by Gerald L. Schroeder
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Product Description
Uniting staunchly opposed viewpoints into one groundbreaking new perspective, this startling and timely work illuminates the complete interdependence between Biblical reports and modern scientific discoveries. Comparing key events from the Old Testament with the most current findings of biochemists, paleontologists, and physicists, Gerald Schroeder resolves age-old debates about miracles, the origins of the universe, the first life on Earth, and the meaning of free will. Through thoughtful, engaging discussions--even using Einstein's theory of relativity to validate a six-day creation timetable--The Science of God ultimately proves both Darwin and creationists right.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Wow, 2008-10-23
I read this book years ago, but I still think it is the best book I've ever read. This book is very interesting. I'm not sure that I agree with everything in it, but the point seems to be to get you thinking outside of our current time. This book is very much outside of the box and I loved it! I recommend this book to everyone.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 A Kabalistic Hugh Ross?, 2008-10-04
I finished reading The Science of God last night (Alister McGrath has a book by the same title, but it reads altogether differently). I like the way the book is organized and how it does a fairly good job of explaining some scientific concepts, such as the two-slit experiment. But I can't help but feel like he fudges both science and the Bible to come up with interpretations that he feels result in harmonization of interpretations of both. In this way he reminds me of a kabalistic Hugh Ross, [...]
Some of his science is just plain wrong. There are several facts he mentions that as far as I know have no scientific basis, like the idea that algae have more information in their DNA (a latent library) than any other life forms. On page 188 he says `Only 3 percent of the human genome appears to actively code for genes'. The genome does not code for genes, the genes code for proteins. He goes on to say that even if the entire genome was active, there would not be enough coded information to make a human or any other mammal. What is the scientific basis for this argument? The fact is that the whole process of building a body is driven by genetic information.
Schroeder's equating of the collapse of the quantum mechanical wave function with providing the basis for our decision making process (on page 173) has no basis in fact. Although the evidence for QM clearly shows that the old Laplacian ideas of determinism are dead, using QM as a mechanism for our choices is unfounded. Free will rules, but not because QM is scientifically factual.
His idea of using Einstein's relativistic framework to explain the difference in time duration is a mathematical sleight of hand. For his time model to work, light would actually have to slow down as the universe expands. What slows down is the frequency of the wave lengths of the cosmic background radiation, not the speed. Schroeder is also guilty of conflating the Anthropic Principle with fine-tuning, a common misconception. His use of statistics to prove that the eye could not evolve convergently is also misplaced. He does not take into account that the same genetic architecture subject to similar environmental pressures in different phyla would respond in similar ways. There were several other opinions that I questioned, and in some cases they may have been just opinions with little basis in science.
Schroeder's theology also stretches conventional interpretation. Being Jewish, he clearly does not believe in a triune God. When God says `Let us make man in our image', Schroeder on page 140 says `us' refers to the spiritual and material composition of man - a fair stretch of hermeneutics. His reliance on the medieval writing of Nahmanides to interpret the Bible results in an interpretation of an interpretation. For example, he uses the Talmudic idea that other females morphologically similar to humans but without souls existed at the time of Adam. These potential spouses for Adam represented a threat to Eve after she had sinned, causing her to induce Adam to also sin so that he too would be mortal. Such speculation contributes nothing to either science or theology.
Schroeder's strongest contribution to the debate however is his philosophical acceptance of the truth of empirical science and his willingness and effort to integrate this into his faith-based worldview.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Worth contemplating, 2008-09-20
This book is written by an MIT physicist who seems to be an evangelical or non-denominational. He goes through some fascinating aspects of the bible and science. For example, he explains how time is relative to where you are and that there is a certain way to look at the days of creation so that they last 15 billion years from one POV and 6 days from another. It doesn't seem contrived, and it is very interesting. He also discusses quantum mechanics and a scientific argument against determinism. This is definitely a great read for those who are interested in the question of science vs. religion.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Can science and religion be reconciled?, 2008-07-25
For many, the answer to the above question is "no" but for me as a Christian, I've never found them to be so separate in focus so as to need a reconcilitation. True religion and proven science harmonize very well, and Schroeder has written an interesting, thought-provoking book about the seeming parallels between what the Bible states and the findings of biochemists, astrophysicists, and even paleontologists. His explanation of the six creative days of Genesis was fascinating.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Must read, along with Genesis and the Big Bang., 2008-06-02
Schroeder's theories are invaluable for anyone with strong ties to both the physical sciences and the veracity of the Bible. Without his books I would have been content to think about Bible for Bible and science for science. With his books, each one enriches and enhances the other. Science of God is his most important book, but the nitty-gritty of his time dilation theory is better-explained in Genesis and the Big Bang. Must-read.
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