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Title: Beyond the Cosmos: The Extra-Dimensionality of God: What Recent Discoveries in Astrophysics Reveal About the Glory and Love of God by Hugh Ross ISBN: 1-57683-112-4 Publisher: Navpress Pub. Date: February, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.58 (36 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: you PhDs, please, let the layperson contemplate God
Comment: For all of those who feel that Ross didn't do a very good job in relating the concepts of higher physics and theology, it would help to remind yourselves that this book wasn't written for scientists with a PhD, it was written for the layperson. If it had been written for you high-brow types, in a manner to suit you, it would no longer be a book that the average person could enjoy. I just want you to know that I am not uneducated, I have a degree in the mathematical sciences.
Sure, sometimes the thread between the cosmos and some of the paradoxes of theology aren't completely answered by this book, but then theologians have been arguing these points for centuries. At least, Ross is attempting to pursue these questions in an original manner, from a cosmological and physics perspective. This is highly unusual, compared to the regular reading fare on this subject.
It isn't that I necessarily agree with everything in this book, Ross writes as a Calvinist and I'm of the Arminian persuasion (for you science types, this is Protestant history and theology that I'm talking here), but he did give me provocative things to consider. For instance, how could the death of one be an atonement for so many people? How many dimensions does God have? Is God really in an infinite dimension? Why are we "stuck" in a space-time dimension which is extremely limited and where we die?
Another book that helped to round out some of this was a book "Hyperspace" by Kaku. This is written for the layperson, but is written from a secular perspective (so some of its conclusions I didn't agree with, although it occupied only a small part of the book). However, it helped to fill in some of the "holes" to round out my reading for fun on this subject.
Rating: 5
Summary: An interesting application of math to Pauline Christianity.
Comment: Beyond the Cosmos
Hugh Ross' book "Beyond the Cosmos" pulls science together with Pauline Christianity to show how many classical religious stories make sense when explained using the fourth and higher dimensions. Mathematicians and scientists have actively used higher dimensions and fractional dimensions (fractals) since the 19th century. In the 20th century, relativity, superstrings, black holes, quantum dynamics, and gravity seem difficult to explain without assuming that the universe has more than four dimensions.
I found many parts of the book interesting, for example, the blurring of the infinite and the finite in Chapter 3, multiple time dimensions ("the Creator's capacities include at least two, perhaps more, time dimensions" and "... our time dimension had a beginning..."), and multiple space dimensions ("... God must be operating in a minimum of eleven dimensions...or the equivalent"). There may be a way to turn into higher dimensions (Figure 5.2). And the fires of hell may be a place where people "get what they want more than anything else: freedom from the will and rule of God." There is even an explanation of why the people in hell have to be tormented while they exercise that freedom.
The book fulfills its stated purpose and the flaws are only minor. It could be improved by discussing the effect of fractional dimensions, entropy, and dark matter in the universe. The book portrays the curious idea that there can be any freedom of will if a higher power (God, in this case) knows what we do. The book uses a particular vocabulary, referring to God as a personal being of masculine gender and employing translations of those verses of Scripture and of the Pauline writers that are accepted by its author. Nevertheless, mature non-Pauline Christians and non-Christians can simply accept this style of writing and enjoy this book thoroughly. For non-Christians, this book provides a fun introduction to what Christians believe.
Rating: 1
Summary: Just plain bad
Comment: If I were to say that I have discovered the true interpretation of some biblical scripture that has eluded translators for thousands of years, such a claim would probably be considered rather arrogant. And yet that is what Dr. Ross seems to say - he has discovered the true interpretation of Genesis while the translators who did KJV, NIV, etc. have failed.
He says that when Genesis says that God created the sun, stars and moon on the forth day, a "proper" reading shows that the perspective is from the earth. The stars, sun and moon were created on the first day, but not until the forth day did God clear the air on Earth enough for them to be visible from Earth!
So low and behold, the great Dr. Ross has found the "true" meaning of Genesis which has eluded translators for thousands of years. Yeah, right...
I read the review by the reader from "God's Green Earth" who says that Ross' theology violates some significant theological concepts. Read that review for more details, but here are a few of the concepts that reviewer feels Dr. Ross violates:
Concept violated: Adam's sin brought death and decay, the basis of the Gospel.
Concept violated: the straightforward understanding of the Word of God.
Concept violated: the need of restoration for the creation.
The reason I quote these concepts from the other reviewer is, he's right. Dr. Ross' theology does violate these concepts. On the other hand, Dr. Ross does plainly show that a young-earth is untenable. So, Dr. Ross is right, the Earth is old. And the reviewer from "God's Green Earth" is right, Dr. Ross's theology isn't reconciliable with the Bible. The fact that every possible interpretation of the Bible (Ross' included) has serious problems (as I've just shown) seems to me to be pretty conclusive evidence that the Bible is in fact not the word of God. In fact, I'd say it is pretty good evidence that there is no God at all.
Also, while some of Dr. Ross' other books have some reasonably good science burried within his theology, this one doesn't even have that going for it. In this book, he throws out lots of high-falootin' technical terms with no explanation as to what they mean. He seems to just want his audience to go, "gee, Dr. Ross sure is smart! He must know what he's talking about!" His twisting of string theory to "prove" how God uses extra dimensions to operate is just baloney.
I'm sorry theists, but us atheists don't need to do anything to disprove God, you guys do a fine job of it for us!
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Title: The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Latest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God by Hugh Ross ISBN: 1576832880 Publisher: Navpress Pub. Date: June, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Fingerprint of God by Hugh Ross ISBN: 0883686279 Publisher: Whitaker House Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: The Genesis Question: Scientific Advances and the Accuracy of Genesis by Hugh Ross ISBN: 1576832309 Publisher: Navpress Pub. Date: August, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Creation and Time: A Biblical and Scientific Perspective on the Creation-Date Controversy by Hugh, Dr. Ross ISBN: 0891097767 Publisher: Navpress Pub. Date: March, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at Ufos and Extraterrestrials by Hugh Ross, Kenneth R. Samples, Mark Clark ISBN: 1576832082 Publisher: Navpress Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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