TheoLogica
*An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology* CALL FOR PAPERS *THE CONTRADICTORY GOD* Paraconsistent and Glut-Theoretic Approaches to Theology *Guest editors:* Daniel Molto (University of Sussex) Ricardo Sousa Silvestre (Universidade Federal de Campina Grande) When confronted with the claim that a particular concept of God is contradictory, philosophers and theologians typically respond by attempting to resolve the apparent contradiction and demonstrate that the concept of God in question is consistent. The reason this move has been standard is that a number of assumptions are often made, tacitly or explicitly, by philosophers of religion and theologians. One assumption is that the Law of Non-Contradiction (LNC) is true. A second assumption is that, if LNC is true, then it is false and only false that there are (or there can be) any true contradictions. A third assumption is that there are not non-trivial contradictory theories. The last of these is derived from the logical principle known as *ex falso quodlibet*, or the principle of explosion (PE), which asserts that any proposition follows from a contradiction. However, these assumptions have been challenged in recent years by dialetheism and glut-theoretic approaches in general, and by paraconsistent logics. This has led to the emergence of an alternative position which is starting to gain interest among philosophers of religion: rejecting the need to demonstrate the consistency of the concept of God in question and instead defending what might be called the *Contradictory God Thesis*. In its weakest form, the contradictory God thesis asserts that a contradictory concept of God is philosophically tenable. In its strongest form, it claims that God is a contradictory entity. Either way, the thesis raises significant logical questions: What logical grounds are there for rejecting a contradictory concept of God as philosophically untenable? In particular, what are the relations between the several formulations of the LNC, which might include PE, and the standard criticisms against contradictory concepts of God? What moves are available to defend oneself from such criticisms? How do these moves relate to these several formulations of the LNC? And how paraconsistency and glut-theoretic approaches stand in relation to them? Notice that what goes for God, goes also for other theological concepts, so that the scope for glutty and paraconsistent theology extends far beyond those traditions that are committed to a personal and creator God. Many possible theological applications for paraconsistency and glut theory are as yet unexplored. The goal of this special issue of *TheoLogica* on glutty and paraconsistent theology is to bring together high-quality papers that engage with these thought-provoking philosophical issues. In addition to the questions above, topics of interest include, but are not limited to: - The logic of the concept of God; - Contradictory theologies; - The role of LNC and PE in theological discourse; - Paraconsistent and paracomplete approaches to the concept of God; - Glut-theoretic, gap-theoretic and dialetheic approaches to the concept of God. - Contradictions and paradoxes in world religious traditions; - The role of contradiction in the philosophical debate on the concept of God and the rationality of theistic belief. *Deadline for submission: December 1st, 2025. * Full papers should be submitted via our website: https://ojs.uclouvain.be/index.php/theologica/index. Visit the TheoLogica homepage for a description of the journal and instructions to authors. Sincerely yours, Daniel Molto (University of Sussex) & Ricardo Sousa Silvestre (Universidade Federal de Campina Grande) *Special Issue on The Contradictory God* *TheoLogica * https://ojs.uclouvain.be/index.php/theologica/about Guest editors: Daniel Molto and Ricardo Sousa Silvestre When faced with the charge that a given concept of God is contradictory, the standard move among philosophers and theologians is to try to explain away the contradiction and show that the concept of God in question is consistent. This has to do, of course, with the Law of Non-Contradiction (LNC). Another option, which has recently generated interest among logicians and analytic philosophers of religion, is to reject such a move as unnecessary and defend what might be called the contradictory God thesis (Göcke 2019) (Cotnoir 2018) (Maharaj 2018) (Beall 2019, 2021) (da Costa; Beziau 2020) (Ahsan 2021) (Silvestre 2025). This has partially to do with the contemporary advance of dialetheism and glut-theoretic approaches in general, and paraconsistent logic. In its weakest form, the contradictory God thesis is the thesis that a given contradictory concept of God is philosophically tenable. This raises interesting logical questions: What logical grounds are there for rejecting a contradictory concept of God as philosophically untenable? In particular, what are the relations between the several formulations of the LNC and the standard criticisms against contradictory concepts of God? What moves are available to defend oneself from such criticisms? How do these moves relate to these several formulations of the LNC? And how paraconsistency and glut-theoretic approaches stand in relation to them? The goal of this special issue of *TheoLogica *on The Contradictory God is to bring together high-quality papers that could contribute to this exciting philosophical debate. In addition to the questions above, topics include, but are not restricted to: - The logic of the concept of