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Title: The Reluctant Prophets: Has Science Found God by Stephen Blaha ISBN: 0-7596-6304-1 Publisher: 1stBooks Library Pub. Date: October, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Wide-ranging interdisciplinary scope
Comment: Stephen Blaha's book on the compatibility of science and religion covers a wide scope. Moving effortlessly from the deepest theories of the nature of the universe, through linguistics and computer science and on to religion, Blaha tries to show that all of modern physics, the so-called Theory of Everything, can be expressed as the reading of a sentence in a language with symbols and grammar, somewhat like computer programs in Java are parsed and read by compilers on computers.

The evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang to the present and into the future, is determined by the language determining the physics of this theory. In this way, Blaha argues, it is really literally true that "In the beginning was the Word."

The book does not just restrict itself to science and religion. Blaha also provides a stimulating and yet thoughtful account of all sorts of spiritual phenomena that are often regarded by scientists as unproven superstition. He tries to show how they can fit into the scientific framework.

Many scientists claim that science and religion are in conflict, or at best have nothing to do with each other. Blaha's book provides a self-aware account of how a deep belief in the practice of the scientific method can live in harmony with a religious or spiritual nature and with a pragmatic willingness to examine all phenomena in the world without prejudice. As a side benefit, it also provides a high-level and entertaining account of the way physicists think about the universe. I recommend it strongly to anyone with an open mind who "believes" in science and yet senses that there is something else behind the appearances too.

Rating: 5
Summary: A Fascinating Study!
Comment: Are science and religion diametrically opposed to one another when it comes to God? It's a truism that science deals with matter and its causes, while religion deals with the spirit. In his insightful new book "The Reluctant Prophets: Has Science Found God?" Dr. Stephen Blaha challenges the concept that science and religion are opposites, and instead looks for a common ground that unites their efforts. He finds it in the notion of "the Word." Just as religion sees the universe as originating in "the Word of God," so science sees the universe in linguistic terms, indeed as one powerful word. His exploration of the Word in religion and in science is tantalizing; and his suggestion, in the second part of the book, that phenomena which we ordinarily think of as spiritual may be considered in a scientific way, is truly fascinating. Looking at these phenomena scientifially, he says, by no means debunks their religious validity, but rather enhances it by adding to it a new and exciting dimension to the search for Truth. Thus seen, religion and science become partners in the search for ultimate reality, rather than opponents.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book for the groundbreaking concepts it offers. Dr. Blaha is himself something of a prophet, for he challenges the commonly accepted and instead shows how these two pillars of human thought converge in their search for the ultimate. In other words, we do not need to abandon religion in order to embrace science; and we do not need to abandon science when we embrace religion. And all of this in clear and simple language that makes this important discovery available to all. I highly recommend it.