The Purposeful Universe

Author: Carl Johan Calleman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1591439884
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Book Description
Identifying the Mayan World Tree with the central axis of the cosmos, the author shows how evolution is not random • Shows how the evolution of the universe emanates from the cosmic Tree of Life • Explains the origin and evolution of biological life and consciousness and how this is directed Using recent findings within cosmology, coupled with his broad understanding of the Mayan Calendar, biologist Carl Johan Calleman offers a revolutionary and fully developed alternative to Darwin’s theory of biological evolution--and the theory of randomness that holds sway over modern science. He shows how the recently discovered central axis of the universe correlates with the Tree of Life of the ancients. This provides an entirely new context for physics in general and especially for the origin and evolution of life and suggests that we look upon ourselves as parts of a hierarchy of systems that are all interrelated and evolve in a synchronized way. Calleman’s research demonstrates that life did not just accidentally “pop up” on our planet, but that Earth was a place specifically tagged for this. He demonstrates how the Mayan Calendar describes different quantum states of the Tree of Life and presents a new explanation for the origin and evolution of consciousness. Calleman uses his scientific background in biology and cosmology to show that the idea of the Purposeful Universe is real. He explains not only how DNA but also entire organisms have emerged in the image of the Tree of Life, a theory that has wide-ranging consequences not only for medicine but also for the origin of sacred geometry and the human soul. With this new theory of biological evolution the divide between science and religion disappears.

Giving the Devil his Due

Author: Michael Shermer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108800106
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Book Description
Who is the 'Devil'? And what is he due? The Devil is anyone who disagrees with you. And what he is due is the right to speak his mind. He must have this for your own safety's sake because his freedom is inextricably tied to your own. If he can be censored, why shouldn't you be censored? If we put barriers up to silence 'unpleasant' ideas, what's to stop the silencing of any discussion? This book is a full-throated defense of free speech and open inquiry in politics, science, and culture by the New York Times bestselling author and skeptic Michael Shermer. The new collection of essays and articles takes the Devil by the horns by tackling five key themes: free thought and free speech, politics and society, scientific humanism, religion, and the ideas of controversial intellectuals. For our own sake, we must give the Devil his due.

Finding Purpose in a Godless World

Author: Ralph Lewis, MD
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1633883868
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 409

Book Description
A psychiatrist presents a compelling argument for how human purpose and caring emerged in a spontaneous and unguided universe. Can there be purpose without God? This book is about how human purpose and caring, like consciousness and absolutely everything else in existence, could plausibly have emerged and evolved unguided, bottom-up, in a spontaneous universe. A random world--which according to all the scientific evidence and despite our intuitions is the actual world we live in--is too often misconstrued as nihilistic, demotivating, or devoid of morality and meaning. Drawing on years of wide-ranging, intensive clinical experience as a psychiatrist, and his own family experience with cancer, Dr. Lewis helps readers understand how people cope with random adversity without relying on supernatural belief. In fact, as he explains, although coming to terms with randomness is often frightening, it can be liberating and empowering too. Written for those who desire a scientifically sound yet humanistic view of the world, Lewis's book examines science's inroads into the big questions that occupy religion and philosophy. He shows how our sense of purpose and meaning is entangled with mistaken intuitions that events in our lives happen for some intended cosmic reason and that the universe itself has inherent purpose. Dispelling this illusion, and integrating the findings of numerous scientific fields, he shows how not only the universe, life, and consciousness but also purpose, morality, and meaning could, in fact, have emerged and evolved spontaneously and unguided. There is persuasive evidence that these qualities evolved naturally and without mystery, biologically and culturally, in humans as conscious, goal-directed social animals. While acknowledging the social and psychological value of progressive forms of religion, the author respectfully critiques even the most sophisticated theistic arguments for a purposeful universe. Instead, he offers an evidence-based, realistic yet optimistic and empathetic perspective. This book will help people to see the scientific worldview of an unguided, spontaneous universe as awe-inspiring and foundational to building a more compassionate society.

