Monthly Archives: August 2026

The psychology of materialism

Posted on 27/08/2026 by Jon Garvey

Apparently, a recent survey of some 1,700 physicists (who knew there were so many?) asked them their preferred explanation for cosmological fine-tuning. I’m sure all my readers are well aware of the absurdly tight limits of various cosmological constants and boundary conditions of the early universe that seem, to so many ordinary people, to point to a divine Creator.

Posted in Creation, Philosophy, Politics and sociology, Science, Theology of nature | 2 Comments

Immense and eternal, not big and old

Posted on 19/08/2026 by Jon Garvey

“Am I only a God nearby,”declares the Lord,“and not a God far away?Who can hide in secret placesso that I cannot see them?”declares the Lord.“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:23-4).

Posted in Creation, Science, Theology, Theology of nature, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Cambridge professors and Evangelical beliefs

Posted on 13/08/2026 by Jon Garvey

How do you complete a close study of the Book of Acts, and conclude that it teaches that miracles are to be expected routinely (though they “sometimes” don’t occur) without noticing that the book specifically attributes miracles only to “the apostles,” and overwhelmingly to Peter and Paul?

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Dickens ex machina

Posted on 07/08/2026 by Jon Garvey

I’ve had some further thoughts prompted by my use, in my last post, of Charles Dickens as the quasi-deity creating the world of Oliver Twist. One of the weaknesses of Dickens as a writer, especially in his earlier books, is his use of unlikely coincidence, or deus ex machina, in resolving his plots. It’s not uncommon for his characters to be rescued from difficult situations by bumping into people who happen to have been friends in far-off places and times.

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Rehashing double causation

Posted on 06/08/2026 by Jon Garvey

One of the problems atheists have with theism is the doctrine of double causation. This is usually demonstrated by their belief that finding efficient causes in nature excludes the need for God. Whilst they may find pause for reflection in the Big Bang, every other reference to God in the world is taken to be “the God of the Gaps.”

Posted in Creation, Philosophy, Theology | 2 Comments

The extended God hypothesis

Posted on 01/08/2026 by Jon Garvey

I’m reading Steve Meyer’s Return of the God Hypothesis as part of a self-imposed refresher course on science-faith matters. My reading follows directly on from another fairly lengthy book on cosmological fine-tuning, A Fortunate Universe, by Lewis and Barnes.

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