Einstein's God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit

by Krista Tippett

Drawn from Krista Tippett's Peabody Award-winning public radio program, the conversations in this profoundly illuminating book reach for a place too rarely explored in our ongoing exchange of ideas--the nexus of science and spirituality. In fascinating interviews with such luminaries as Freeman Dyson, Janna Levin, Parker Palmer, and John Polkinghorne, Krista Tippett draws out the connections between the two realms, showing how even those most wedded to hard truths find spiritual enlightenment in the life of experiment and, in turn, raise questions that are richly, theologically evocative.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Religion, Philosophy, Spirituality, Faith, Theology

286 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2010

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me get something off my chest, and maybe vent just a little. This book will probably be unjustly categorized as some type of New Age reading. I hate the New Age (or as Gooch said, "I can't afford anything new.") There's been nothing new under the sun for at least 2000 years, that was Christianity, it went the way of all new things - it got old. On top of that, every year or so the newest new age nonsense hits the shelves: Eat Pray Ugh being the latest, hard on the heels of Eckhardt Tolle. Recycled thinking destined for the recycle bin. There, done with that.

Einstein's God is a terrific set of transcribed interviews from Krista Tippett's public radio show, Speaking of Faith. These are chats with some particularly brilliant people about the life of the spirit as it pertains to ecology, medicine, psychotherapies, and the arts. There's very little nonsense here as Ms. Tippett and her guests explore the spiritual lives of religious believers and non-believers through their particular disciplines and discoveries.

This book is a scalpel of sorts, that cuts through the fog of the woo-woo, and la-la that surrounds contemporary spirituality. Thich Nat Than said, "The miracle is not walking on water; the miracle is that we're walking on this earth at all." Einstein's God reinforces the miraculous.

[asra · Rating 4 out of 5]

In today’s times, science and religion are presumed to be mutually exclusive: evolutionists vs. creationists, atheists vs. believers. Tippett offers a fresh alternative to this strict dichotomy. Through interviews, she presents respectful, nuanced conversation about the overlap, intertwining, and complementarity of science and religion. An atheist, holding firmly to her beliefs, offers that it is difficult to disprove the existence of God, while a devout Christian views evolution as having a part in the Creation Story. The culmination of interviews reveals the mysteries inherent both in science and religion providing us with common ground between the two. If nothing else, John Polkinghorne’s discourse on the nature of light and the role of quarks as applied to religious paradigms makes the book a worthy read.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has studied religion for his entire career, it often feels like scientists dismiss utterly out of hand anything my profession might offer. This book, which is based on a series of interviews Krista Tippett has had with scientists over the years, is welcome in such a situation. Some of the scientists she meets here are well known, while others are perhaps less so, but they all share one thing: they are open to wider possibilities. Einstein was not a simple man, and his views on God were likewise anything but simple. Since he can't be interviewed, his writings have to be studied. Some of those interviewed here knew Einstein. The book's title is a little misleading in this respect—it's not all about Einstein. It is about the subject as stated in the subtitle.

After an excellent introduction, Tippett talks to Freeman Dyson and Paul Davies about Einstein's God. Both men are physicists. The next interview, with surgery professor Sherwin Nuland turns to biology and "spirit." The biological theme continues into her discussion with Mehmet Oz, another medical professor. James Moore, biographer of Darwin, discusses Darwin's spiritual journey and evolution. Physicist V. V. Raman discusses being a Hindu and a scientist, and astrophysicist Janna Levin talks mathematics and the purpose of life. Anger and revenge are the topics addressed by psychologist Michael McCullough. The topic returns to biology, this time with healing as the subject, with Esther Sternberg, a rheumatologist. The next three panelists all discuss depression and its effects on spirit. They are Andrew Solomon, Parker Palmer, and Anita Barrows. The final chapter is reserved for Templeton Prize-winning John Polkinghorne, a physicist who became a priest. This is the most theological of the pieces.

As might be expected of a book with such a wide range of topics, there's not a lot of coherency to the book. It is an incredibly quick read, however. Interviews are like reading conversations, for the most part. These are deep conversations, however. Some topics are more scientific than others, but I learned a lot by reading each of them.

Since my blog often deals with this topic, I posted on this book here: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World, for those who wish to read more.

