The Physics of Heaven is a collection of essays by multiple authors. The authors draw heavily on "quantum mysticism," a highly speculative set of New Age beliefs concerning the metaphysical connection between the discoveries of quantum physics and supernatural phenomena. All the authors are professing Christians, and argue they are taking these truths back from the for the Christian Church. Although all the authors in this book accept the ideas of quantum mysticism in some way, Ellyn Davis seems to be the chief proponent of Christians adopting quantum mysticism.
Ellyn Davis provides Wikipedia's definition of quantum mysticism, which is, "...a set of metaphysical beliefs and associated practices that seek to relate consciousness, intelligence or mystical world-views to the ideas of quantum mechanics and its interactions."
Davis outlines five main beliefs of quantum mysticism:
1) Belief in the power of consciousness to influence material reality.
2) Belief in a single, universal consciousness that permeates all things.
3) Belief that everything--even our thoughts and emotions--emits energetic vibrations.
4) Belief in parallel universes.
5) Belief that mankind is evolving to higher levels of consciousness.
Although various authors admit that quantum mysticism is derived from New Age ideas promoted by various non-Christian teachers such as Deepak Chopra, they believe quantum mysticism is consistent with the Bible. Although I would agree with Jonathan Welton's point that, "If there is a counterfeit, there is an authentic that we need to reclaim," he goes on to write that, "I have found throughout Scripture at least 75 examples of things that the New Age has counterfeited, such as having a spirit guide, trances, meditation, auras, power objects, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and more." Spirit guides might be explained by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but auras, power objects, clairvoyance?--yikes! In addition to the definition Ellyn Davis supplied, the Wikipedia article on quantum mysticism also says it is "a 'highjacking' of quantum physics," and that "it draws upon 'coincidental similarities of language rather than genuine connections' to quantum mechanics."
Ellyn Davis candidly admits that as she investigated New Age practices in Sedona, Arizona, "...much of what I saw and heard embodied biblical principles and could be backed up by Scripture." Whatever biblical principles she observed in the New Age community in Sedona, she seems to have accepted the non-biblical worldview of monism, or at least something close to it. Monism is the belief that everything in the universe is one; a popular belief among New Agers, Hindus, and Buddhists. It is often connected with pantheism. In her five ideas about quantum mysticism, her second idea is that a single, universal consciousness permeates all things. She also writes, "...it is not just our souls that are connected, but everything in the universe is interconnected through the field of infinite consciousness--people, birds, plants, rocks, trees, clouds, stars. This means that the true nature of the universe is oneness, not duality (like Newtonian physics where the 'observer' was separate from 'the observed.')"
The oneness of the universe is contradicted by the Bible. The Bible teaches that God is distinct from His creation, which He created from nothing. Nothing existed in the universe before He created it, and He did not form it out of pre-existing material or a part of Himself (Genesis 1:1, John 1:3, Colossians 1:16, Revelation 4:11). According to the Bible we are not connected to God by a universal consciousness. Instead, His ways are unfathomable because "Who has known the mind of the Lord?"--Romans 11:33-43 (NASB). The Bible also contradicts the idea that individuals are connected to one another by a universal consciousness since, "The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy"--Proverbs 14:10 (NASB).
Much of the book is occupied with questionable connections between quantum physics and supernatural manifestations. Judy Franklin claims that in order to change the world we need to access a zero-point field (a background sea of light/energy composed of electromagnetic waves) within us. Bob Jones believed that the sound of a mighty rushing wind in the upper room on Pentecost was actually a portal to heaven. At times, various authors seem to conflate the observations of quantum physicists in the natural world with supernatural events. Ellyn Davis notes that, "...some Christian leaders believe that spirit beings such as demons and angels exist on different 'bandwidths' or frequencies than human beings and that is why we seldom see them or are aware of the ways they are affecting our lives." Perhaps they only intend to show a connection between the natural and supernatural realities, but the lines are certainly blurred.
Many of the authors promote the Word of Faith doctrine that our words have the power to change reality. I found at least four examples of this throughout the book. Cal Pierce claims that an angel taught him about the power of spoken words, and that, "...because God spoke His creative will, man can also speak words that create." Ellyn Davis writes that, "Christians believe that through faith (which could be considered a form of 'intent') we can affect changes in the material world, and as Romans 4:17 says, 'call the things that are not as if they are.'" David Van Koevering warns, "Be careful what you see; you are going to get it! Be careful what you say; you will get that too!" Bill Johnson says, "If you can see God's coming future promises, and He hasn't blinded your eyes to His intent, then He is hoping to hook you into the role of calling 'into being that which does not exist.'"
