One of my theological interests is in the theology of creation — creation understood both as noun and verb — and through that, the theology of imagination. Imagination ties together my theological and spiritual interests. I believe it is crucial to giving a rich account of discernment. I wrote a piece some time ago for …
Category Archives: Thoughts
Space without the Space
Hot on the heels of the periodic table of fictional elements: an infographic of ‘the solar system’s solid surfaces stitched together’ from the guys at xkcd. I like the tiny spot on the ‘western’ border of Titan best.
“It’s the Diltihium Crystals Captain!”
Ever wondered where Dilithium is related to Flubber or Unobtanium? Someone has put together a ‘periodic table’ of fictional elements that is worth a chuckle.
The Best in History of Science on the Internet
Just launched: Whewell’s Gazette: a weekly digest of all the best of Internet history of science, technology and medicine. Full of good stuff. Curated by The Renaissance Mathematicus.
The Sacred as Discussed by Roger Scruton
Philosophy Bites has an interesting podcast with Roger Scruton discussing his understanding of the sacred. In particular he draws upon our experience of each other to help us grasp a sense of the sacred.
Silence and Spirituality
A few years ago the BBC ran a three-part series, The Big Silence, about a group of only-vaguely-religious people undergoing an individually-guided, Ignatian retreat at St Beuno’s Retreat House in North Wales. Though good viewing in and of itself it was undermined by a rather confused premiss: the programme tried to invite the participants into …
‘Peirce’s argument for form’
James Chastek over at Just Thomism has an interesting short post on Peirce’s argument against Nominalism ‘in favor of forms that are both common and existing in things apart from the consideration of mind’. Chastek illustrates the argument this way: I can pick up and drop ten rocks and watch them fall each time, and I …
Cosmology, Evil, Art
The mind a creature is, yet can create, To nature’s patterns adding higher skill ; from ‘Look Home’ by Robert Southwell, SJ Brandon at Siris has a fascinating reflection, The Subcreation of Ephemeral Good, twining together theodicy, human and divine creativity, and cosmology. He says he was prompted by two posts I had been mulling …
’13 Tips From 13 Years Sick’
Toni Bernhard over at Turning Straw into Gold has some good advice on living with chronic illness. in her post 13 Tips From 13 Years Sick. For example: 11. Prepare yourself for the possibility that you’ll be chronically ill for the rest of your life. This may not be the right course for everyone, but …
Weird Search Terms
One of the joys of website statistics is seeing what Google search terms have brought people to your site. Most of the ones leading here are WordPress-plugin-related. A few are to do with Ignatian spirituality or prayer. Today I noticed this one: magic spell for catching minnows Indeed a few pages down the Google search …