Templeton Press, 2002 eISBN: 978-1-932031-37-9 | Cloth: 978-1-890151-93-5 Library of Congress Classification BL200.E3713 2002 Dewey Decimal Classification 291.211
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Highly acclaimed in Sweden where it was first published in both hardcover and paperback editions, A Concealed God poses two intriguing questions:
•Does God truly exist?
•If so, is the concept of God logical and in agreement with the knowledge of the world that science has provided to date?
The God presented by most religions doesn't make sense in today's world; we have little room for miracles. Furthermore, there are irreconcilable aspects in the world's religions. Must we abandon our faith or belief in God? Perhaps not, says popular Swedish thinker Stefan Einhorn. We can behave as scientists do when they run experiments only to obtain contradictory results. They ask themselves whether there might not be a logical conclusion that binds all the results together and leads to the most probable explanation.
Einhorn hypothesizes that if God truly exists, then many different religions would have discovered this. He finds a common denominator in the concept of a hidden God in seven major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. But even with this shared belief, can we know if God exists? Did humankind create the idea of God to answer the unexplainable? What about evil and suffering, the absence of meaning in life, loneliness and insecurity? And most importantly, how do we search for a concealed God?
Most religions share common principles for the search for "that which is concealed," including meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Whatever route is chosen, the search for God may bring us some answers. Einhorn concludes that two themes are central to the search: one is that God is both concealed and simultaneously omnipresent; the other is that only with utter humility and an awareness of our inability to fully understand may we approach the divine.
In the end, there are no definite answers. But the search sheds light on the many paths to enlightenment offered by the world's religions.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Stefan Einhorn, MD, PhD, is a professor of molecular oncology and chairman of the Department of Oncology-Pathology at the Karolinska Institute. The author of several popular science books in the field of medicine, he is also a prominent lecturer in both Sweden and the United States.
REVIEWS Pioneer Press December 7, 2002
A Swedish professor of molecular oncology uses Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism as a road map toward an "indescribable force" that is the basis of existence, what he calls "The Concealed God."
Theology Digest Spring 2003
Stefan Einhorn, a prominent lecturer in Sweden and the United States, is a professor of molecular oncology and is chairman of the department of oncology-pathology at the Karolinska Institutet. He makes preliminary remarks on God and religions; examines "the concealed God" in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mysticism and in the Eastern religions; turns to science and explains the marvels of physics, biology and psychology; and analyzes the arguments and counter-arguments for God's existence, the nature of God, and the importance of seeking God.
Religious Studies Review July 1, 2004
The first three parts of this book present summaries of the major tenets of the world religions. Einhorn includes as a major component of each chapter each religion's "mystical" tradition of approaching the divine, emphasizing humanity's experience of God. Part four explores hypotheses about God utilizing the logic of philosophical and current research-based scientific thinking from the fields of physics, biology and psychology. This text could be used for a popular reading audience, an introductory comparative religions course or as a supplement to a basic theology course that explores the concept of God, especially multi-cultural approaches to God. An example of Einhorn's approach is his writing, "Either God is a biochemical process in the human brain, the function of which is to protect the intellect from experiencing the world as insecure and meaningless--feelings that could have resulted in the downfall of the human race in an evolutionary perspective--or else there is a God…"
Einhorn asks pointed ethical questions in the concluding chapter about our search for knowledge and meaning in our beliefs about God, or "highest reality." He states that our beliefs about God have directed us in the past, and hopefully will continue to point us to ways of living in the world that are not destructive, but "compassionate, with love and inner wisdom."
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction 3 Part I: On God and Religions 9 1. What Is a Religion? 11 2. God:What God? 19 3. Can There Be a Concealed God? 29 Part II. The Concealed God of Monotheism 35 4. God Is Not the Highest God: On Jewish Mysticism 37 5. Beyond the Trinity: God in Christian Mysticism 47 6. Behind the Veils: God in the Mysticism of Islam 57 Part III. The Concealed God in Eastern Religions 65 7. God and Gods in Hinduism 67 8. Buddhism: A Religion Without God? 75 9. Chinese Religions: God in Taoism and Confucianism 85 Part IV. Science and God 93 10. The Encounter Between God and Contemporary Physics 97 11. God and Biology 105 12. A God in the Depths of Our Consciousness? 113 13. God and Science: A Few Conclusions 121 Part V. A Concealed God? 127 14. Is There a God? Arguments and Counterarguments 129 15. The Search for a Concealed God 143 16. What Is God? 155 17. Is It Important to Seek a Concealed God? 169 Bibliography 175 Index of Names 179
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Highly acclaimed in Sweden where it was first published in both hardcover and paperback editions, A Concealed God poses two intriguing questions:
•Does God truly exist?
