theology
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The will to live
Throughout recorded history, thinkers and natural philosophers have commented on the innate, energetic spark that is imbued within all living things. Eastern and Western civilisations have simultaneously described a will to live, an internal life force, a spirit, or soul,… Continue reading
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Finding God in an age of reason
What evidence is there that God exists? In my opinion, the likelihood of the universe springing into existence by itself, for no reason, is so remote as to be non-existent. The mathematics of this universe forming event are mind-bogglingly extreme.… Continue reading
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Stephen Hawking: Is there a God?
“One could define God as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of as God. They mean a human-like being, with whom one can have a personal relationship.” Hawking refers to… Continue reading
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How can an inanimate force become a God?
When we think of a force such as the quantum field, we don’t think of an omnipotent, personified being, we think of an abstract mass of crackling energy; a bubbling froth of excitable forces, where a myriad of particles might… Continue reading
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The Hench
A short story An emaciated young girl, wearing ragged, filthy clothes, scurried quickly between the shadows, darting from place to place, eyes constantly alert. She was hungry. So hungry she was prepared to risk her life to find food. Not… Continue reading
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Last Night in Middlesbrough
The old man winced in pain as he leant forward to pull the flimsy blanket over his calloused, gnarled feet. Even thick, thermal socks weren’t enough to keep out the icy cold depths of winter. It wouldn’t be long now,… Continue reading
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The Fundamental Spirit
Reality has a fundamental layer that pervades and connects all things. The Hindus call it Brahman; the invisible essence that permeates the whole universe. The Chinese call it the Tao. Buddhists call it the Dharma. Scientists might call it the… Continue reading
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An Almighty state of being
God for me, isn’t a being in the sky, but a creative life force all around me, present in all things. As my regular readers will know, I’ve been on a journey of self-discovery over the last year and an… Continue reading
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Finding Patterns
Pattern Is religion just the brain seeing patterns in things? Human beings have a tendency to attach supernatural meanings to everyday phenomena. Seeing faces in clouds (pareidolia), believing there is a pattern in random events (like in gambling), or confirmation… Continue reading
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Believing in Nothing
No one believes in a God who does nothing,” G. K. Chesterton Something rather than nothing It seems obvious to me that something, rather than nothing, created the universe. Proving it, however, is extremely difficult, if not impossible. It is… Continue reading
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What is the purpose of our existence?
Reading time 10 minutes For the majority of the world’s population, God is the purpose of their existence. According to the 13th-century Italian scholar Thomas Aquinas, the ultimate goal of human existence is to attain a supernatural union with God,… Continue reading
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Believing in Something is better than Believing in Nothing
Learned people tell us that there is nothing to this world, save that which can be observed, measured and recorded. They state quite firmly that we must savour things in this life, because there’s nothing after we die. All talk… Continue reading
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A Spiritual Journey
What are your future travel plans? Life is taking me on a journey at present and it’s one I didn’t seek. Of course, all life is a journey, but this is something completely different. These last few years, I’ve felt… Continue reading
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Near Death Experiences
I’ve been reading an old book about Near Death Experiences called Life After Life by Dr Raymond Moody. It very much relates to a topic I wrote about a while ago Where Do We Go When We Die? in which… Continue reading
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The effects of infinity on finite systems
“Imagine you had a perfectly sealed box. Nothing can come in, and nothing can escape. Into this box you placed an apple and sealed it shut. If you waited long enough, the apple would go through various states of decomposition.… Continue reading
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Why Isn’t Life Easy?
Why isn’t life easy? If a God created life, why make it so difficult? I mean, if you were omnipotent, and you were designing life, surely you’d make it so that things ticked over nicely, you’d want them to purr… Continue reading
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Beyond Words
All of our thinking is through words, all of our actions, all of our science, all of our literature, all of our history, all our technology, all our kingdoms and empires. All of it stems from language and communication. And… Continue reading
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An Elegant and Persuasive Power
Why should we believe in something that only adds an immaterial layer to the scientific view, and which takes away the profound, revelatory nature of religion? I’ve set out in earlier blog posts what my evidence is for believing there… Continue reading
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Evidence the Universe was created
A scientific summary, from an agnostic viewpoint, as to why I believe the universe was created. Continue reading
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Does evil exist, and if so, who or what creates it?
An agnostic’s analysis of the big question: is God evil? Continue reading
Paul Carney’s Blog 