NOVA: Quantum Leap = It takes a leap to believe

[Maria]

Back in the late 1950s, my dad who was an agnostic studied Quantum Physics as part of his graduate studies at the University of Nevada where he earned his masters in mathematics. It was life-changing as his discoveries led him to rediscover Christianity much as C.S. Lewis did in his later life. Incidentally, my dad did enjoy reading C.S. Lewis. I think both C.S. Lewis and my dad would have become Orthodox Christians had they lived just a little bit longer. They were both on the same journey home.

Tonight, my husband and I watched Nova: The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap on PBS. It was so exciting and very well presented. As they were discussing the possibility of human teletransportation, we realized that, yes, this would make possible bilocation, seen in Orthodox Christian saints, where a hieromonk would be in his monastic cell in Russia praying but be simultaneously in Alaska preaching and preparing the Alaskan indigenous peoples for baptism. While we are not to try to explain Holy Mysteries, the study of Quantum Physics can change an agnostic into a Christian as the inexplicable suddenly becomes believable.

[Maria]

Has anyone here studied Quantum Physics or read papers in this area?

My dad, an astrophysicist, died in June 2004; I miss chatting with him in the area of astronomy and physics.
He would always bring God into these subjects. It was fascinating.

[searn77]

No I haven't read about the subject at all but I definitely will have to set my DVR to record the program next time it's on because it sounds interesting.

[jgress]

My impression is that physics is becoming more like biology in terms of being a stumbling-block to Christians, which wasn't the case till recently. Just a few decades ago, you could claim that many physicists remained believers in God, even while biology had become a mostly atheist discipline, because while biologists believed that biological diversity and complexity could be accounted for by undirected evolution, without a need for a Creator, physicists still recognized that the laws of the universe were based on arbitrary constants that could only have been instituted by a Mind that preceded the universe. Now, however, it seems many quantum physicists believe that there may be an infinite number of universes, each with a different set of constants, and therefore there's nothing special about the laws of our universe.

What do you think?

[Maria]

My impression is that physics is becoming more like biology in terms of being a stumbling-block to Christians, which wasn't the case till recently. Just a few decades ago, you could claim that many physicists remained believers in God, even while biology had become a mostly atheist discipline, because while biologists believed that biological diversity and complexity could be accounted for by undirected evolution, without a need for a Creator, physicists still recognized that the laws of the universe were based on arbitrary constants that could only have been instituted by a Mind that preceded the universe. Now, however, it seems many quantum physicists believe that there may be an infinite number of universes, each with a different set of constants, and therefore there's nothing special about the laws of our universe.

What do you think?

If there were parallel universes, as those who hold to quantum physics might believe, then one of those parallel universes could be heaven, and perhaps another parallel universe could be hell, could they not? If that were the case, then definitely there would be a tremendous gap between heaven and hell, and one could not cross from one to the other. Isn't it also said that there are seven mansions in heaven? It must be vast.

C. S. Lewis proposed parallel universes in his books The Chronicles of Narnia and in his Space Trilogy (see the last book of that trilogy: That Hideous Strength). No doubt, C. S. Lewis probably read about Quantum Physics and discussed it with his friends in the Inklings. I did research on him while taking Stylistics in my Masters program; he was well read. The pond seems to be the junction point between these different parallel universes in The Chronicles of Narnia. It is interesting that C. S. Lewis talks about magic rings that help to transport one to this pond. Yet his friend, Tolkien employed rings to create invisibility in his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Every time I read the Chronicles of Narnia or the Space Trilogy, I have learned some more gems about our faith. Things hidden become revealed. The priests whom I have been privileged to meet in our church, have also enjoyed reading and discussing C. S. Lewis.

[jgress]

My impression is that physics is becoming more like biology in terms of being a stumbling-block to Christians, which wasn't the case till recently. Just a few decades ago, you could claim that many physicists remained believers in God, even while biology had become a mostly atheist discipline, because while biologists believed that biological diversity and complexity could be accounted for by undirected evolution, without a need for a Creator, physicists still recognized that the laws of the universe were based on arbitrary constants that could only have been instituted by a Mind that preceded the universe. Now, however, it seems many quantum physicists believe that there may be an infinite number of universes, each with a different set of constants, and therefore there's nothing special about the laws of our universe.

What do you think?

If there were parallel universes, as those who hold to quantum physics might believe, then one of those parallel universes could be heaven, and perhaps another parallel universe could be hell, could they not? If that were the case, then definitely there would be a tremendous gap between heaven and hell, and one could not cross from one to the other. Isn't it also said that there are seven mansions in heaven? It must be vast.

C. S. Lewis proposed parallel universes in his books The Chronicles of Narnia and in his Space Trilogy (see the last book of that trilogy: That Hideous Strength). No doubt, C. S. Lewis probably read about Quantum Physics and discussed it with his friends in the Inklings. I did research on him while taking Stylistics in my Masters program; he was well read. The pond seems to be the junction point between these different parallel universes in The Chronicles of Narnia. It is interesting that C. S. Lewis talks about magic rings that help to transport one to this pond. Yet his friend, Tolkien employed rings to create invisibility in his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Every time I read the Chronicles of Narnia or the Space Trilogy, I have learned some more gems about our faith. Things hidden become revealed. The priests whom I have been privileged to meet in our church, have also enjoyed reading and discussing C. S. Lewis.

That's a very interesting way of looking at it. I think it goes to show that attempting to "disprove" faith through science is a vain endeavor.

[Maria]

My impression is that physics is becoming more like biology in terms of being a stumbling-block to Christians, which wasn't the case till recently. Just a few decades ago, you could claim that many physicists remained believers in God, even while biology had become a mostly atheist discipline, because while biologists believed that biological diversity and complexity could be accounted for by undirected evolution, without a need for a Creator, physicists still recognized that the laws of the universe were based on arbitrary constants that could only have been instituted by a Mind that preceded the universe. Now, however, it seems many quantum physicists believe that there may be an infinite number of universes, each with a different set of constants, and therefore there's nothing special about the laws of our universe.

What do you think?

If there were parallel universes, as those who hold to quantum physics might believe, then one of those parallel universes could be heaven, and perhaps another parallel universe could be hell, could they not? If that were the case, then definitely there would be a tremendous gap between heaven and hell, and one could not cross from one to the other. Isn't it also said that there are seven mansions in heaven? It must be vast.

C. S. Lewis proposed parallel universes in his books The Chronicles of Narnia and in his Space Trilogy (see the last book of that trilogy: That Hideous Strength). No doubt, C. S. Lewis probably read about Quantum Physics and discussed it with his friends in the Inklings. I did research on him while taking Stylistics in my Masters program; he was well read. The pond seems to be the junction point between these different parallel universes in The Chronicles of Narnia. It is interesting that C. S. Lewis talks about magic rings that help to transport one to this pond. Yet his friend, Tolkien employed rings to create invisibility in his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Every time I read the Chronicles of Narnia or the Space Trilogy, I have learned some more gems about our faith. Things hidden become revealed. The priests whom I have been privileged to meet in our church, have also enjoyed reading and discussing C. S. Lewis.

That's a very interesting way of looking at it. I think it goes to show that attempting to "disprove" faith through science is a vain endeavor.

I wonder how many universities have an interdisciplinary graduate course or series of courses for aspiring writers that combines the disciplines of Stylistics (graduate studies in English), Linguistics, Quantum Physics, Biology, Ecology, Philosophy, and Theology? C.S. Lewis (a revert to Christianity) and James Blish (an agnostic) produced works that were more than just science fiction as they included discourses from philosophy, theology, linguistics, and the sciences. Both men were fascinating writers.