[Zahraa · Rating 2 out of 5]

كتاب خفيف. حوارات بشكل أسئلة وأجوبة، أجرتها كريستا تيبيت مع عدد من المفكرين - فيزيائيين ، شعراء، كتاب، أطباء، روائيين، علماء نفس- تناقش موضوعا عملاقا هو العلاقة بين العلم والروحانيات -ليس الدين، بل الروحانيات بمعناها الأوسع. لا أعتقد أن الحوارات موضوعية بالقدر الكافي، فكريستا تنتقي الأسئلة لترجيح كفة الروحانيات في ما بدا لي.
فما كانت خلاصة الكتاب؟
حسنا، العلم الحديث لا يقف على طرف النقيض من الروحانيات، أي لا يتعارض الإيمان مع العلم بالضرورة، بشهادة هؤلاء المفكرين.
وكان الله يحب المحسنين

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impulse buy at Tuesday Books in Williamston. Clearly the intersection between modern physics and religion is on my mind lately. This book is a collection of interviews by Tippett with leading scientists. Not all are physicists, there are also medical doctors, scientists studying revenge, stress, depression. Tippett asks these scientists on the cutting edge of their respective fields how their developing understanding affects their understanding of religion and the universe. So it serves as a sort of sampler of the current world of science.

There's a lot that I really liked about this book. I appreciated the variety even as I tended to be more interested in the physicists and the chapter on Darwin and evolution. I really loved the interview with V.V. Raman, whose Hindi beliefs appreciate multiple ways of knowing, asking, understanding.

At the same time, this book had me frequently grinding my teeth. If someone said something that Tippett found particularly insightful, you were going to know all about it. Certainly it would appear in the transcript of the interview, of course. But additionally, each interview was proceeded by an introduction. Not just an introduction of the person being interviewed, because that appeared in the chapter itself. But an introduction before the chapter, that summarized the work of the interviewee, the interview itself, and touched on individual points and sometimes quotes from the interview. Then also there was an introduction to the entire book that did the same things. By the time you're reading those engaging points within the interviews, you're (or at least I) was like, "Yes, Yes! I remember the time!"

As I complained to everyone within earshot, it was suggested to me multiple times that I just skip the introductions, but that's cheating, and I couldn't force myself to do it. Seriously. Did she write the book over many months and forget that she had already quoted exactly that excerpt before? Could Penguin, in this age of e-books and cost-cutting, just not be bothered to assign this book an editor?

All the repetition made me feel like I'd easily be able to find all the interesting ideas that sparked things in my brain, but now I can't. One of these days, I'll get over my aversion to marking books. (At least some books.)

Despite my frustration, and despite the occasional tripping of my woo-alarm, I highly recommend this book. Just maybe, you know, skip the introductions.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of conversations on science, faith and the meaning of it all. The most enlightening bit for me was the conversation with physicist and Anglican clergyman John Polkinghorne. I know this is one I'll be coming back to again and again because much of it went over my head the first time around!

[Neriman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Einstein : "It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.". It is one of my favorite Einstein quote, which is a reference point of that book I think.

In fact, as someone who says this so, he is making us feel that he did not only look at reality through logic and science. Eventually, even though one day science tells us everything about our universe, it cannot give "meaning" to us. As we know already that Einstein has many words about intuition and the mystery of the soul. Because throughout his life he was not only interested in 'how' in physics, but also 'why' for all creation.

This book offers new suggestions that tries to combine science and human spirit with reference to Einstein's insight with important conversations. Actually, science and spirituality have continued to develop itself in separate categories over the years. On the other hand, attempt to provide the connections between them will be the actual skill. It is one of the rare books that is trying to achieve this goal, also it is enjoyable to read. If we go for this purpose, Einstein is already the most important person whose thoughts should be analyzed in deeper level.

[Rama Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting discussion about God, religion and science

The author is an experienced host on public radio, and I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and knowledge she brings in her conversations with well known physicists, biologists, philosophers, psychologists, theologians, and medical experts. It is fascinating to discuss Einstein, God, and religion with Physicists like Freeman Dyson, and Paul Davies, and about Charles Darwin with biologist James Moore. If there is anyone who understood God more than any anybody else, it is certainly Einstein and Darwin.

In a scientific assessment, God is regarded as an entity, a creating potential, and the all pervading Supreme Consciousness. Albert Einstein, the greatest physicist of all time frequently referred to God in his discussions, but he did not imply any particular faith. Einstein saw beauty in God's design of spacetime, energy - matter relationship, spacetime - matter relationship, the symmetry in physical laws, mathematical elegance in the physical descriptions and cosmic wonders. Similarly, it is fascinating to read how Darwin struggled for 20 years, in 19 century, before he published his monumental work on the origin and evolution of living species. At that time it would be unthinkable to question Genesis and New Testament. In fact it was met with ferocious opposition in United States especially in the Bible-belt, but Darwin remained steadfast in making it clear that species evolved, and one species came from another, and all living species came from unicellular organisms. He came to this conclusion through his intensive and prolonged research in natural selection, biodiversity, species adaptations, specificity and individual variation. The discussions in this book illuminate the fact both Darwin and Einstein struggled immensely to understand God though their scientific work.

