In Defence of Stillness: On Entropy, Heat Death, and Doxology
Recent theological interpretations of entropy are almost univocally negative. Entropy is used as a stand-in for disorder, corruption, and evil. Responding to three reasons to correlate entropy and evil, this paper will argue instead that entropy is a good-but-fallen creaturely reality with a role to...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
2024
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| In: |
Theology and science
Year: 2024, Volume: 22, Issue: 2, Pages: 378–392 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CF Christianity and Science NBC Doctrine of God |
| Further subjects: | B
heat death
B Providence B figural interpretation B Entropy B second law of thermodynamics B Doxology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Recent theological interpretations of entropy are almost univocally negative. Entropy is used as a stand-in for disorder, corruption, and evil. Responding to three reasons to correlate entropy and evil, this paper will argue instead that entropy is a good-but-fallen creaturely reality with a role to play in inspiring doxology. This paper argues that both entropy and heat death should be interpreted primarily in light of the doctrines of creation and providence, not eschatology and theodicy. Finally, Christian practices of figural interpretation are employed to interpret even heat death as an edifying phenomenon. |
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| ISSN: | 1474-6719 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theology and science
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/14746700.2024.2351647 |