God; - Contradictory theologies; - The role of the law of non-contradiction in theological discourse; - Paraconsistent and paracomplete approaches to the concept of God; - Glut-theoretic, gap-theoretic and dialetheic approaches to the concept of God. - Contradictions and paradoxes in world religious traditions; - The role of contradiction in the philosophical debate on the concept of God and the rationality of theistic belief. The special issue, guest-edited by Daniel Molto ( https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p466644-daniel-molto) and Ricardo Silvestre ( https://www.ricardo-silvestre.com), will probably be published in January 2026. *Bibliographical References* Ahsan, A. “Islamic Contradictory Theology . . . Is there any such Thing?” *Logica Universalis* 15: 291-329, 2021. da Costa, N. C.; Beziau, J-Y. “Is God Paraconsistent?” In: R. Silvestre; B. P. Göcke, J-Y Beziau; P. Bilimoria (eds.) *Beyond Faith and Rationality: Essays on Logic, Religion and Philosophy*, 312-333. London: Springer Science, 2020. Beall, Jc. *The Contradictory Christ*. Oxford: OUP, 2021. Beall, Jc. “Christ—a contradiction: a defense of ‘contradictory christology’”. *J. Anal. Theol.* 7:400-439, 2019. Cotnoir, A. “Theism and Dialetheism.” *Australasian Journal of Philosophy* 96: 592-609, 2018. Göcke, B. “The Quantitative and the Qualitative Infinity of God.” In: B. Göcke; C. Tapp (eds.) *The Infinity of God: New Perspectives in Theology and Philosophy*, 385-409. Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2019. Maharaj, A. *Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna and Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion*. New York: OUP, 2018. Silvestre R. “The Contradictory God Thesis and Non-Dialetheic Mystical Contradictory Theism.” Forthcoming in *The International Journal for Philosophy of Religion*, 2025. *Special Issue on The Contradictory God* *Logica Universalis * https://link.springer.com/journal/11787 Guest editors: Ricardo Sousa Silvestre and Daniel Molto When faced with the charge that a given concept of God is contradictory, the standard move among philosophers and theologians is to try to explain away the contradiction and show that the concept of God in question is consistent. This has to do, of course, with the Law of Non-Contradiction (LNC). Another option, which has recently generated interest among logicians and analytic philosophers of religion, is to reject such a move as unnecessary and defend what might be called the contradictory God thesis (Göcke 2019) (Cotnoir 2018) (Maharaj 2018) (Beall 2019, 2021) (da Costa; Beziau 2020) (Ahsan 2021). This has partially to do with the contemporary advance of dialetheism and paraconsistent logic. In its weakest form, the contradictory God thesis is the thesis that a given contradictory concept of God is philosophically tenable. This raises interesting logical questions: What logical grounds are there for rejecting a contradictory concept of God as philosophically untenable? In particular, what are the relations between the several formulations of the LNC and the standard criticisms against contradictory concepts of God? What moves are available to defend oneself from such criticisms? How do these moves relate to these several formulations of the LNC? And how paraconsistency and dialetheism stand in relation to them? The goal of this special issue of *Logica Universalis* on The Contradictory God is to bring together high-quality papers that could contribute to this exciting philosophical debate. In addition to the questions above, topics include, but are not restricted to: - The logic of the concept of God; - The role of the law of non-contradiction in theological discourse; - Contradictions and paradoxes in world religious traditions; - Paraconsistent (glutty) and paracomplete (gappy) approaches to the concept of God; - Paraconsistent approaches to divine attributes; - Dialetheic and contradictory theologies; - The role of contradiction in the philosophical debate on the concept of God and the rationality of theistic belief; The special issue, guest-edited by Ricardo Silvestre ( https://www.logicandreligion.com/silvestre) and Daniel Molto (https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p466644-daniel-molto), will be published in September 2025. *Bibliographical References* Ahsan, A. “Islamic Contradictory Theology . . . Is there any such Thing?” *Logica Universalis* 15: 291-329, 2021. da Costa, N. C.; Beziau, J-Y. “Is God Paraconsistent?” In: R. Silvestre; B. P. Göcke, J-Y Beziau; P. Bilimoria (eds.) *Beyond Faith and Rationality: Essays on Logic, Religion and Philosophy*, 312-333. London: Springer Science, 2020. Beall, Jc. *The Contradictory Christ*. Oxford: OUP, 2021. Beall, Jc. “Christ—a contradiction: a defense of ‘contradictory christology’”. *J. Anal. Theol.* 7:400-439, 2019. Cotnoir, A. “Theism and Dialetheism.” *Australasian Journal of Philosophy* 96: 592-609, 2018. Göcke, B. “The Quantitative and the Qualitative Infinity of God.” In: B. Göcke; C. Tapp (eds.) *The Infinity of God: New Perspectives in Theology and Philosophy*, 385-409. Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2019. Maharaj, A. *Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna and Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion*. New York: OUP, 2018. -- LOGICA-L Lista acadêmica brasileira dos profissionais e estudantes da área de Lógica <logica-l@dimap.ufrn.br> --- Você está recebendo esta mensagem porque se inscreveu no grupo "LOGICA-L" dos Grupos do Google. 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