C.W. Howell
Exploring the Nexus of Religion, Science, and Technology

Latest

Oct
03
All Things Are Full of Gods by David Bentley Hart (Yale 2024).

A Review of David Bentley Hart's new book All Things Are Full of Gods

My review of David Bentley Hart's new book All Things Are Full of Gods (Yale 2024). On mind, God, evolution, and machines.
1 min read
Aug
22
Eastern Orthodox Liturgy

A Theology of The Book of the New Sun: Sacrifice and Time

Part two of a theological investigation of Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun, focusing on sacrifice, time, and storytelling.
17 min read
Jul
30
Box and Cover Art for the Folio Society publication of The Book of the New Sun.

A Theology of The Book of the New Sun: God and Creation

Part one of a theological investigation of Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun
13 min read
Jul
15
The Gate of Divinity at the end of Elden Ring's DLC "Shadow of the Erdtree."

Shadow of the Erdtree, Shadow of the Torturer

An analysis of the religious symbolism in both Elden Ring and Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun.
14 min read
Jun
29
Tragedy of the E-Commons

Tragedy of the E-Commons

The internet's pioneers envisioned it as a digital commons. Lately, this commons has become less an idealist agora and more a polluted park.
11 min read
Jun
11
In Defense of Machines

In Defense of Machines

It's easy to focus on the bad results of new technology and machines--especially today as AI runs roughshod over us. But we must also remember its good.
12 min read
May
21
A sketch of Satan from William Blake's Paradise Lost plates

Reading C.S. Lewis's Academic Books #3 - A Preface to Paradise Lost

Perhaps Lewis's most lasting contribution to literary criticism, he uses A Preface to Paradise Lost to push back against some confused trends.
14 min read
Apr
24
Forest and treetops - the first metaphor in Joy Marie Clarkson's You Are a Tree

You Are (Not) a Machine

Reflections on the machine metaphor inspired by Joy Marie Clarkson's book You Are a Tree.
10 min read
Apr
02
Joshua Commands the Sun to Stand Still by Gustave Dore

The Day(s) the Earth Stood Still

The 2008 version of The Day the Earth Stood Still is a flawed but still worthwhile movie, addressing technology and humanity, but also the nature of remakes.
9 min read
Mar
19
The Green Knight movie, the poem "Gawain and the Green Knight," and the video game Red Dead Redmption.

The Terrible Permanence of Technological Memory

Is redemption possible in a world where the machine never forgets?
10 min read