Proving God: Swedenborg's Remarkable Quest for the Quantum Fingerprints of Love
Proving Godis an ambitious project that aims to bring the theistic science and mystical theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) into the 21st Century where it belongs.Edward Sylvia achieves this goal from necessity: In order to make sense of the astonishing implications of contemporary quantum physics, an intellectually defensible model for spiritual-natural causality is an essential next step. In Sylvia's judgment, this model has been waiting in the wings of science and religion for 250 years, for the science of ultimates to ask the proper questions. That time is now, andProving God matches seminal problems of matter and energy with Swedenborg's powerful ideas on being and becoming, with astonishing results. What emerges from this scientific treatment of divine metaphysics is a comprehensible world view in which spirit and matter are now finally and undeniably one. This is an important book. --Rev. Dr. Reuben P. Bell, Saco, Maine, USAPresident, Swedenborg Scientific AssociationDirector, Samara Center for Practical SpiritualityEdward Sylvia follows the original route into metaphysics -- straight through the heart of physics -- and directly engages "the elephant in the room": the utterly improbable symbiosis of complexity and coherence that is characteristic of both our universe and our minds.His argument that the universe and our minds are profoundly akin is carefully framed, and his conclusion that the coherence is an effect of love and the complexity an effect of wisdom is far removed from simplistic romanticism. In his able overview of Swedenborgian theology, he presents a complex and coherent view of spiritual reality that not only welcomes partnership with present-day physics but urges it to continue its pursuit of deeper understanding. --Rev. George F. Dole, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Swedenborg School of ReligionAuthor ofA Book about Us: The Bible and Stages of our Lives, andFreedom and Evil: A Pilgrim's Guide to HellThis book presents a fresh new integration between the physics of the natural and the psychology of the spiritual.People interested in the rational resolution between science and religion will appreciate this lucid new account. Once you begin reading this fascinating book you'll want to come back to it again and again. It has a smooth, topical flow that lifts the veil of ignorance concerning the most basic issues in life that people want to know. It is profound, with surprising and delightful insights on every page. This is a completely honest book. The content hangs together as a coherent and consistent whole. It succeeds in its claim to deliver a "grand unified theory of everything" that "can come only from revelation." It presents in modern terms the unique revelation in Swedenborg's Writings. --Dr. Leon James, Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaiiauthor of the Web-publishedTheistic Psychology Series(2001) andA Man of the Field(2010)