Judaism Physics And God

This provocative fusion of religion and science offers new ways to express spiritual beliefs, harmonizes Judaism with modern scientific thinking, and introduces a new expression of our relationship with God in the exciting context of contemporary science.

Hear the Voices of Ancient Wisdom in the Modern Language of Science Ancient traditions, whose only claim to authenticity is that they are old, run the risk of becoming old-fashioned. But if an ancient tradition can claim to be not only ancient but also timeless and contemporary, it has a far greater chance of convincing each new, young generation of its value. Such a claim requires that each generation’s retelling use the new metaphors of the new generation. —from Chapter 1 In our era, we often feel that we can either speak about God or think scientifically about the world, but never both at the same time. But what if we reconciled the two? How could the basic scientific truths of how the natural world came to be shape our understanding of our own spiritual search for meaning? In this provocative fusion of religion and science, Rabbi David Nelson examines the great theories of modern physics to find new ways for contemporary people to express their spiritual beliefs and thoughts. Nelson explores cosmology, quantum mechanics, chaos theory, relativity, and string theory in clear, non-technical terms and recasts the traditional views of our ancestors in language that can be understood in a world in which space flight, atom-smashing, and black holes are common features of our metaphorical landscape. Judaism, Physics and God reframes Judaism so that it is in harmony with the conquests of modern scientific thinking, and introduces fascinating new ways to understand your relationship with God in context of some of the most exciting scientific ideas of the contemporary world.

“This is as important a book on this subject as I recall ever having read.” — Huston Smith “Brilliant.... Schroeder’s book demands the attention of anyone who wonders if God must be exiled from the modern, enlightened mind.” — David J. Wolpe, author of Why Faith Matters In his first book since 2002’s acclaimed The Hidden Face of God, popular scientist Gerald Schroeder combines decades of scientific research and biblical study to present a groundbreaking new paradigm of how to understand God. Readers of Jack Miles’ God: A Biography, Francis Collins’s The Language of God, and Richard Friedman’s Who Wrote the Bible will find much to contemplate in God According to God.

Modern physics has forever changed the way we view and understand physical reality. With a wide spectrum of theories, from general relativity to quantum mechanics, our conceptions of the very big and the very small are no longer intuitively obvious. Many philosophers, even scientists have expressed the opinion that the counterintuitive conclusions posited in modern physics are best understood using spiritual terminology. In the 11 lectures in this volume, Harav Ginsburgh, one of our generation's foremost scholars, innovators, and teachers of Kabbalah, reveals how modern physics reflects foundational concepts in the Torah's inner dimension. A wide range of topics from relativity (special and general), quantum mechanics, and string theory are addressed. Elegantly and gracefully, Harav Ginsburgh's exposition of the topics switches back and forth between the scientific and Torah perspectives. With his deep insight, Harav Ginsburgh gives even well-known physical concepts a refreshing and new treatment. Apart from carefully drawing parallels and correspondences between the Torah's inner dimension and modern physics, in these lectures, Harav Ginsburgh proposes new directions for scientific research into important areas such as a unified field theory, CPT symmetry, the relationship between acceleration and gravitation, and the possibility of uncovering additional dimensions in physical reality, demonstrating how the Torah's depth can be used to fertilize science and further our understanding of nature.

Albert Einstein's Quest as a Scientist and as a Jew to Replace a Forsaken God.

By drawing on modern cosmology and ancient Kabbalah, the author shows how science and religion can together enrich our spiritual awareness and help us recover a sense of wonder and find our place in the universe.

A ground-breaking book that takes on skeptics from both sides of the cosmological debate, arguing that science and the Bible are not at odds concerning the origin of the universe. The culmination of a physicist's thirty-five-year journey from MIT to Jerusalem, Genesis and the Big Bang presents a compelling argument that the events of the billions of years that cosmologists say followed the Big Bang and those of the first six days described in Genesis are, in fact, one and the same—identical realities described in vastly different terms. In engaging, accessible language, Dr. Schroeder reconciles the observable facts of science with the very essence of Western religion: the biblical account of Creation. Carefully reviewing and interpreting accepted scientific principles, analogous passages of Scripture, and biblical scholarship, Dr. Schroeder arrives at a conclusion so lucid that one wonders why it has taken this long in coming. The result for the reader—whether believer or skeptic, Jewish or Christian—is a totally fresh understanding of the key events in the life of the universe.

Mysticism and science: What do they have in common? How can one enlighten the other? By drawing on modern cosmology and ancient Kabbalah, Matt shows how science and religion can together enrich our spiritual awareness and help us recover a sense of wonder and find our place in the universe. Drawing on the insights of physics and Jewish mysticism, Daniel Matt uncovers the sense of wonder and oneness that connects us with the universe and God. He describes in understandable terms the parallels between modern cosmology and ancient Kabbalah. He shows how science and religion together can enrich our spiritual understanding. We “embody the energy” of the big bang, writes Matt. Furthermore, “God is not somewhere else, hidden from us. God is right here hidden from us.” To discover the presence of God, Matt draws on both science and theology, fact and belief, and on the truths embodied in Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, as well as Judaism. A rich dialogue between the physical and the spiritual, God & the Big Bangtakes us on a deeply personal, thoughtful and inspiring journey that helps us find our place in the universe—and the universe in ourselves.