Science and Religion in Search of Cosmic Purpose

Author: John F. Haught
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780878407699
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Book Description
This stimulating book offers candid reflections on the question of cosmic purpose written both by prominent scientists and by scholars representing the world's religious traditions. Examining the issue from a wide variety of perspectives, this is the only current book to deal with cosmic purpose from an interreligious and interdisciplinary perspective. The contributions address the question of whether a religiously-based notion of a purposeful cosmos is consistent with the latest scientific understanding of nature, and whether theology can affirm the presence of divine action without contradicting science.

Evolution's Purpose

Author: Steve McIntosh
Publisher: SelectBooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1590792483
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Book Description
"Presents the author's view of the scientific story of our evolutionary origins to show how evolution's progressive generation of emergent value reveals a larger purpose within the process. He demonstrates how this purpose can be felt within each of us as the evolutionary impulse to make things better--to grow toward ever-widening realizations of beauty, truth, and goodness"--Provided by publisher

God’s Universe

Author: Owen Gingerich
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674023703
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Book Description
Taking Johannes Kepler as his guide, Gingerich argues that an individual can be both a creative scientist and a believer in divine design--that indeed the very motivation for scientific research can derive from a desire to trace God's handiwork.

The Creator and the Cosmos

Author: Hugh Norman Ross
Publisher: NavPress Publishing Group
ISBN: 9781576832882
Category : Anthropic principle
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Few of us can venture outside on a clear, dark night and not pause for a silent, reflective look at the stars. For countless centuries people have felt a sense of wonder about the heavens. How did our universe come into being? Has it always been here? Is our existence due to random chance or supernatural design? Is God "out there"? If so, what is He like? Traditionally, the church has answered such questions with Scripture, while science has contributed theories and formulas of its own. Torn between a deep respect for church doctrines and an intellectual need for answers that support what their senses are telling them, many Christians have avoided such discussions altogether. Actually, the two sides are no longer that far apart. In The Creator and the Cosmos, astrophysicist Dr. Hugh Ross explains how recent scientific measurements of the universe have clearly pointed to the existence of God. Whether you're looking for scientific support for your faith or new reasons to believe, The Creator and the Cosmos will enable you to see the Creator for yourself.

Future Consciousness

Author: Thomas Lombardo
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 1782790705
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 796

Book Description
How do our unique conscious minds reflect and amplify nature’s vast evolutionary process? This book provides a scientifically informed, psychologically holistic approach to understanding and enhancing our future consciousness, serving as a guide for creating a realistic, constructive, and ethical future. Thomas Lombardo reveals how we can flourish in the flow of evolution and create a prosperous future for ourselves, human society and the planet.

The Wonder of the Universe

Author: Karl W. Giberson
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant
ISBN: 9781459640375
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 378

Book Description
Karl Giberson takes us on a fascinating guided tour of planets and protons, galaxies and gamma rays. For many, even those who do not embrace religious faith, it looks like the expression of a grand plan - a cosmic architecture capable of both supporting life such as ours, and of inspiring observers like us to seek out a creator.

The Purpose-Guided Universe

Author: Bernard Haisch
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN: 1601637330
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 207

Book Description
“If you think that science has nothing to do with God, and vice versa, read this book—and you just may change your mind.” —Professor Peter Sturrock, Dept. Physics, Stanford University In this engrossing new book, Dr. Bernard Haisch contends that there is a purpose and an underlying intelligence behind the Universe, one that is consistent with modern science, especially the Big Bang and evolution. It is based on recent discoveries that there are numerous coincidences and fine-tunings of the laws of nature that seem extraordinarily unlikely. A more rational concept of God is called for. As astrophysicist Sir James Jeans wrote, “the Universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine.” Despite bestsellers by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris that have denounced the evils of religion and proclaimed that science has shown that there is no God, The Purpose-Guided Universe shows how one can believe in God and science. “Committed atheists, traditional Christians, or hard-core Muslims will no doubt try to dismiss this book . . . provocative.” —Prof. Owen Gingerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, author, God’s Universe “Neither science nor theology can consider itself informed without taking into account Haisch’s views.” —Larry Dossey, MD, author, Healing Words “Merits being read and pondered by everyone seeks deeper meaning underlying science’s ever more astounding view of the world.” —Dr. Ervin Laszlo, author, Science and the Akashic Field “An enlightening exploration.” —Julia Ann Charpentier, ForeWord Reviews