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Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of Faith
Is your worldview enlightened enough to accommodate both science and God at the same time?Dr. Michael Guillen, a best-selling author, Emmy award–winning journalist and former physics instructor at Harvard, used to be an Atheist—until science changed his mind. Once of the opinion that people of faith are weak, small-minded folks who just don’t understand science, Dr. Guillen ultimately concluded that not only does science itself depend on faith, but faith is actually the mightiest power in the universe.In Believing Is Seeing, Dr. Guillen recounts the fascinating story of his journey from Atheism to Christianity, citing the latest discoveries in neuroscience, physics, astronomy, and mathematics to pull back the curtain on the mystery of faith as no one ever has.Is it true that “seeing is believing?” Or is it possible that reality can be perceived most clearly with the eyes of faith—and that truth is bigger than proof? Let Dr. Guillen be your guide as he brilliantly argues for a large and enlightened worldview consistent with both God and modern science.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 7, 2021
416 people are currently reading
2112 people want to read
About the author
Michael Guillen
15 books86 followersDr. Guillen taught physics at Harvard, was ABC News' Science Editor, is a three-time Emmy winner, a TV host, movie producer, speaker, bestselling author, and host of the internationally popular podcast "Science+God."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
January 7, 2022
Q:
Not only do many of today’s young people equate opinion with fact, but they also believe that opinions and feelings are more important than facts and that faith is like an ugly four-letter word.
This pervasive malady is bad news for both science and religion. The worst of all worlds.The personal and social fallout from such a severely misguided worldview portends a grim future for you, me, and our loved ones. For the United States. For the planet. (c) SomeONE, FINALLY, out there, paying attention to this! Thank God!
Q:
As a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and Christian, I have a worldview broad enough to accommodate both the scientific method and the Bible . . . reason and faith . . . the universe and God. (c)
Q:
... many individuals—and you might be one of them—see logic and faith as implacable adversaries and, therefore, believe they must choose between the two. Worst of all, they talk up the importance of evidence-based thinking but have a woefully fractured view of what it is. (c)
Q:
“Sure,” I said. “What’s the problem?”“You know that giant pendulum out in the rotunda? My producer says that once you get it going, it’ll never stop swinging. I don’t agree,” he said. “I think you need to push it now and then to keep it going.”For me, it was a no-brainer. “It’s called a Foucault pendulum,” I explained. “And there isn’t much friction to slow it down—just a little rubbing where the steel cable attaches to the ceiling. But it’s enough to gradually slow it down; so, yes, it does need to be nudged now and then.”Graham leapt at my explanation. “Wow!” he said. “Would you like to be on television?” (c) Wait! what about the air? It's also providing friction. And the gravity force? It's also affecting pendulum on its way (and matters at least on the upswing), doesn't it?
Q:
evidence-based faith is profound, indispensable, and potent. In fact, it is the mightiest power in the universe. (c)
Not only do many of today’s young people equate opinion with fact, but they also believe that opinions and feelings are more important than facts and that faith is like an ugly four-letter word.
This pervasive malady is bad news for both science and religion. The worst of all worlds.The personal and social fallout from such a severely misguided worldview portends a grim future for you, me, and our loved ones. For the United States. For the planet. (c) SomeONE, FINALLY, out there, paying attention to this! Thank God!
Q:
As a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and Christian, I have a worldview broad enough to accommodate both the scientific method and the Bible . . . reason and faith . . . the universe and God. (c)
Q:
... many individuals—and you might be one of them—see logic and faith as implacable adversaries and, therefore, believe they must choose between the two. Worst of all, they talk up the importance of evidence-based thinking but have a woefully fractured view of what it is. (c)
Q:
“Sure,” I said. “What’s the problem?”“You know that giant pendulum out in the rotunda? My producer says that once you get it going, it’ll never stop swinging. I don’t agree,” he said. “I think you need to push it now and then to keep it going.”For me, it was a no-brainer. “It’s called a Foucault pendulum,” I explained. “And there isn’t much friction to slow it down—just a little rubbing where the steel cable attaches to the ceiling. But it’s enough to gradually slow it down; so, yes, it does need to be nudged now and then.”Graham leapt at my explanation. “Wow!” he said. “Would you like to be on television?” (c) Wait! what about the air? It's also providing friction. And the gravity force? It's also affecting pendulum on its way (and matters at least on the upswing), doesn't it?
