20 March 2024

The Whimsy and Magic of Physico-theology

Physico-theology, an idea that gained prominence in the 17th and 18th centuries, refers to a theological doctrine that seeks to demonstrate the existence and attributes of God through the observation and study of nature.

This from Ritchie Robertson's book on the Enlightenment.
"In Germany, physico-theology gave rise to a large number of specialisms praising different aspects of creation, such as ichthyotheology (fish), petinotheology (birds), testaceotheology (snails), melittotheology (bees), chortotheology (grass), brontotheology (thunder) and sismotheology (earthquakes), each of which had at least one book devoted to it. The Netherlands produced also theologies of snow, lightning and grasshoppers."

How could anyone read this and not be left wanting to know more about the theologies of bees, snow or grasshoppers? What DO bees believe?

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