Abstract
The primordial chaos of Genesis 1 may be understood as the Pandemonium Tremendum (or PT), the infinite field of variety or abundance within God. The concept of variety is taken from Claude Shannon's theory of communication. Especially significant is Shannon's notion that communication is the limitation of variety through decision processes. In one model of the divine life suggested by the theory, the PT is the boundless source of potential reaped by an agential God in the act of creation as a communication process. Other models for creation include the PT in a biased mode and creatures themselves as decision agents.
Keywords
God, communication theory, Pandemonium Tremendum, chaos, variety, Claude Shannon, information
How to Cite
Huchingson, J., (1997) “Chaos and God's Abundance: An Ontology of Variety in the Divine Life”, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 32(4), 515–524. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/0591-2385.00109