Q:
evidence-based faith is profound, indispensable, and potent. In fact, it is the mightiest power in the universe. (c)
May 23, 2023
2 star average. 3 stars for some interesting ideas, 2 stars for a lack of style and sometimes a lack of substance, and 1 star for transphobia. Overall, a mediocre read with some troubling views and only a few takeaways. Perhaps best used to find real works of substance using the references. I will certainly not be recommending this to anyone.
The review:
God has worked miracles within our lifetime. We need only look at Michael Guillen for proof of that. The miracle is that the man is married despite telling his wife she would always be second to science.
You cannot separate this book from the author. Michael has woven the personal into this book so tightly they are beyond quantumly entangled. So in addressing the book, I must also address the man.
The good: I really like the idea of faith being an inherent aspect of human nature. Just like IQ and EQ, there is SQ: spiritual quotient. The ultimate faith is an informed IQ-SQ one. The metaphor of IQ-SQ 3D glasses actually helped me come up with a cool figure to use for my dissertation, so thank you for that.
The bad.
This book doesn’t understand its audience. Which is such a major failing. It’s trying to be all things to all people, but for someone who spent a major part of his life communicating to the general public for a living… Michael really sucks at it! He flicks back and forth between the experiential aspect of his religious experience and complex physical and mathematical concepts. One appeals to the religious, the other to physicists, of which I’m both, so I feel like I can say with some confidence that while he does, on occasion, actually achieve his lofty goal of marrying science and religion in a translogical union, he usually falls flat on his face.
They say the mother of learning is repetition. Well, Michael has taken that to heart. He says everything at least twice, and I have to believe it’s for two reasons. One: he’s padding. Two: he doesn’t trust his audience is paying attention so he needs to emphasize the important things. Apparently he thinks his audience is smart enough to understand abstract physics concepts, but not enough to remember what he said twenty pages ago.
This odd combination of high hopes and condescension makes a lot of sense when you read the last few pages of the text where he says pretty directly that the book is for people younger than 26, because 26 is when your worldview gets set in stone. (Sources? Not this time.) And everything clicks into place because everything Michael has said in this book about Gen Z reeks of derision. Gen Z is a bunch of children seeking answers and finding them in all the wrong places. Gen Z doesn’t use logical reasoning. Gen Z believes whatever silly thought strikes them as true. Gen Z needs to be saved from themselves. And, cherry on top: Gen Z thinks transpeople aren’t delusional.
Yeah. The book all about “expanding your worldview to encompass things you can’t understand because they’re not a part of your material existence” draws the line at transpeople. This isn’t even irony. This is hypocrisy. Michael equates pedophiles to transpeople, condemning a vulnerable group of people as perverted and dangerous, and yet he sits there on his high horse loftily asking his readers if our worldview is as big as his.
The audacity of this man. He spent the whole book trying to convince his readers that faith is big enough for IQ and SQ and yet somehow, he fails to use both when it comes to transpeople. He is so blinded by his personal experiences and biases that he cannot even begin to imagine that God isn’t limited by flesh. He refuses to accept the testimony of transpeople because it doesn’t make logical sense to him even as he accepts the testimony of the apostles that Christ rose from the dead and ascended bodily into heaven on a cloud.
I said it was a miracle he’s married. Nah. The real miracle would be the Spirit opening his heart to the translogical truths that God doesn’t make mistakes, She isn’t limited by flesh, and She loves Her children exactly as She made them: in Her image, trans and all.
The review:
God has worked miracles within our lifetime. We need only look at Michael Guillen for proof of that. The miracle is that the man is married despite telling his wife she would always be second to science.
You cannot separate this book from the author. Michael has woven the personal into this book so tightly they are beyond quantumly entangled. So in addressing the book, I must also address the man.