The authors' favorite verse to support their belief in the reality changing power of words is Romans 4:17. They claim this verse grants the Christian authority to "call the things that are not as if they are." In Romans 4, Paul teaches that Abraham is the father of those who are justified by grace through faith rather than observing the law. The nature of Abraham's faith was that he believed in God, who calls the things that are not as if they are. It wasn't the power Abraham's faith that made a difference, or the words that he spoke. Nothing is written about what Abraham said in this passage! The point is that Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness because the object of his faith, God, was able to call the things that are not as if they are. The power to call things into existence is ascribed only to God in Romans 4.
Throughout the book the sovereignty of God is minimized in favor of the sovereignty of humans. According to Judy Franklin, "Although we are extremely happy and grateful for the power we have operated in, it in no way has reached the measure of what He intends for us. Jesus said that we would do greater works than He did, but no Christian in history has exceeded Jesus' works." So not only is she teaching humans are thwarting the will of God for them to operate in His power, Jesus is a false prophet!
Bill Johnson also minimizes God's sovereignty by teaching that Mary changed His plans at the wedding in Cana. Johnson recounts how the wedding party ran out of wine, and when Mary asked Jesus to do something about it, His reply was, "Woman, what does that have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." Next he writes, "Mary had been pregnant with God's promises about her son for 30 years, and found it difficult to wait much longer. She turned to the servants and told them to do whatever Jesus said. Jesus, who got all His direction from His heavenly Father, now perceived that this had become the right time. Amazing! God's timing changed! What was reserved for another day (revealing Jesus as the miracle worker) was pulled into her day through her desperation."
In the passage above, Bill Johnson's theology actually approaches open theism, or at least something close to it. Open theists believe that God doesn't have exhaustive knowledge of the future because our futures are unknowable until we make choices and act upon them. On this point, quantum mysticism agrees with open theism. Several authors in the book mention "popping the qwiff." According to quantum theory, quantum particles exist as "probability fields" with no specific time or place until they are observed or measured. Quantum mystics have drawn the metaphysical interpretation that the nature of reality is determined by the observer. Ellyn Davis claims that "popping the qwiff" forces us "...to consider two ideas: first that everything is, in its essence, an interconnected invisible field of energies vibrating at different specific frequencies and second, that in order for a partial energy to assume material form, it needs an observer, a 'consciousness' expecting it to become matter." That's monism again, by the way. Immediately after this statement she notes that "'popping a qwiff' forces us to at least entertain...that somehow human consciousness is a fundamental creative force in the universe, because our consciousness (as the 'observer') that seems to determine whether something appears as matter or not. If this is true, it means that we have the power to create, manipulate, and change the 'reality' of our world by our expectations or intentions. That's in line with Word of Faith doctrines.
As noted by Ellyn Davis, the phrase "popping the qwiff" was popularized by Dr. Fred Alan Wolf, who appeared in the 2004 film What the #$*! Do We Know and the 2006 film The Secret which promoted New Thought teachings. New Thought is an umbrella term for several cults, the best known of which is Christian Science. E.W. Kenyon drew on New Thought teachings to initiate the Word of Faith movement.
Not everything in the book is false teaching. Judy Franklin observes, "I've read the end of the book called the Bible, and guess what? We win! God said he would never forsake us, so to me the greatest error we could ever commit is to think that this world is going to get so bad that He will snatch us out quickly before we all die. That is not winning. That is not showing the world who He is--a wonderful, loving God who is eager to save." Kudos to Judy Franklin for correctly observing the victory of the gospel in God's Word! I pray she forsakes quantum mysticism for a biblical view of the supernatural. Bill Johnson's chapter entitled "Recovering Our Spiritual Inheritance" is on the theme of continuing to advance the kingdom of God by passing Christian truth on to the next generation, and is very edifying. I believe the intent of the authors to renew the interest of Christians in the supernatural is noble. However, whatever their intent, they have adopted New Age and occult ideas and practices which are not compatible with a Christian worldview.