In her conversations with V.V. Raman, the author has focused on the cultural and social issues of Hinduism. Although a brief discussion of dharma and karma is interesting but I would have expected a more focused dialogue on the philosophical side of Hinduism, especially Vedanta, which is very closely related to philosophy of quantum physics. Leading physicists like Erwin Schrodinger and David Bohm were life-long believers of Vedanta. A discussion on Vedanta could have been natural flow of ideas after reading her conversation with Dyson and Davies.

Physicist Janna Levin describes the fascinating side of our universe in which certain truth can never be proven true; there are limits to what we will ever know. This is according to the mathematical work of Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing, the two eminent mathematicians of 20th century that has deep philosophical consequences. This is reflected in the laws of physics; theory of special relativity puts an upper limit on the speed of light and matter, consequently the concept of present and future becomes relative. Uncertainty at the most fundamental level, the Heisenberg uncertainty puts a limit on our ability to define matter and a wave separately, and according to quantum dynamics the observed reality depends on the observer. Gödel believed that there is a surreal vagueness about reality. Quantum physics further alludes to the fact that everything in the universe is preordained, there is considerable doubt about cause preceding the effect, and the individual freewill is non-existent. Janna Levin reflects on the personal tragedies in the lives of these two great men of science and the impact it had on her thoughts.

Charles Darwin waited for 20 years to publish his theory, which reflects on the times and social surroundings of Darwin. It was clear to him from his upbringing that God plays a central role in the affairs of the world he created, and the church directed people into the path of God, and New Testament gives the correct description of God. Commenting on one of the letters of Darwin, James Moore recounts that Darwin labored very heavily during this time, but when he convinced himself, he decides to publish the results of his monumental work. He revolutionized the thought within the church when he suggested that nature is self-developing, only God created the laws of physics which formed chemical structures, molecular forms and life. Life forms change into another species. A gradual trend in certain behavioral characteristics or physical features indicated that they evolved independently. He found interconnectedness among all living creatures, but he never denied God's existence.

In her conversation with physicist John Polkinghorne, it becomes apparent that his invoking a religious God and a Christian God in particular is unrealistic. He moves from the position of a physicist to the position of a pastor, as if he is speaking from the pulpit. He suggests that power of prayer is an interaction between God Almighty and a human. Polkinghorne's philosophy is a sellout of his academic credentials to find a non-existing path between physical laws and New Testament. In one of Einstein's letters written in 1927, Einstein states that he can not conceive that a personal God would directly influence individual actions of a living being, or judge a creature he created. He believes in this thought in spite of the fact that cause preceding the effect is in doubt according to quantum physics. It would be unlikely that the infinitely superior spirit, the God Almighty reveal himself through the physical reality we experience, when we can not comprehend our own existence. Einstein observes that morality is of highest importance for us, and not for God.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book presents a series of interviews and mini-essays with numerous leading thinkers today in the general realm of science, philosophy and religion.

Some of these are at least moderately interesting, such as the exchange between Freemany Dyson and Paul Davies that leads off the volume. But others are not so interesting, and in fact this reviewer wondered in several cases why the chapter had been included at all. In fact, this is the central weakness of the book: if one finds a given author interesting, then one is better off buying and reading books written by that author.

In short, it was a good idea. But somebody forgot to make it interesting. Too many of these chapters just aren't interesting enough to keep one awake.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking conversations by smart people who are very good with words on the topics of creation, evolution, the human spirit, and the mysteries that science can sometimes explain, and sometimes cannot. I enjoyed the perspective that science and religion can be harmonious, especially the novel idea that scientific wonder can be a kind of prayer of praise, and a completely new idea to me that the "dark side" of human emotions, even clinical depression, have a creative purpose. A very unique and worthwhile exploration.

[Caterina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Degerli bir kitap ama...

Ben konsantre olamadim sanirim. Yazarin radyo yayinlarindaki konusma ve roportajlarin derlemesinden olusan okurlen belli bilimsel konusmalara yada bazi bilim adamlarina dair bilgi birikimi isteyen bir icerigi var.

Dr. Mehmet Oz'un oldugu bolumleri okurken cok keyif aldim. Oldukca ogreticiydi.

Verdigim 3 yildiz kitabin degil benim eksikligimden ozetle. Icerik hakkinda bilgi sahibi oldugumda yeniden okuyacagim diyerek incelememe simdilik bir vurgul kayup gideyim...