The good: I really like the idea of faith being an inherent aspect of human nature. Just like IQ and EQ, there is SQ: spiritual quotient. The ultimate faith is an informed IQ-SQ one. The metaphor of IQ-SQ 3D glasses actually helped me come up with a cool figure to use for my dissertation, so thank you for that.
The bad.
This book doesn’t understand its audience. Which is such a major failing. It’s trying to be all things to all people, but for someone who spent a major part of his life communicating to the general public for a living… Michael really sucks at it! He flicks back and forth between the experiential aspect of his religious experience and complex physical and mathematical concepts. One appeals to the religious, the other to physicists, of which I’m both, so I feel like I can say with some confidence that while he does, on occasion, actually achieve his lofty goal of marrying science and religion in a translogical union, he usually falls flat on his face.
They say the mother of learning is repetition. Well, Michael has taken that to heart. He says everything at least twice, and I have to believe it’s for two reasons. One: he’s padding. Two: he doesn’t trust his audience is paying attention so he needs to emphasize the important things. Apparently he thinks his audience is smart enough to understand abstract physics concepts, but not enough to remember what he said twenty pages ago.
This odd combination of high hopes and condescension makes a lot of sense when you read the last few pages of the text where he says pretty directly that the book is for people younger than 26, because 26 is when your worldview gets set in stone. (Sources? Not this time.) And everything clicks into place because everything Michael has said in this book about Gen Z reeks of derision. Gen Z is a bunch of children seeking answers and finding them in all the wrong places. Gen Z doesn’t use logical reasoning. Gen Z believes whatever silly thought strikes them as true. Gen Z needs to be saved from themselves. And, cherry on top: Gen Z thinks transpeople aren’t delusional.
Yeah. The book all about “expanding your worldview to encompass things you can’t understand because they’re not a part of your material existence” draws the line at transpeople. This isn’t even irony. This is hypocrisy. Michael equates pedophiles to transpeople, condemning a vulnerable group of people as perverted and dangerous, and yet he sits there on his high horse loftily asking his readers if our worldview is as big as his.
The audacity of this man. He spent the whole book trying to convince his readers that faith is big enough for IQ and SQ and yet somehow, he fails to use both when it comes to transpeople. He is so blinded by his personal experiences and biases that he cannot even begin to imagine that God isn’t limited by flesh. He refuses to accept the testimony of transpeople because it doesn’t make logical sense to him even as he accepts the testimony of the apostles that Christ rose from the dead and ascended bodily into heaven on a cloud.
I said it was a miracle he’s married. Nah. The real miracle would be the Spirit opening his heart to the translogical truths that God doesn’t make mistakes, She isn’t limited by flesh, and She loves Her children exactly as She made them: in Her image, trans and all.
September 2, 2021
I requested and received a complimentary copy of the book from the author and the publisher.
Author: Michael Guillen, PhD
Publisher: Tyndale House
On-Sale: Next Week! (Sept. 7th)
Synopsis: Scientist Michael Guillen outlines the formation of his worldview, highlighting the ways that science informed and intersected with his developing faith.
Scripture Connection
“For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
Rom. 1:20
About the Author
Michael Guillen has not one or two, but THREE doctorates, in some very involved and complex fields. He studied physics, astronomy and mathematics before becoming a science correspondent for ABC News. In this capacity, he has traveled the world’s breadth and depth, plunging into a volcanic crater and submerging beneath sea level to investigate the Titanic.
What I Liked
Believing is Seeing caught my eye on NetGalley. I really liked the cover design, which features various scientific sketches, equations and symbols. While I’m unfortunately unable to identify all of these, the effect is really cool— and you don’t have to be a scientist to appreciate this book.
As someone who is not a big fan of nonfiction, I thought that this book would be a great resource and hopefully introduce me to some neat scientific principles that tie-in with my faith. While the book was a little bit different than what I had expected, (more of a personal narrative driving home the importance of worldview) I was very impressed with the engaging writing. Little wonder, since the author has a background working in the news, and got the job because a producer “liked how [he] explained things.”
