Theology

You could be excused for thinking this title is a bit facetious.  Everyone knows there’s conflict between science and religion, right? A recent survey asked the British public that very question. Nearly 60% believed science and religion were incompatible.  But when asked if there was conflict between religion and any specific science – like chemistry, […]

Yes, the title is a pun.  Time puns are inevitable.  I nearly called this, ‘a second’s time around’.  The previous article ‘God & Time’ pondered the question, ‘what is time?’, and clarified why time is truly a theological issue.  But what about length of time – time as duration?  Time is one thing – our

What is time?  We’ve probably all pondered that baffling question at one ‘time’ or another.  The best answer ever?  ‘Time… is what keeps everything from happening all at once.’  So true!  And yet it sounds like a joke from a Christmas cracker.  That ingenious answer was posited by the eminent physicist John Wheeler in a

Everything that exists must have a beginning, right?  Hmmm…  It’s not as straightforward an assumption as we often think.  Does a river have a beginning?  Numerous explorers lost their lives attempting to find the source of the Nile – yet even today, it remains inconclusive.  Lake Victoria is claimed (by Uganda) as the source of

What does it mean to be ‘created in God’s image’?  It’s a question theologians, scholars and ordinary Christians have pondered for centuries.  Lots of ideas, no consensus.  Everyone recognises that human beings are unique amongst the animal kingdom.  But unique in what way?  Morality?  Use of tools?  Ability to reason?  Language, cooperation, rationality, intelligence, a

Who knew that the humble Easter egg actually has a long and noble theological history?  Going way back to the early church, the practice developed of teaching new converts the basic foundations of the faith before they were baptised.  Along with learning, they were expected to undertake a serious time of fasting, prayer, and spiritual

The devastating pictures of the war in Ukraine bring to mind for some Christians Jesus’ description of ‘wars and rumours of wars’ as a sign of the end (Mat 24:6).  Eschatology (the study of the last things – or the end times), is a controversial and often dangerous practice for Christians – a magnet for

‘In the Beginning, God created…’  Certainly this ranks among the most recognisable opening phrases of any literature known to mankind, yet what does it really mean?  Do we ever stop to ask, ‘in the beginning of what?’   When we read ‘In the beginning’, it’s a bit like ‘Once upon a time’.  They both immediately

A key aspect of a Christian worldview is the idea that God created the world (although how is another question).  Not everyone believes this of course.  Some don’t believe in God; others believe the physical world is an illusion, or that the universe itself is eternal.  The way we understand and perceive the world is

Gateway is a theology school, so what exactly is theology?  Good question – one that academics and church leaders have pondered for generations – centuries even – and still not arrived at any consensus or unified definition.  In most people’s minds, it’s an ‘ology’ word (like psychology, sociology, or anthropology).  That alone puts it into