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this interesting..................................

"Einstein liked to imagine Buddhism as the religion of the future, capable of embracing the best of scientific and spiritual approaches to life." --Krista Tippett in Einstein's God

[Esmael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging, fantastic, and insightful read.

[Wm Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interviews with 14 scientists on the existence of G_d, or not, through examination of the tension between Cosmos (Albert Einstein’s orderly progression of universal physical laws) and Chaos (random unpredictably of the quantum physics of Neil’s Bohr & Werner Heisenberg) e.g., Einstein’s famous quote: “God does not play dice with the universe” and Bohr’s reply, “Who is Einstein to tell the Lord what to do?”. Can’t rule it out and can’t rule it in.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think of these topics as spiritual / social / political think pieces. I enjoy Tippett's perspective and her interviewing skills. I would only like her better if she was a master on the topics she writes about, which is high praise. For me this was a slow read, and I may not have read them all in the end, as I picked and chose my way around the chapters. I wish more of her On Being writers had her skills.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second chapter was hard for me to get through. This was one book I started during Lent and I couldn't get through it. So I decided to try again, and I did! I like the 9 chapters though.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH (MOSTLY) SCIENTISTS, ABOUT RELIGION

Krista Tippett is an American journalist who hosts the public radio program and podcast ‘On Being.’ She wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, “The science-religion ‘debate’ is unwinnable, and it has led us astray. To insist that science and religion speak the same language, or draw the same conclusions, is to miss the point of both… Both science and religion are set to animate the twenty-first century with new vigor. This will happen whether their practitioners are in dialogue or not. But the dialogue that is possible… is mutually illuminating and lush with promise. This book is a conversational introduction to an interplay between scientific and religious questions… that I began to discover a decade ago… I started a media experiment that eventually became a weekly public radio program about religion, ethics, and questions of meaning, ‘Speaking of Faith.’ I wanted to explore the intellectual and spiritual content of this part of life we call ‘religious’ and ‘spiritual’ and all the complexity with which it finds expression. Since the passing of Niebuhr and Heschel, of Tillich and King, we had lost a robust vocabulary for spiritual ethics and theological thinking in American public life.” (Pg. 1-2)

Later, she adds, “My conversations with scientists leave me with an exhilarating sense of the immediacy and vastness of both reality and mystery of the importance of asking seemingly unanswerable questions, and of the ‘rationality’ of insisting on a world in which ethics, theology and ‘spiritual genius’ claim their place alongside and in collaboration with the wondrous capacities of science. To the faithful I say this: if God is God, we cannot be afraid of what we can learn… I offer this book to all---religious and nonreligious, theologians, scientists, and people of all walks of life in between---who want to engage our kindred capacities to think and to live together more richly than our debates would ever suggest as possible.” (Pg. 13)

She explains, “as much or more than Darwin’s natural laws of evolution, Einstein’s laws of physics could not tolerate a meddling divine hand. Einstein approach science itself with a religious awe… modern imaginations have yet to catch up to the potential spiritual implications of the way Einstein reframed our understanding of space and time. Einstein’s dismissal of a ‘personal God’ might have struck some in his time as heretical, but his self-described ‘cosmic religious sense’ is intriguingly resonant with twenty-first-century sensibilities.” (Pg. 4)

In her dialogue with astrophysicist Freeman Dyson, the following was said: “T: When you say that you’re a practicing Christian, but not a believing Christian, aren’t you also saying that you don’t need or even desire to pin down a theology?... D: Absolutely. The world is full of mysteries. Of course, science is full of mysteries. Every time we discover something, we find two more questions to ask, and so there’s no end of mysteries in science. That’s what it’s all about. And the same’s true of religion.” (Pg. 22)

Astrophysicist Paul Davies states, “For me the crucial thing is that the universe is not only beautiful and harmonious and ingeniously put together, it is also fit for life. And physicists have traditionally ignored life. It’s too hard to think about. More and more, though, I think we have to recognize that if the laws of physics hadn’t been pretty close to what they are, there would be no life. There would be no observers. Now, sometimes we just shrug and say, ‘Well, so what… If it had been different, we wouldn’t be here to worry about it.’ But I think that’s unsatisfactory. And the reason it’s unsatisfactory is because the universe has not only given rise to life, it’s not only given rise to mind, it’s given rise to thinking beings who can comprehend the universe. Through science and mathematics, we can, so to speak, glimpse the mind of God.” (Pg. 35)

