  In view of the sobering findings of science, theology and to a lesser degree
metaphysics is confronted with a humiliating loss, and a need for
reinterpretation, of allegories and narratives which have served as guidance to
the perplexed for millennia. Future revolutions of world perception might
include the emergence of consciousness and superhuman artificial intelligence
from universal computation, extensive virtual reality simulations, the
persistence of claims of irreducible chance in the Universe, as well as
contacts with alien species and the abundance of inhabited planets. As tragic
and as discomforting as this might be perceived for the religious orthodoxy and
by individual believers, a theology guided by science may lead us to a better
and more adequate understanding of our existence. The post factum theological
options are plentiful. These include dualistic scenarios, as well as (to quote
Kelly James Clark), a curling or bowling deity, that is, creatio continua, or
ex nihilo. These might be grounded in, or corroborated by the metaphysical
enigma of existence, which appears to be immune and robust with respect to the
aforementioned challenges of science.
