Overview
An extraordinary 'prayer experiment' is under way in the United States. The participants are 1200 heart surgery patients, who know that they may, or may not, be prayed for by volunteers. In fact exactly half of them will be prayed for. Will there be any difference in progress between the two groups? And what will the result of this experiment tell us?Down the centuries there have been various attempts to prove the existence of God, and to demonstrate God's action in the world. Russell Stannard, the distinguished physicist and author, looks at what modern science can bring to the discussion.Comparing the latest scientific theories and age-old religious thinking, Stannard produces some startling parallels. Taking the prayer experiment as his starting point, he goes on to examine Creationism and the Big Bang, Biblical miracles and Quantum physics, and the idea of an omniscient God in the context of 4D spacetime. The God Experiment is a fascinating challenge to our assumptions about God, science and our place in the Universe.
Full Product Details
Author: Prof Exors of Russell Stannard
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Edition: Main
Dimensions:
Width: 13.50cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 21.50cm
Weight: 0.280kg
ISBN: 9780571196234
ISBN 10: 0571196233
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 18 October 1999
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
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Reviews
Based on two series of Gifford Lectures which Stannard gave at Aberdeen University last year this book takes as its starting point an intriguing experiment currently underway in the USA: 600 out of 1200 heart-surgery patients are to be prayed for by small groups of 'intercessors', in an attempt to scientifically measure whether God answers prayers for healing. For anyone with a living faith in God, the methodology appears a dubious yardstick; Stannard seems to agree, having first played devil's advocate. But he goes on to unravel just what our conceptions of God are at the end of the 20th century: whether we are right to believe in the Bible, whether prayer is a waste of time, whether there is a point to suffering and - the big question - just where we came from, and why. An elegantly argued, often surprising and consistently authoritative book, which will give even seasoned cynics pause for thought. (Kirkus UK)
Author Information
Russell Stannard was formerly Professor of Physics at the Open University at Milton Keynes. He has travelled widely in Europe and the USA, researching high energy nuclear physics. He has received the Templeton UK project award and has spent a year in America as a Visiting Fellow at the Center of Theological Theory, Princeton. He was recently awarded an OBE for services to physics and the popularisation of science.Married with four children of his own and three stepchildren, he vividly remembers the excitement of discovering Einstein's theories for the first time and he is dedicated to passing this inspiration on the new generations. The Time and Space of Uncle Albert was shortlisted for both the Science Award and the Whitbread Award, and his books have been translated into seventeen different languages.Faber publishes his new novel, Virtutopia, in May 2003.