Mehmet Oz (“Dr. Oz”) observes, “there are the therapies where your mind plays a role. And what we’re really trying to do is to figure out how to get your mind… working with you. Let’s take the big area of energy… we define life at the level of the cell by whether or not you have an energy level in the cell that’s different from the energy level outside the cell… So if you aggregate those cells together into an organ, the heart, and you put those organs together into a body, the human, why would we think that we wouldn’t have energy that’s measurable and could be affected to make you feel better?” (Pg. 79-80)

Theoretical physicist V.V. Raman says, “my own personal view is that religious experience is precisely in the experience of that mystery. There is in human life a certain mystery surrounding this. And it is the experience of that mystery---even if it is only momentary… that is what constitutes the religious experience. As soon as we unravel that mystery in words and formulations, it becomes the doctrine of a religion. Many of the religious doctrines are profound answers to the mysteries, but they become interesting and important more in historical and geographical terms than in ultimate terms.” (Pg. 128)

Quaker author and educator Parker Palmer states, “There’s a lot, unfortunately, about suffering in Christian tradition that’s hogwash, if I can use a technical theological term. It’s awfully important to distinguish in life… between true crosses and false crosses… there are false forms of suffering that get imposed upon us, sometimes from without, from injustice and external cruelty, and sometimes from within, that really need to be resisted. I do not believe that the God who gave me life wants to live a living death. I believe that … God … wants me to live fully and well. Now, is that going to take me to places where I suffer because I am standing for something or I am committed to something or I am passionate about something that gets resisted and rejected by the society? Absolutely. But anyone who’s ever suffered that way knows that it’s a life-giving way to suffer. If it’s your truth… that knowledge carries you through. But there’s another kind of suffering that is simply and purely death… that is a darkness to be worked through to find the life on the other side.” (Pg. 237)

Physicist and priest John Polkinghorne notes, “It’s very hard, of course, to describe any form of beauty. In some sense you have to perceive it. And it’s more difficult with mathematics, because you have to be able to speak the language… Mathematical beauty is connected, first of all, with things being elegant and economic… And if it’s a successful part of mathematical physics, of course, it will imply all sorts of phenomena happening in the world. That’s what we mean by mathematical beauty… What is striking, I think, is that those of us who happen to speak that sort of language can agree about mathematical beauty. In fact, I suspect we agree rather more readily about mathematical beauty than, say, painters do about artistic beauty.” (Pg. 257)

Later, Polkinghorne adds, “The cross of Christ, understood from the point of view of Christian theology, is God living a human life and nailed to the cross in the darkness and in the paradox of the dereliction… of Calvary. So God knows human suffering and the suffering of creation from the inside and not simply from the outside. Also… I do believe that this life is not the only life we live. I do believe we have a destiny beyond death. And though that does not explain away the sufferings of this world, I think they would be even more bitter, really if there were no such destiny to look forward to.” (Pg. 273-274)

This book will be of keen interest to those studying the relationship between science and religion.

[Joseph Awad · Rating 3 out of 5]

لم أهتم سابقاً بهذا الكتاب، فالسؤال بالنسبة لي يبدو غير ذي صلة، ففي مجتمعنا لدينا فائض من دين والتدين يجعل سؤال العلم هو السؤال الملح. لكن ما دفعني إلى قراءته أنه في معرض الكتاب الأخير، وفي معرض حديث عابر مع شخص لا أعرفه، واقفين نتفحص بعض صفوف الكتب والتي لسبب ما سألني إذا ما كانت تستحق القراءة، أجبته بأنها كتب تخلط العلم بالدين ولا نفع يأتي من هذه الخلطة. فكان رده أن أينشتاين بنفسه قال أنه يؤمن بوجود إله. وهي إجابة لو تعلمون مستفزة. مستفزة من جهة لتناقضها وسذاجتها، ومن جهة أخرى لكمية الشرح الحذر والمراعي لمشاعر الآخرين -بشكل خطير جداً على مستوى ضغط الدم- الذي تحتاجه. على كل ربما ما يستحق الملامة هو كامل المجتمع فالرجل على الأقل أراد أن يقرأ.

بعد هذا الحوار العابر تذكرت كتاب كيف رأى أينشتاين الإله على منصة الكتب الصوتية ونويت أن أتحدى نفسي بعض الشيء وأرد على الكتاب إن لم أستطع أن أرد على الشخص.

بداية، العنوان مضلل لحد ما. فالكتاب ليس عن أينشتاين فقط، بل هو حوار مع مجموعة من العلماء حول نظرتهم للعلم وارتباطه بالمعنى الأكبر للكون وبالحاجات الأعمق للإنسان. وأينشتاين تحديداً لم يكن من بين العلماء المستضافين، بل تم محاورة شخص مختص بأفكاره وتاريخه.

