A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature
"Wiker and Witt submit: 'A poison has entered human culture. It's the assumption that science has proven that the universe is without purpose, without meaning.' This is the primary popular assumption the authors tackle inA Meaningful World." (Terry Scambray)"A Meaningful Worldis astounding, breathtaking! This is a book about both the beauty of science and the beauty of creation, a book I wish I had as an undergraduate taking science courses. Wiker and Witt draw us beyond design to the sheer grandeur, elegance and deep intelligibility of nature, all of which bespeak a creative Genius. It will help overcome the residual fear of science that plagues all too many devout believers, and instill a sense of childlike wonder at the splendor of our world.A Meaningful Worldadmirably answers the call of Pope Benedict XVI to see the glory of God's wisdom, the Divine Logos, permeating creation. I can't wait to get this into the hands of my own teenagers, and even my college grads." (Scott Hahn, Ph.D., professor of theology and Scripture, Franciscan University, and president, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology)"Drawing on the works of Shakespeare, Euclid, Lavoisier and others,A Meaningful Worlddraws parallels between the genius of these men and the genius evident in nature. I am not exaggerating much to say thatA Meaningful Worldis in the same class as the works of human genius its authors describe. It displays rare depth and breadth. Scientists should read this book to regain their justification for doing science, and poets should read it to regain a ground for the meaning of their texts." (Guillermo Gonzalez, assistant professor of astronomy, Iowa State University, and coauthor of The Privileged Planet)"In a world where materialism fails and where intelligent design is evident, how should we think about ourselves in the grand scheme of things?A Meaningful Worldmasterfully answers this question, ramping up the cultural revolution begun by Phillip Johnson in the 1990s." (William A. Dembski, author of The Design Revolution)"A Meaningful Worldis a wise and witty romp through the fallacies of reductionism. It is illustrated by charming examples that show how literature and science both teach us that we live in a world full of meaning, not the spiritually dead world in which the materialists would confine us." (Phillip Johnson, author of Reason in the Balance)"A Meaningful Worldis simply the best book I've seen on the purposeful design of nature. In sparkling prose Benjamin Wiker and Jonathan Witt teach us how to recognize genius, first in Shakespeare's plays and then in nature. From principles of geometry to details of the periodic table, the authors portray the depth, elegance, clarity and pure cleverness of a universe designed to nurture the intelligent life that one day would discover that design.A Meaningful Worldrecovers lost purpose not only for science, but for all scholarly disciplines." (Michael J. Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box)"I have been reticent to affirm the value of the cosmological argument from design, but no longer. Benjamin Wiker and Jonathan Witt have convinced me that from literature to mathematics, physics to biology, the very phenomena of the world breathe intelligence.A Meaningful Worldis a masterful argument, a tour de force, framed with brilliance and wit. Here is a convincing case for a universe charged not only with meaning, but with the glory of God." (James W. Sire, author of The Universe Next Door and Why Good Arguments Often Fail)"A Meaningful Worldcleverly integrates the intricacy found in literary classics with the aesthetic beauty of scientific discovery and the unreasonable ability of the human mind to comprehend meaning in both. In this interesting book, we discover that meaning is inherent in nature at every level." (Gerald Schroeder, author of Genesis and the Big Bang, The Science of God and The Hidden Face of God)