Emily Bender has claimed that large language models (LLMs) are “stochastic parrots” in that they repeat their training data with statistical variations rather than use language like humans do. LLMs are like parrots in that neither produce meaningful … Read the rest
C. S. Lewis on Why Heaven is a Better Tourist Destination Than Hell
I’m giving a talk on C. S. Lewis next week at the International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando! The argument I’m making there is similar to part of my introduction to Strange Religion and also discussed … Read the rest
Outsider Theology Reconsidered
I’ve argued that religious outsiders can write theology and be theologians. I still believe this to be true. But I was recently on a panel at a con that explored the intersection of science fiction/fantasy and religion. One of … Read the rest
Creating Characters and Conflict with the D&D Alignment System
Dungeons & Dragons player characters have one nine alignments that vary between Lawful and Chaotic on one axis and Good and Evil on the other axis:
(struggled to find original credit for this…)
Descriptions below largely follow the D&D Version … Read the rest
How Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Language Complicates Protestant Salvation
One of the members of a Lutheran Bible study group I attend recently said some unkind words about Catholics. That encouraged me to think up a theology that would allow for the salvation of Catholics while implying the damnation of … Read the rest
Theological Rejiggering: Galatians Chapter 3
When I write, I’m often of two minds. On one hand, I want to produce careful arguments that are attentive to the texts I examine and the arguments of my opponents. On the other hand, I want to have fun, … Read the rest
The Cognitive Value of Theological Fiction: C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce
This is part of a series of posts about the value of speculative fiction in understanding religion.
I’ve expressed skepticism about the cognitive value of speculative fiction insofar as it’s understood as merely imagining possibilities because possibilities—like the future impacts … Read the rest
A (Sort of) Defense of Maid and Butler Dialog
Consider this writing advice from six-time Hugo-Award-winning editor Ben Bova about dialog:
An important rule of thumb when it comes to imparting background information is never to allow the characters to tell each other anything that they already know. It … Read the rest
How Wonder in Speculative Fiction Helps Us Understand Religion
This is part of a series of posts about the value of speculative fiction in understanding religion.
Another reason why speculative fiction is cognitively valuable for understanding religion is that both have a strong connection to feelings of awe and … Read the rest
Agency and Cognitive Value in “The Paper Menagerie”
This is part of a series of posts about the value of speculative fiction in understanding religion.
In Ken Liu’s “The Paper Menagerie,” Jack’s mom merits our pity. Her first memory was of her mother eating dirt during a famine … Read the rest