vol 6: Essays
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... to restore theology to the mainstream of science
Table of contents
Introduction
Physical theology (December 2006)
An essay on physical theology (October 2002)
How much freedom should we trade for our security (August 2002)
On representation of the Word (February 2000)
Is the universe divine? (December 1999)
On evolutionary Pneumatology (November 1999)
On visible salvation (October 1999)
The Christian religion assumes that the universe is a creation of an eternal divinity outside the universe. A more parsimonious assumption identifies universe and divinity. Is this possible? This project asumes that it is. This essay recounts some history of the relationship between god and the universe and outlines a research project "Is the universe divine?" intended to present evidence for the identification of divinity and human experience. back
Is there any way to construct a religion which is not arbitrary? One possible approach is to see all events (rather than an arbitrary subset of events) as revelations of divinity, and to interpret these events using the assumption that history, insofar as it is knowable, is internally consistent. The requirement of consistency is mediated by mathematics, which is by definition the set of all consistent symbolic systems, although hypothetical. The method of interpreting events in terms of mathematical models is coterminous with science, and may be used to ground religion in observable events rather than human constructs. back
The general theory of navigation is cybernetics. The word was coined by Norbert Wiener and defined as control and communication in the animal and the machine. Animals and machines control themselves through error signals, which measure how far they are missing their target. In its current meaning Salvation carries overtones of sin and of private misery. I would like to differentiate sin (with its concomitant guilt) from error, and so to construct a language of salvation which speaks in practical and public terms. Accusations of sin seem to be a potent source of the very division which practical salvation seeks to heal. back
Historically, the internal unity of the Church has been maintained by Papal authority, and the Church sees itself as using this authority to guard the truth, guided by the Spirit. The evolution of science shows that such an authoritarian approach to truth is not necessary, and may even lead to error. The world is one, so that a scientific method that keeps us close to the world will also keep us close to one another. There is no Pope of science, or any other central authority. The integrity of science is maintained by maintaining the integrity of the scientific process, weeding out instances of error and even fraud as they come to light. Here the emphasis moves from the formal content of doctrine to the process of developing doctrine. We might say from the word to the spirit. The root of scientific faith is that the human spirits can arrive at practical truth by open dialogue with the world and one another. back
How much freeedom should we trade for our security?
Submitted to the Shell and The Economist writing competition, August 2002. To gain insight into the relationship of freedom and security, I assume a network model of the world and identify freedom with entropy and security with the ability of the network to survive damage and noise induced error. The mathematical theorems of communication tell us that entropy may be exploited to overcome error, so this model raises the possibility that increasing freedom may increase security. back
Submitted to the Dubai Strategy Forum, October 2002. We use the technical languages of mathematics and physics to illustrate a network model of the physical world. Then we move beyond physics to the wider space of human spirit. The move is made possible by the properties of networks.
Most importantly, we may draw ethical conclusions from the constraints imposed by the layered nature of real world networks. Networks do not work if higher ('softer') layers do not respect the protocols of the lower ('harder') layers upon which they are built. In particular, this potential error illustrates the danger of communities violating the rights of the people upon which they are built. back
This essay proposes a transfinite network to link physics and theology. It follows the time-worn scientific path of uniting apparently disparate elements of the world by creating a mathematical space large enough to hold them both. By redefining continuity in terms of logical inference and infinity in terms of permutation, we hope to construct a model of reality which unifies our notions of 'god' and 'the world'. The approach is 'formalist'. back
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Revealing Vatican attempts to propagate its religion by international treaty
