God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony Between Science and Spirituality

by Daniel C. Matt Narrated by Barry Abrams

Overview

God is not somewhere else, hidden from us; God is right here, hidden from us.



"We are part of something greater: a vast web of existence constantly expanding and evolving. When we gaze at the nighttime sky, we can ponder that we are made of elements forged within stars, out of particles born in the big bang . . . Beyond any star or galaxy we will ever identify lies the horizon of spacetime, fourteen billion light years away. But neither God nor the big bang is that far away. The big bang didn't happen somewhere out there, outside of us. Rather, we began inside the big bang; we now embody its primordial energy. The big bang has never stopped."
-from Chapter 11



To discover the presence of God throughout the cosmos and in our everyday lives, Daniel C. Matt draws on both science and theology, both fact and belief, and both cosmology and Jewish mysticism, taking us on a deeply personal, thoughtful, and inspiring journey. This update of the award-winning first edition gives us a fresh look at the growing topic of science and spirituality, helps us find our place in the universe, and shows us how the universe is reflected in our very being.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In the past, the conversation between religion and science often turned bitter and acrimonious because neither camp was willing to listen to the other's ideas.In recent years, however, as both scientists and religious thinkers have demonstrated, the congruence between the two worldviews runs far deeper than either is sometimes willing to admit. In this marvelous new book, Matt, a professor of Jewish spirituality, explores the connections between Jewish mysticism and the cosmological theory of the Big Bang. Several questions motivate Matt's study: How does the Big Bang theory challenge the Jewish concept of God? How may a study of the dimensions of this theory help us discover new insights into spiritual dimensions of human life? In his answers to these and other questions, Matt draws a relationship between the kabbalastic teachings that describe the "breaking of the vessels" that sever an individual's oneness with God and the physical theory of "broken symmetry," which articulates a sense of lost unity in the universe. Both kabbalists and physicists, he says, dream of finding unity, and this dream is expressed in their writings. Playful, imaginative and thoughtful, Matt's book carries the dialogue between religion and science to new levels. (Aug.)

Library Journal

The controversy surrounding NASA's recent announcement of the discovery of possible life on Mars poses challenges to long-cherished beliefs in science and religion. How spirituality can integrate these discoveries is given an explanation in Matt's (Jewish spirituality, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley) important and timely book. Borrowing primarily from the traditions of Jewish mysticism and Hasidism, the author opens a dialog between modern scientific cosmology and spirituality whose goal is to seek the existence and significance of God for contemporary people. Ein Sof (literally, "there is no end"), the name given to God by Jewish kabbalists, underscores the notion that God is present everywhere, and Matt identifies Ein Sof as quantum physics' "zero-point energy" left over from the primordial bang. Ein Sof points to the oneness, the interrelatedness, of all creation, making God part of our world. Matt includes a very helpful glossary of terms, though an index would have been extremely useful. Highly recommended for the general reader.Pius Murray, Holy Apostles Coll. and Seminary, Cromwell, Conn.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170215133
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	01/29/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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