Encountering the Dharma

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Frank J. Tipler

Frank J. Tipler is a major theoretician in the field of global general relativity, the rarefied branch of physics created by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. Like most modern scientists, Tipler was an atheist who gave little thought to questions of theology. Yet, in devising a mathematical model of the end of the universe, Tipler came to a stunning conclusion: Using the most advanced and sophisticated methods of modern physics, relying solely on the rigorous procedures of logic that science demands, he had created a proof of the existence of God. Tipler's model of the universal end-time is called the Omega Point Theory. For the last seventeen years, Tipler has explored the implications of the Omega Point Theory, one of which is even more astonishing than the evidence of God's existence: It is not only possible, but likely, that every human being who ever lived will be resurrected from the dead. As Tipler writes in his preface, he arrived at his proofs of God and immortality "in exactly the same way physicists calculate the properties of the electron.". In The Physics of Immortality Tipler guides the general reader through the details of his exhilarating discoveries. Displaying an awesome command of disciplines as diverse as computer science, economics, particle physics, cosmology, and evolutionary biology, Tipler constructs a stunningly plausible argument for God and the universal resurrection. Lucid in style, audacious in aim, breathtaking in scope, powerfully argued, and, finally, deeply moving, this is a book that will change the way you think. No reader, whether skeptic or believer, will look at the universe in the same way after encountering this remarkable work.

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Marc H. Ellis

In this searing work Marc Ellis asks whether Christianity and Judaism are irredeemably scarred by tragic violence, vengeance, repression, and war. Or can genuine, life-giving elements in these traditions renew them and halt the cycle of violence? Is there God beyond violence? Ellis's personal quest for religious integrity in face of evil leads him to probe religious dimensions of both historical and contemporary eruptions of barbarism, to assess the work of prominent reformist theologians, and finally to examine what, in all honesty, we can still affirm about God.

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Julia Ching

"In this book, Julia Ching offers a magisterial survey of over four thousand years of Chinese civilisation through an examination of the relationship between kingship and mysticism. She investigates the sage-king myth and ideal, and analyses the various skills that have been required as qualifications of leadership. She argues that institutions of kingship were bound up with cultivation of trance states and communication with spirits. Over time, these associations were retained, though sidelined, as the sage-king myth became a model for the actual ruler, with a messianic appeal for the ruled. As a paradigm, it also became appropriated by private individuals who strove for wisdom without becoming kings. As the Confucian tradition interacted with the Taoist and the Buddhist, the religious character of spiritual and mystical cultivation became more pronounced. But the sage-king idea continued, promoting expectation of benevolent despotism rather than democratisation in Chinese civilisation."--Jacket.

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Carl Amery

Carl Amery, der jahrzehntelang die politische Diskussion in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland entscheidend mitgeprägt hat, quält sich seit Jahren mit der Frage, wie die Erde als von Menschen bewohnbare Biosphäre überleben kann, wie wir für unsere Nachkommen wieder eine Lebensperspektive zurückgewinnen können. Es ist vorauszusehen, sagt er in seiner brisanten neuen Streitschrift, daß unsere Lebenswelt im Lauf des anhebenden Jahrtausends zusammenbrechen und unbewohnbar werden wird. Dieser Prozeß wird beschleunigt und unumkehrbar gemacht durch den Sieg des totalen Marktes, der auf dem Zenit seiner Macht und Wirksamkeit alle natürlichen Ressourcen verzehrt und sich wie eine allmächtige Religion als alternativlos darstellt. Im zweiten Teil seiner schonungslosen Analyse sagt Carl Amery, daß die Kirchen der Christenheit sehr bald in völlige Bedeutungslosigkeit absinken werden und daß sie nur durch die Übernahme des zivilisatorischen Auftrags, an nachhaltigen, biosphärisch verantworteten Kulturen zu arbeiten, ihre Vitalität und ihre heilsgeschichtliche Bedeutung zurückgewinnen können. Folglich sieht er für die historischen Kirchen der Christenheit im 21. Jahrhundert einen einzigen zentralen zivilisatorischen Auftrag, nämlich den Kampf gegen die Religion des totalen Marktes aufzunehmen und für eine bewohnbare Zukunftsgesellschaft zu wirken. Die lateinamerikanische Befreiungskirche könnte ein Beispiel sein für den Exodus aus dem »Sklavenhaus des globalen Kapitalismus«.