أول ما يمكن ملاحظته هو أن المفاهيم الإيمانية التي يقدمها العلماء الذين تتم محاورتهم تشكل طيفاً واسعاً جداً، تتراوح بين الإيمان الصريح بوجود إله بحسب عقيدة معينة لتصل إلى مجرد الإيمان بإمكان وجود جمال ما في الكون يمكن أن يخلق معنى بالنسبة للبشر. ففي حين أن عالماً واحداً على الأقل من بين المجموعة ينتمي إلى واحد من أربعة من الأديان الرئيسية حول العالم كالمسيحية واليهودية والإسلام والهندوسية، إلا أن اثنين آخرين من العلماء الذين تمت محاورتهم يرون ان الإيمان بالصيغة التي يطرحونه بها هو سمة تطورية بالمعنى البيولوجي، بينما واحد آخر من العلماء ملحد. فالإيمان الذي يناقش هنا هو أي نظرة للكون في محاولة لإيجاد معنى أوسع وراءه.

من الواضح أن هذه النظرة المتنوعة للإيمان لا تلائم الجماهير التي تحتج بشكل مستمر بأن العلماء أنفسهم مؤمنون بما يعني ضرورة أن الإيمان حق. ربما يكون الإيمان حقاً -وأنا لست بهذا الصدد- لكن ليس لأن العلماء مؤمنون، فمن جهة يؤمن العلماء بطيف لا حصر له من أشكال الإيمان بينما تؤمن أنت بطريقة ضيقة بشكل لا علاج له. ومن جهة أخرى يؤمن جميع العلماء المستضافين في هذه الحوارات، ومهما كانت فكرتهم عن الإيمان مما عددناه سابقاً، أن العلم هو مصدر الحقيقة والواقع بينما الإيمان هو ما يملأ الفراغات التي لا نفهمها بعد وليس العكس. فالعلم صاحب الأولوية بينما الإيمان هو السؤال التالي عليه، والذي وإن كان أحياناً سؤالاً أكثر جوهرية، إلا أنه يبقى السؤال التالي بعد أن يقول العلم كل كلامه. ومن الواضح أنه لا يمكن الاحتجاج بهذا النوع من الإيمان لنقد العلم بأي شكل من الأشكال.

في الختام، وبالعودة إلى إله أينشتاين، فقد آمن أينشتاين بإله غير شخصي كما سماه. إله غير متدخل في تفاصيل الكون لكنه بمعنى ما العلة النهائية أو الأساسية للأشياء. وكما هو واضح فهذا إله لا يشكل حجة ضد العلم ولا مع الدين وغالباً لا يرضي المتدينين.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book. An author who is comfortable asking religious oriented questions to a range of scientists, doctors, activists, and philosophers and finding a complex range of musings, belief, confession, and connection.

Tippett has conversations with 13 individuals in the book on such a wide variety of topics - let's leave it as the title states "about Science and the Human Spirit."

I'll just note a few comments from the many pages I dog-eared.

[The book of]"Genesis is in fact a compelling example of how treating sacred text seriously, reading it respectfully on its own terms, is the surest, strongest antidote to our polarized religio-cultural debates." pg 6.

"The most vivid saint in recent memory, Mother Theresa, steeped herself in human death and decay, and cared right there. Einstein developed a stronger sense of his Jewish identity as he moved through life, increasingly valuing Judaism's practical moral core, its fixation less on transcendence than on "life as we live it and can grasp it." pg 11

Trippett: [referring to an observation by Bonhoeffer, "He writes if God is consigned to the [things] unknowable and we're learning more and more, then God is always being pushed further and further out of human experience." Polkinghorne: "That's right. The God of the gaps was a sort of Cheshire Cat deity, fading away with the advancement of knowledge. ... But ... if God is the god of truth, then the more truth we have, the greater understanding we have, the more we are actually learning about God." pg 262

The book ranges across a wide scope of topics: about disease and healing, depression, poetry and prose, what is knowable,limits of knowledge, embracing emotions as a complementary path to understanding along with knowledge, etc.

Each of the 10 chapters can be read separately, perfect for a series of great book club discussions.

[Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theoretical physicists, a cosmologist, an astrobiologist, professors of surgery, an expert on Charles Darwin, a professor of physics and humanities, a professor of astrophysics, a professor of psychology, a rheumatologist, several authors of scientific works, a poet, a clinical psychologist and a physicist-theologian—they were all interviewed here to answer basically mankind’s three greatest questions:

What is God? (or: What are gods?)

