Theology, Philosophy & Religion Archives | Page 2 of 7

What Does Easter Mean?

It's that time of year again, already! The darkness of winter is behind us and we're all settling down to tuck into our favourite brands of chocolate, in front of whatever trash ITV has deemed worthy of being the "bank holiday blockbuster". I am of course, talking about Easter. Most people know Easter has something to do with Christianity, maybe fewer know about the Easter story of Jesus' execution and eventual resurrection. Christians see the Easter narrative as one of the most important stories: Continue reading [...]

Would Jesus have been a Liberal Democrat?

A slightly strange title I'll admit, but as a prelude to my Master's dissertation "Is God a Lib Dem?" (if my title is accepted by the faculty powers-that-be), I thought I'd go back to my academic roots and spend a bit of time thinking about Christology and in particular, the basis that both theological and political liberalism may have had with the man named Jesus of Nazareth. Now of course, this isn't to suggest that Jesus would have actually voted for the Lib Dems, or that he would have been Continue reading [...]

Is It Wrong To Draw Muhammad?

Inspired by a frankly embarrassing debate on the BBC's Sunday Morning Live today, I wanted to address the issue of whether or not non-Muslims should be 'allowed' to draw Muhammad (pbuh*). This debate stemmed from the cancellation of an art exhibition, showcasing numerous images of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and asked as to whether or not the fear of reprisal from Islamic extremists is an infringement on our freedom of speech. This is a topic I covered with my year 7 classes at the end of last Continue reading [...]

Setting the Record Straight on “Islamic” Extremism

As part of my school's PSHCEE (that's Personal Social Health Citizenship Economic Education) programme, year 7s and year 10s were treated to a day spent learning about different issues pertaining to diversity (year 7s) and work/business (year 10s). I initially wanted to deliver a session about Paganism, as it's something that is never taught in secondary religious studies and a lot of British culture and heritage, along with Christianity lends itself to Pagan traditions. However, as the school in Continue reading [...]

God and the Big Bang

This essay was written as part of my Master's degree and looks at the way in which God may be understood in a contemporary context, with relation to the Big Bang cosmological understanding of the origins of the universe. 1.0 Introduction Since the Hubble Deep Space telescope captured images that suggested an expanding universe, the theory of the Big Bang has served as the most widely accepted account of how everything in existence came into being. The question of our origins had, up until this Continue reading [...]