Judaism, Physics And God

by Nelson, David W.

• ISBN13: 9781580233064
• ISBN10: 1580233066
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-01
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Pub

Summary

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? This provocative fusion of religion and science examines the great theories of modern physics to find new ways for contemporary people to express their spiritual beliefs and thoughts. It 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. This groundbreaking book 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.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction: Jewish Tradition and Frogs' Legs	xv
1 Cosmology and Creation: In Search of Beginnings	1	(29)
2 Quantum Mechanics: God in the (Subatomic) Details	30	(49)
3 Chaos Theory: When Random Things Happen to Regular People	79	(49)
4 Albert Einstein and Special Relativity: The Cosmic Speed Limit	128	(31)
5 General Relativity: Jewish Meaning in Curved Space	159	(21)
6 String Theory: Tying It All Together	180	(45)
7 Physics in Shul: Integrating New Metaphors into Traditional Jewish Life	225	(46)
Notes	271	(21)
Suggestions for Further Reading	292	(2)
Illustration Credits	294	(1)
Index	295