What are we?

and: What’s it all about, Alfie?

This is not the kind of book for those who, like the author-interviewer’s grandfather, have this kind of religiosity which is “small-minded at best, delusional at worst, and, most damnably, the enemy of science.” This is not for those who “know” already because the Bible (or the Koran) told them so, or those who maintain the opposite view precisely because of the same reason (as anything of religion they equate with superstition or medieval thinking). Some interviewees are atheists, some are believers, others are agnostics and, although not an interviewee, Albert Einstein also took part in the discussions (and inspire the book’s title) because although he did not believe in a personal God who hears our prayers, who is gladdened by our religious songs and dances, who guides us in our everyday activities, or who repays us with blessings for our good deeds, he nevertheless had a “faith” which he described as follows:


“The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead. A snuffed-out candle. It was the experience of mystery, even if mixed with fear, that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty—it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man. I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the type of which we are conscious in ourselves…Enough for me, the mystery of the eternity of life, and the inkling of the marvelous structure of reality, together with the single-hearted endeavour to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature.”


There are no militant atheists here or screaming agnostics. The general sense I got is that although the interviewees have their own views about faith and science, when pressed to the wall they all basically say something like: “This is what I think it is…but—who knows?” Just as new scientific discoveries or theories astound us, religious insights vis-a-vis science do also evolve and deliver fresh wonder.

For me, the most interesting interviewee here is V. V. Raman, a Hindu and an emeritus professor of physics and humanities at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Most interesting to me because I find it easier for one who espouses a monotheistic religion like Christianity or Islam to sort of reconcile his science with just one God, than with someone like this physicist whose religion has several gods and with beliefs like reincarnation, karma, caste system and the sacredness of cows. But he managed not to sound silly, somehow. For example, when asked about this decidedly Hindu “myth” of the goddess of words, language, music and numbers called “Sarasvati” V. V. Raman said:


“I would be the first to say that this is part of Hindu mythology. But there is something called MYTHOPOESIS. These are parts of all the great religions of the world. The poetic aspect is extremely important to me, because poetry is what gives meaning to existence. Not fact and figures and charts, but poetry. Poetry is essentially a really sophisticated way of experiencing the world. And it is much more than mere words and stories. Poetry is to the human condition what the telescope and the microscope are to the scientist.

“So I do a meditation to Sarasvati. There are images of Sarasvati, very beautiful, beautifully clothed in a sari and with a vena, the grand musical instrument of India, and a rosary, which corresponds to the counting, the numbers. To me, this is imagery that evokes reverence and respect, not necessarily for the particular form in which it is depicted, but for all those intangibles, such as counting and numbers and music and knowledge and science, which enrich human life and human culture and human civilisation. It’s an aesthetic experience to contemplate on something symbolic like that. I’m well aware that ultimately all these are symbols and that they may not reflect exactly what is out there. But we live in symbols as long as we are cultural beings, and that is how I take it.”


In another part of the interview he further elucidated on the interplay of science and religion, their continuing dialogue:


“(S)cience…enables us to look at human events in human terms. Religions…enable us to look at human events in religious or transnational terms. Both, in a way, are meaningful and illuminating. When you read a sonnet, let us say. Science is the discovery of the rules of prosody, the rules by which the sonnet is constructed, of measure and syllable and accent, iambic pentameter and whatever….You can analyse a poem, and this understanding of the structure of the poem is a significant accomplishment. But it tells us nothing about the meaning behind the poem or about the inspiration that the poem might give. And the universe, to me, is somewhat like that. Science enables us to understand the laws and principles by which the universe is constructed, its functions. That is no trivial accomplishment. One of the greatest intellectual achievements of the human mind is what modern science has been able to do. But there is always the question of meaning. And while it is possible to derive meaning without going beyond the physical world—and many people do it—it is no less inspiring and fulfilling to find meaning within a religious framework insofar as it is not irrational. There’s a difference between irrationality and transrationality. To me, many of the deeper messages of religions, such as caring and compassion and respect for others, helping others, love, reverence, these are not rational. They are not irrational. They are transnational and they have their sources in the many religious frameworks of humankind. They not only carry the weight of centuries, they also reflect something deep in the human cultural psyche.”


The wonder of it all, then, is that we are here wondering about the wonder of it all.

[Lee Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The battle between science and religion comes to a head in these interviews of cutting-edge scientists and researchers, and the winner is ... oh. The two sides are getting along a little better nowadays, it appears.