•If so, is the concept of God logical and in agreement with the knowledge of the world that science has provided to date?
The God presented by most religions doesn't make sense in today's world; we have little room for miracles. Furthermore, there are irreconcilable aspects in the world's religions. Must we abandon our faith or belief in God? Perhaps not, says popular Swedish thinker Stefan Einhorn. We can behave as scientists do when they run experiments only to obtain contradictory results. They ask themselves whether there might not be a logical conclusion that binds all the results together and leads to the most probable explanation.
Einhorn hypothesizes that if God truly exists, then many different religions would have discovered this. He finds a common denominator in the concept of a hidden God in seven major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. But even with this shared belief, can we know if God exists? Did humankind create the idea of God to answer the unexplainable? What about evil and suffering, the absence of meaning in life, loneliness and insecurity? And most importantly, how do we search for a concealed God?
Most religions share common principles for the search for "that which is concealed," including meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Whatever route is chosen, the search for God may bring us some answers. Einhorn concludes that two themes are central to the search: one is that God is both concealed and simultaneously omnipresent; the other is that only with utter humility and an awareness of our inability to fully understand may we approach the divine.
In the end, there are no definite answers. But the search sheds light on the many paths to enlightenment offered by the world's religions.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Stefan Einhorn, MD, PhD, is a professor of molecular oncology and chairman of the Department of Oncology-Pathology at the Karolinska Institute. The author of several popular science books in the field of medicine, he is also a prominent lecturer in both Sweden and the United States.
REVIEWS Pioneer Press December 7, 2002
A Swedish professor of molecular oncology uses Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism as a road map toward an "indescribable force" that is the basis of existence, what he calls "The Concealed God."
Theology Digest Spring 2003
Stefan Einhorn, a prominent lecturer in Sweden and the United States, is a professor of molecular oncology and is chairman of the department of oncology-pathology at the Karolinska Institutet. He makes preliminary remarks on God and religions; examines "the concealed God" in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mysticism and in the Eastern religions; turns to science and explains the marvels of physics, biology and psychology; and analyzes the arguments and counter-arguments for God's existence, the nature of God, and the importance of seeking God.
Religious Studies Review July 1, 2004
The first three parts of this book present summaries of the major tenets of the world religions. Einhorn includes as a major component of each chapter each religion's "mystical" tradition of approaching the divine, emphasizing humanity's experience of God. Part four explores hypotheses about God utilizing the logic of philosophical and current research-based scientific thinking from the fields of physics, biology and psychology. This text could be used for a popular reading audience, an introductory comparative religions course or as a supplement to a basic theology course that explores the concept of God, especially multi-cultural approaches to God. An example of Einhorn's approach is his writing, "Either God is a biochemical process in the human brain, the function of which is to protect the intellect from experiencing the world as insecure and meaningless--feelings that could have resulted in the downfall of the human race in an evolutionary perspective--or else there is a God…"
Einhorn asks pointed ethical questions in the concluding chapter about our search for knowledge and meaning in our beliefs about God, or "highest reality." He states that our beliefs about God have directed us in the past, and hopefully will continue to point us to ways of living in the world that are not destructive, but "compassionate, with love and inner wisdom."
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction 3 Part I: On God and Religions 9 1. What Is a Religion? 11 2. God:What God? 19 3. Can There Be a Concealed God? 29 Part II. The Concealed God of Monotheism 35 4. God Is Not the Highest God: On Jewish Mysticism 37 5. Beyond the Trinity: God in Christian Mysticism 47 6. Behind the Veils: God in the Mysticism of Islam 57 Part III. The Concealed God in Eastern Religions 65 7. God and Gods in Hinduism 67 8. Buddhism: A Religion Without God? 75 9. Chinese Religions: God in Taoism and Confucianism 85 Part IV. Science and God 93 10. The Encounter Between God and Contemporary Physics 97 11. God and Biology 105 12. A God in the Depths of Our Consciousness? 113 13. God and Science: A Few Conclusions 121 Part V. A Concealed God? 127 14. Is There a God? Arguments and Counterarguments 129 15. The Search for a Concealed God 143 16. What Is God? 155 17. Is It Important to Seek a Concealed God? 169 Bibliography 175 Index of Names 179
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE