cover image God Speaks Science: What Neurons, Giant Squid, and Supernovae Reveal About Our Creator

God Speaks Science: What Neurons, Giant Squid, and Supernovae Reveal About Our Creator

John Van Sloten. Moody, $15.99 trade paper (208p) ISBN 978-0-8024-3094-6

Pastor Van Sloten (The Day Metallica Came to Church) draws imaginative links between science and religion in his theologically sophisticated latest. Contending that science “illuminates the mind of Christ” as “all physical reality has its genesis in God’s imagination,” Van Sloten shuffles through a vast array of scientific phenomena and subjects, among them supernovae, fossils, and radiation therapy, examining each through a biblical lens. A skilled knee surgeon harnesses knowledge of God’s infinitely complex design when she operates, Van Sloten writes, while a giant squid serves as a parable about God’s mystery. Each chapter begins with an introductory note from a specialist in the field and concludes with a related practice and prayer. While Van Sloten is unlikely to sway hardcore empiricists, the faithful will find themselves inspired by his passionate assertion—rooted in scientific knowledge and religious devotion—that creation is a series of phenomena attesting to the divine: “Knowingly or not, science images God when its providential interventions... go with the created grain of the cosmos.” This is sure to open eyes and minds. Agent: Don Pape, Pape Commons. (July)