Words you'll read often in the book include "spirit" and "soul," as such concepts are explored by our deepest thinkers. Tippett interviews a theoretical physicist, a cosmologist, a clinical professor, an expert on the life of Darwin, a professor of astrophysics, and many more, as she poses the big questions about science and the human spirit. Most interesting of the interviews, in my opinion, was the first, with Freeman Dyson, where the conversation often turns to Einstein and his views about God. Hey, I'm an Einstein groupie.

Tippett packs her most interesting interviews at the front of the book; after a few dozen pages, I could hardly wait to finish the book so I could write a glowing review! But--and this may merely be personal preference--the interviews grow less interesting as the book goes on, and the topics turn from the merger of science and religion to revenge and forgiveness, stress, and depression. Yet, regardless of the slow denouement, this is a book worth reading.

[Michael Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept of the book - discussing the relationship between science and religion at the outer edges of scientific knowledge. The author has organized the book around the assumption that science and theology can effectively co-exist. That they are not concepts that inherantly conflict. When she sticks strictly to that thesis, in particular in her interviews with physicists, the book is wonderful. The world as defined by the elemental considerations of Quantum Mechanics is so different than that which we perceive with our senses that it is not hard to see the hand of God in action. Even when she drifts into to advanced medicine and issues of self identity and the soul, it remains interesting. However, when the book drifts into discussions of the role of stress on the human body and the impact if depression on the soul, the book goes off track. If you are specifically interested in the topic, I would recommend the book. If not, it's not worth the effort.

[Itasca Community Library]

Asra says:

In today’s times, science and religion are presumed to be mutually exclusive. Tippett offers a fresh alternative to the strict dichotomy. Through interviews, she presents respectful, nuanced conversation about the overlap and intertwining of science and religion. An atheist, holding firmly to her beliefs, offers that it is difficult to disprove the existence of God, while a devout Christian views evolution as having a part in the Creation Story. The culmination of interviews reveals mysteries inherent both in science and religion, providing common ground between the two. If nothing else, John Polkinghorne’s discourse on the nature of light and the role of quarks, as applied to religious paradigms, makes the book a worthy read.

[Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is essentially a collection of selected transcripts from her show "Speaking of Faith". For those not familiar, SOF is a radio show on public radio focused on civil and open discussions on faith, morality, and the fit between science and spirituality. It is quite refreshing, as is this book. Although the book is essentially based on transcribed interviews, the interviews are so conversational, that they flow easily and are quite interesting.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for stimulating conversations regarding religion and spirituality that go beyond, 'I'm right. Your wrong; therefore, you are going to hell.'

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book at a very deep level. The scientists and religious thinkers that Krista Tippett talks to are engaging, open minded and have the most amazingly deep instructive generative insights. I have read this book in parallel with the Terry Eagleton book I have just also reviewed. They are a great complement to each other: Eagleton fiery and combative, but also deeply caring about humanity and human suffering. And he has much in common with the people Tippett talkes to. Indeed in some ways, you want Eagleton to meet them and thereby feel less pessimistic about our chances.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Einstein's God is comprised of transcripts of conversations between Speaking of Faith host Krista Tippett and a variety of scientists and religious thinkers looking to find where science and the spirit meet and part and co-exist. We don't find easy answers, just free and respectful discussion on many topics that has caused me to further research some of the information presented.

This is an excellent companion to Speaking of Faith with its attempt to make sense of religion, spirituality, ethics, and meaning in every aspect of life.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful read. The pairing of science and religion, much like science and art, make up our humanity by how they work together, both share a sense of wonder. I enjoyed learning about history, physics, medicine, anatomy, especially paired with art, yoga, prayer, and mediation; all of the interviews were captivating. Overall, the book really emphasizes how we not only need integrated medicine today for our physical wellness but an integrated outlook on these varied global practices mentally and emotionally.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Krista Tippett asks good -- and hard -- questions of both the people she interviews and also her readers (or listeners as they usually are). I loved that this book began from the premise that there is room for both science and religion to coexist and even to thrive together. Tippett introduces "an interplay between scientific and religious questions--not as argued but as lived." I found the interview with Polkinghorne especially thoughtful and illuminating.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the individual experts quoted in the book have interesting and important things to say, the content is obscured by the poor quality format. The author copped about by writing in a question and answer format instead of taking the time and effort to compile and integrate the various inteviewees' perspectives into a thoughtful and cohesive literary work called a BOOK.

[Philip Gentile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of Ms. Tippett's interviews concerning the uneasy dance between science and spirituality. Very insightful discussions that causes one to rethink and reanalyze. Quite a delicious read. As usual Ms. Tippett and her guests provide the listener/reader with a wonderfully rich topic and lively discussion. I highly recommend it.