One of the most fundamental questions asked throughout human history is, “How did the universe come into existence?” Throughout the ages spirituality has provided answers to that question through various mystical cosmologies. Today, science has an answer—the Big Bang theory. But can scientific and spiritual explanations, which are normally considered to be incompatible, co-exist? Is it possible to construct a single comprehensive vision that unites these seemingly divergent approaches to knowledge?The Architecture of the Universe attempts to do just that by extending a contemporary mystical cosmology and merging it with modern-day physics. The result is a new theory of physics, which proposes something more fundamental to the universe than time and space: existence. Emerging out of nothingness, existence serves as the basic component of time and space. Time and space are viewed not just as containers for everything in the universe, but rather as the substance out of which energy and mass arise. This radical viewpoint opens new realms of understanding, shedding light on mysterious aspects of quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of relativity. At the same time the theory creates a vision unifying science and spirituality by linking the infinite transcendent reality with the finite physical universe.Simple explanations along with illustrations make this book easily accessible and an interesting and inspiring read for a wide audience.

Miscellany of paranormal subjects: evolution of consciousness, pre-birth choices, the art of living effectively, after-death communication, reality creation, and dealing with grief.

The dynamic relationship between art and theology continues to fascinate and to challenge, especially when theology addresses art in all of its variety. In Architecture and Theology: The Art of Place, author Murray Rae turns to the spatial arts, especially architecture, to investigate how the art forms engaged in the construction of our built environment relate to Christian faith. Rae does not offer a theology of the spatial arts, but instead engages in a sustained theological conversation with the spatial arts. Because the spatial arts are public, visual, and communal, they wield an immense but easily overlooked influence. Architecture and Theology overcomes this inattention by offering new ways of thinking about the theological importance of space and place in our experience of God, the relation between freedom and law in Christian life, the transformation involved in God's promised new creation, biblical anticipation of the heavenly city, divine presence and absence, the architecture of repentance and remorse, and the relation between space and time. In doing so, Rae finds an ample place for theology amidst the architectural arts.

Booklist Starred Review Named to the 2022 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List The Spanish architects Rafael Guastavino Sr. and hisson, Rafael Guastavino Jr., designed more than one thousand iconic spaces across New York City and the United States, such as the New York City Hall Subway Station (still a tourist destination though no longer active), the Manhattan Federal Reserve Bank, the Nebraska State Capitol, the Great Hall of Ellis Island, the Oyster bar at Grand Central Terminal in New York, the Elephant House at the Bronx Zoo, the soaring tiled vaults under the Queensboro Bridge, the central dome of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, and the Boston Public Library. Written in the voice of the son, who was eight years old in 1881 when he immigrated to America with his father, this is their story. Rafael Guastavino Sr. was 39 when he left a successful career as an architect in Barcelona. American cities—densely packed and built largely of wood—were experiencing horrific fires, and Guastavino had the solution: The soaring interior spaces created by his tiled vaults and domes made buildings sturdier, fireproof, and beautiful. What he didn’t have was fluent English. Unable to win design commissions, he transferred control of the company to his American-educated son, whose subsequent half-century of inspired design work resulted in major contributions to the built environment of America. Immigrant Architect is an introduction to architectural concepts and a timely reminder of immigrant contributions to America. The book includes four route maps for visiting Guastavino-designed spaces in New York City: uptown, midtown, downtown, and Prospect Park.

This book argues that classical natural law jurisprudence provides a superior answer to the questions “What is law?” and “How should law be made?” rather than those provided by legal positivism and “new” natural law theories. What is law? How should law be made? Using St. Thomas Aquinas’s analogy of God as an architect, Brian McCall argues that classical natural law jurisprudence provides an answer to these questions far superior to those provided by legal positivism or the “new” natural law theories. The Architecture of Law explores the metaphor of law as an architectural building project, with eternal law as the foundation, natural law as the frame, divine law as the guidance provided by the architect, and human law as the provider of the defining details and ornamentation. Classical jurisprudence is presented as a synthesis of the work of the greatest minds of antiquity and the medieval period, including Cicero, Aristotle, Gratian, Augustine, and Aquinas; the significant texts of each receive detailed exposition in these pages. Along with McCall’s development of the architectural image, he raises a question that becomes a running theme throughout the book: To what extent does one need to know God to accept and understand natural law jurisprudence, given its foundational premise that all authority comes from God? The separation of the study of law from knowledge of theology and morality, McCall argues, only results in the impoverishment of our understanding of law. He concludes that they must be reunited in order for jurisprudence to flourish. This book will appeal to academics, students in law, philosophy, and theology, and to all those interested in legal or political philosophy.