Worldview is at the center of Guillen’s latest title, which emphasizes the importance of having a solid worldview. Throughout the book, Guillen shares moments from his own life story and faith journey.
Cool Themes
Guillen demonstrates that everyone, including scientists and atheists, has faith. While this is definitely an argument that I’ve heard from Christians, before, I feel that Guillen has a lot more credibility (from a worldly standpoint) in making the claim, since he has spent so much of his life studying science and performing research and experiments. He is not spouting off with an easy rebuttal when he says that atheists require faith, too. Instead, he spends time poking holes in science, not to tear it down but to say, essentially, “These are some things that we can’t explain (or prove.) When we build our scientific reasoning on these premises, we are acting out our faith.”
Guillen argues that everyone has a worldview, whether or not they spend a lot of time cultivating it. Ultimately, in desperate situations, people are clinging to their worldviews. And, they are acting on those beliefs.
The author delves into the parallels between belief in science and belief in Christianity, showing how both belief systems provide similar answers to certain fundamental questions.
I also really enjoyed the discussion about light and how the Scriptural and scientific truths align on this.
Audience
I originally thought that this book was for a Christian audience. Having finished reading, I think a more appropriate audience would actually be people who are uncertain of their worldview. I can also see that this book is targeted toward a young audience, including Christians who may find that their worldview is being questioned. With that said, I think that Christians can definitely learn from and appreciate the book— particularly the idea that science and faith are not mutually exclusive. And the parallels between science and Scripture were a lot of fun!
Content Concerns
Guillen alludes to the age of earth in millions of years and I’m not sure what exactly his beliefs are regarding a literal six day creation.
Recommendation
I think this book is an excellent tool for young people (say, high-school/ college-age)— Christians and non-Christians alike! I believe this can be an apologetic/ evangelistic tool for truth-seekers of varying backgrounds.
Author: Michael Guillen, PhD
Publisher: Tyndale House
On-Sale: Next Week! (Sept. 7th)
Synopsis: Scientist Michael Guillen outlines the formation of his worldview, highlighting the ways that science informed and intersected with his developing faith.
Scripture Connection
“For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
Rom. 1:20
About the Author
Michael Guillen has not one or two, but THREE doctorates, in some very involved and complex fields. He studied physics, astronomy and mathematics before becoming a science correspondent for ABC News. In this capacity, he has traveled the world’s breadth and depth, plunging into a volcanic crater and submerging beneath sea level to investigate the Titanic.
What I Liked
Believing is Seeing caught my eye on NetGalley. I really liked the cover design, which features various scientific sketches, equations and symbols. While I’m unfortunately unable to identify all of these, the effect is really cool— and you don’t have to be a scientist to appreciate this book.
As someone who is not a big fan of nonfiction, I thought that this book would be a great resource and hopefully introduce me to some neat scientific principles that tie-in with my faith. While the book was a little bit different than what I had expected, (more of a personal narrative driving home the importance of worldview) I was very impressed with the engaging writing. Little wonder, since the author has a background working in the news, and got the job because a producer “liked how [he] explained things.”
Worldview is at the center of Guillen’s latest title, which emphasizes the importance of having a solid worldview. Throughout the book, Guillen shares moments from his own life story and faith journey.
Cool Themes
Guillen demonstrates that everyone, including scientists and atheists, has faith. While this is definitely an argument that I’ve heard from Christians, before, I feel that Guillen has a lot more credibility (from a worldly standpoint) in making the claim, since he has spent so much of his life studying science and performing research and experiments. He is not spouting off with an easy rebuttal when he says that atheists require faith, too. Instead, he spends time poking holes in science, not to tear it down but to say, essentially, “These are some things that we can’t explain (or prove.) When we build our scientific reasoning on these premises, we are acting out our faith.”
Guillen argues that everyone has a worldview, whether or not they spend a lot of time cultivating it. Ultimately, in desperate situations, people are clinging to their worldviews. And, they are acting on those beliefs.
The author delves into the parallels between belief in science and belief in Christianity, showing how both belief systems provide similar answers to certain fundamental questions.
I also really enjoyed the discussion about light and how the Scriptural and scientific truths align on this.
