Attila Tanyi (University of Tromsø, Norway) suggest that if God is omnitemporal [i.e. […]
The next time you sprinkle a few grains of salt into your soup, then, if you have the time for it, you could consider the theological implications of doing so. To assist with your considerations, don’t miss the work of Professor Lisanne D’Andrea Winslow of the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, MN, US, who has […]
Friedrich Nietzsche [pictured] caused a considerable stir in 1882 when he pronounced (via his book Die fröhliche Wissenschaft) that “God is dead”. Since then, a great number of philosophers and theologians have analysed his provocative statement – but not all that many mathematicians. One exception is Changsoo Shin who is a professor at the Department […]
Today’s Patent Application of the Day is: “Packaging labels (six God toilet water itching)“, Chinese patent application CN301200531 S, filed August 7, 2009. BONUS: The runner-up: “God Forms’ Genres“, US patent application US20110240755 A1, filed May 16, 2011. BONUS: A successful patent: “God First Flag“, US patent USD659588 S1, filed December 5, 2008. The patent document provides this […]
If you haven’t come across the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (CFSM), and wish to read an academic overview, may we recommend a recent paper in the journal Le religieux sur Internet / Religion on the Web, Vol 8 (2015) ‘When Virtuality Shapes Social Reality. Fake Cults and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti […]
Those involved in studying biblical texts sometimes disagree about the exact nature of Behemoth, as described in the Bible, in Job 40:15-24. Could it have been, as some have suggested, a description of an elephant, or a(n) hippopotamus? Dr. Dave Miller Ph.D., M.A.R., M.Div., M.A., B.A., writing in the journal Reason & Revelation, Dec. 2011, […]
Those who are interested in a feminist theology of food and fat might be interested in : ‘Expanding Bodies, Expanding God: Feminist Theology in Search of a ‘Fatter’ Future’ ( in : Feminist Theology, May 2013, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 309-326) by Dr. Hannah Bacon, BA (Liv), PhD (Liv), PG Cert HE (Liv) FHEA, […]