The Prophet and the Astronomer
Title | The Prophet and the Astronomer PDF eBook |
Author | Marcelo Gleiser |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Pages | 372 |
Release | 2003 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 9780393324310 |
Explores the shared quest of ancient prophets and today's astronomers to explain the strange phenomena of our skies-from the apocalypse foretold in Revelations to modern science's ongoing identification of multiple cataclysmic threats, including the impact of comets and asteroids on earthly life, the likelihood of future collisions, the meaning of solar eclipses and the death of stars, the implications of black holes for time travel, and the ultimate fate of the universe and time.
The Prophet and the Astronomer: Apocalyptic Science and the End of the World
Title | The Prophet and the Astronomer: Apocalyptic Science and the End of the World PDF eBook |
Author | Marcelo Gleiser |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Pages | 372 |
Release | 2003-07-17 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0393352064 |
"An intellectual accomplishment that illuminates the magic and the wisdom of the heavens above."—Kirkus Reviews "Tracing our contemplation of the cosmos from the big bang to the big crunch" (The New Yorker), Marcelo Gleiser explores the shared quest of ancient prophets and today's astronomers to explain the strange phenomena of our skies—from the apocalypse foretold in Revelations to modern science's ongoing identification of multiple cataclysmic threats, including the impact of comets and asteroids on earthly life, the likelihood of future collisions, the meaning of solar eclipses and the death of stars, the implications of black holes for time travel, and the ultimate fate of the universe and time. Presenting insights to cosmological science and apocalyptic philosophy in an "easily accessible" (Library Journal) style, Gleiser is "a rare astrophysicist as comfortable quoting Scripture as explaining formulas" (Booklist). K. C. Cole praises his ability to "[work] the entwined threads of science and religion into a vision of 'the end' that is strangely comforting and inspiring."
The Dancing Universe
Title | The Dancing Universe PDF eBook |
Author | Marcelo Gleiser |
Publisher | UPNE |
Pages | 354 |
Release | 2012-09-04 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 1611683955 |
Available again, with a new preface, a physicist's "exceptionally clear summary of 2,500 years of science and a fascinating account of the ways in which it often does intersect with spiritual beliefs" --Kirkus Reviews
Signs in the Heavens
Title | Signs in the Heavens PDF eBook |
Author | Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad |
Publisher | Writers Inc. International |
Pages | 196 |
Release | 1992 |
Genre | Body, Mind & Spirit |
ISBN | 9780962785429 |
Many scientists have come to realize that science and religion can nurture each other. One example was the flowering of science in the first centuries of Islam. For Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, a Muslim and an astronomer, studying the universe is an expression of faith. Scientists and non-scientists should appreciate the insights in this passionate and lucid book. Dr. Ahmad's book has been widely acclaimed for its insights into the Islamic approach to science and the spiritual foundations of Western scientists such as Galileo, Newton and Einstein. A Palestinian trained at Harvard, he offers a unique perspective of the role of religion in science.
Astronomy in the Old Testament
Title | Astronomy in the Old Testament PDF eBook |
Author | Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli |
Publisher | |
Pages | 208 |
Release | 1905 |
Genre | Astronomy in the Bible |
ISBN |
A Tear at the Edge of Creation
Title | A Tear at the Edge of Creation PDF eBook |
Author | Marcelo Gleiser |
Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Pages | 306 |
Release | 2010-04-06 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 1439127867 |
For millennia, shamans and philosophers, believers and nonbelievers, artists and scientists have tried to make sense of our existence by suggesting that everything is connected, that a mysterious Oneness binds us to everything else. People go to temples, churches, mosques, and synagogues to pray to their divine incarnation of Oneness. Following a surprisingly similar notion, scientists have long asserted that under Nature’s apparent complexity there is a simpler underlying reality. In its modern incarnation, this Theory of Everything would unite the physical laws governing very large bodies (Einstein’s theory of relativity) and those governing tiny ones (quantum mechanics) into a single framework. But despite the brave efforts of many powerful minds, the Theory of Everything remains elusive. It turns out that the universe is not elegant. It is gloriously messy. Overturning more than twenty-five centuries of scientific thought, award-winning physicist Marcelo Gleiser argues that this quest for a Theory of Everything is fundamentally misguided, and he explains the volcanic implications this ideological shift has for humankind. All the evidence points to a scenario in which everything emerges from fundamental imperfections, primordial asymmetries in matter and time, cataclysmic accidents in Earth’s early life, and duplication errors in the genetic code. Imbalance spurs creation. Without asymmetries and imperfections, the universe would be filled with nothing but smooth radiation. A Tear at the Edge of Creation calls for nothing less than a new "humancentrism" to reflect our position in the universal order. All life, but intelligent life in particular, is a rare and precious accident. Our presence here has no meaning outside of itself, but it does have meaning. The unplanned complexity of humankind is all the more beautiful for its improbability. It’s time for science to let go of the old aesthetic that labels perfection beautiful and holds that "beauty is truth." It’s time to look at the evidence without centuries of monotheistic baggage. In this lucid, down-to-earth narrative, Gleiser walks us through the basic and cutting-edge science that fueled his own transformation from unifier to doubter—a fascinating scientific quest that led him to a new understanding of what it is to be human.
The Astronomy of the Bible
Title | The Astronomy of the Bible PDF eBook |
Author | E. Walter Maunder |
Publisher | Blurb |
Pages | 324 |
Release | 2019-04-09 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 9780368568459 |
Why should an astronomer write a commentary on the Bible? Because commentators as a rule are not astronomers, and therefore either pass over the astronomical allusions of Scripture in silence, or else annotate them in a way which, from a scientific point of view, leaves much to be desired. Astronomical allusions in the Bible, direct and indirect, are not few in number, and, in order to bring out their full significance, need to be treated astronomically. Astronomy further gives us the power of placing ourselves to some degree in the position of the patriarchs and prophets of old. We know that the same sun and moon, stars and planets, shine upon us as shone upon Abraham and Moses, David and Isaiah. We can, if we will, see the unchanging heavens with their eyes, and understand their attitude towards them.