New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy
Overview
Responding to contemporary popular atheism, Robert J. Spitzer’s New Proofs for the Existence of God examines the considerable evidence for God and creation that has come to light from physics and philosophy during the last 40 years. An expert in diverse areas, including theology, physics, metaphysics, and ethics, Spitzer offers in this text the most contemporary, complete, and integrated approach to rational theism currently available.
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Interested in similar titles? Be sure to check out the Eerdmans Catholic Studies Collection (6 vols.).
- Provides a response to contemporary popular atheism
- Examines considerable evidence for God and creation
- Offers a contemporary, complete, and integrated approach to rational theism
- Indications of Creation in Big Bang Cosmology
- Indications of Supernatural Design in Contemporary Big Bang Cosmology
- A Metaphysical Argument for God’s Existence
- A Lonerganian Proof for God’s Existence
- Proof of a Creator of Past Time
- Methodological Considerations and the Impossibility of Disproving God
- The Divine Mystery: Five Transcendentals
- The Human Mystery: Five Yearnings for the Ultimate
Top Highlights
“hyper-accelerating phase of expansion in the early universe, seemingly caused by ‘vacuum energy’ or ‘dark energy” (Page 5)
“But the standard Big Bang model allows for both the possibility that the universe is finite in size (the so-called ‘closed universe’ case) and the possibility that it is infinite in size (the so-called ‘open universe’ case). In the closed universe case, space-time curves around on itself, analogous to the way the surface of a balloon curves around on itself, and just as the balloon’s surface is finite in area but has no edges, the closed universe has a finite volume but no edges. In the open universe, space curves but goes on forever in every direction. How then can an infinite ‘open’ universe be said to expand?” (Page 18)
“The early twentieth century completely transformed the view of the physical universe from Newton’s ‘mechanics of bodies’ to the ‘activity of fields’ (quantum fields, electromagnetic fields, space-time fields, plasma fields, etc.), which changed the view of both physical reality and causation.” (Page 7)
“Fr. Georges Lemaitre, the Belgian physicist (and priest) who proposed the Big Bang theory, called this dense hot mass the ‘primeval atom.’” (Page 16)
“The Second Law of Thermodynamics says, basically, that certain kinds of processes happen only in one direction” (Page 24)
Skepticism about the possibility of proving the existence of God often relies on data from modern science. In this splendid new book Father Robert Spitzer explores the implications of the latest discoveries in big bang cosmology, string theory, quantum physics, and the ontology of time to craft a series of convincing philosophical arguments. To paraphrase a popular commercial, this is not your father’s old ‘natural theology’ textbook—this is a gripping and compelling account of the best current arguments for theism.
—Joseph W. Koterski, associate professor of philosophy, Fordham University
A most original and insightful case for the existence of God . . . Fr. Spitzer’s new proofs pose a serious and compelling challenge to the unconscious hegemony of naturalism in the worlds of both philosophy and the sciences.
—Francis J. Beckwith, associate professor of Church-State studies, Baylor University
Rare is the theologian who keeps abreast of the latest developments in fundamental physics, and even rarer the one who can discuss them with the theological and philosophical sophistication that Fr. Spitzer displays in this book. A challenging and original work.
—Stephen M. Barr, professor, University of Delaware
- Title: New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy
- Author: Robert J. Spitzer
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 2010
- Pages: 333
- Christian Group: Catholic
- Resource Type: Topical
- Topic: Existence of God
Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, former president of Gonzaga University, is founder and president of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith, Irvine, California. His books include Healing the Culture, The Spirit of Leadership, and Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life.