Do parents dread the God question as much as they dread their toddlers asking them where babies come from? I recall a difficult moment on a train a few years back when a very embarrassed parent shushed her little girl for announcing loudly to the whole carriage: ‘There is No God. Only Dragons.’ A friend recently asked me about how to deal with her 5-year old’s sudden interest in the existence of God, because as a theologian I ought to know these things. Read More
This week I am back at Douai Abbey finishing off my PhD. Today I am reading Philip Goodchild’s Theology of Money. In it he argues that money is more powerful than God. This is because money, through credit, naturally multiplies, endlessly and exponentially, in order to keep repaying the debts it incurs en route, like restless air seeking a vacuum. The implication is that God, or religion, is not programmed for growth in the same way. I like Goodchild’s use of money as a metaphor and his recognition that money is essentially an article of faith. However, he does not develop his argument far enough. Read More
I am watching the remake of Battlestar Galactica, which I love. For me it has something important to say to Dawkins. In the series, man has created a race called the Cylons, who have now evolved from a ‘robot’ model to one that looks human. Indeed, they appear human, feeling pain, having children, dreaming and believing in Gods. That they can reincarnate and that they conform to a set of identical types is a peculiarity that marks them out, as does their biological signature. However, their genesis makes the question of what defines a human rather interesting. Read More