Audience
I originally thought that this book was for a Christian audience. Having finished reading, I think a more appropriate audience would actually be people who are uncertain of their worldview. I can also see that this book is targeted toward a young audience, including Christians who may find that their worldview is being questioned. With that said, I think that Christians can definitely learn from and appreciate the book— particularly the idea that science and faith are not mutually exclusive. And the parallels between science and Scripture were a lot of fun!
Content Concerns
Guillen alludes to the age of earth in millions of years and I’m not sure what exactly his beliefs are regarding a literal six day creation.
Recommendation
I think this book is an excellent tool for young people (say, high-school/ college-age)— Christians and non-Christians alike! I believe this can be an apologetic/ evangelistic tool for truth-seekers of varying backgrounds.
January 9, 2022
DNF. Author lost me when he presented his chart explaining how Christianity and Science are similar and skipped to the end and found nothing great there. He said he compared other religions in this chart and Christianity was the BEST alignment. How do I know this if you don’t give me the others? Were there hard “Nos” scattered with the other Abrahamic faiths, who worship the same God? Working off my own basic googling, Judaism and Islam also answer Yes to the questions he presented us. So why is Christianity “better” than the other Abrahamic faiths, author? You read the Bible, but did you do any research into the history of Christianity and how the Bible has been pieced together and how it was decided to include which books? What about how the scribes would change things in the Bible? And how we don’t have the original texts and how the gospels were written long after Jesus died? Can you use your science to explain this to me and tell me why I should still believe? I’m still looking for that answer but I find the same thing in every “proof Of Christianity” book… author has an epiphany, turns to Christ, and becomes a judgmental prick. That referring to him judging how trans people are just “responding to their emotions” and doesn’t think maybe that’s literally their personality and how God created them? No of course not. What about the science that shows that this is natural and deals with estrogen levels? After all he is a scientist! If I can preform a quick Google search to find a peer reviewed study about this and I have no science degree, why is he saying it’s a “post-truth behavior” that is a “fantasy or outright lie” and then crying about being called “judgmental” for being that? Im sick of reading Christian hate and outright or thinly veiled persecution complex.
December 5, 2022
Excellent presentation of what faith looks like for an atheist scientist of the highest level who is willing to challenge himself on reality and desire others to do so as well. Believing is seeing, and seeing is reacting. He invites all of us to challenge our worldviews, and shows that everyone believes something, hopefully what makes most sense.
December 21, 2022
Haiku summary :)
Translogical truth.
Science reveals God's design.
Truth bigger than proof
Translogical truth.
Science reveals God's design.
Truth bigger than proof
August 21, 2021
Very well-structured and approachable, rich in relevant examples.
This is author's own experience with faith and science so often it reads a bit memoir-ish, But overall, it's a collection of insights that he considers valuable. Although I found a lot to agree in this book, I also had points of disagreement. That, of course, doesn't really take away from the book as I found both valuable, the latter perhaps even more so as it helped me figure out where I stand on some issues. Most passages were discussion-worthy and ignited me to ponder on the subject matter which I always appreciate.
Similarly, as truth is bigger than proof, I think faith is bigger than God or religion. Therefore, I don't think atheism and faith are mutually exclusive. With the risk of sounding nit-picky, I don't think faith and religion are interchangeable words, and although I didn't necessarily get the impression that the author thinks that I would have appreciated less ambiguity with the use of these two.
I'm not sure I’m the right audience for this book. Personally, I’m not an atheist, and I’m pursuing science, so I don't exactly need evidence for faith and religion and science co-existing. I think this book would be more beneficial for people who see science and religion as the opposite sides of a spectrum, no matter which side they favour. From that point of view, I think this book would provide much more food for thought.
So, is believing seeing? Even if I did start with favourable notions towards the title, this book convinced me thoroughly.
This is author's own experience with faith and science so often it reads a bit memoir-ish, But overall, it's a collection of insights that he considers valuable. Although I found a lot to agree in this book, I also had points of disagreement. That, of course, doesn't really take away from the book as I found both valuable, the latter perhaps even more so as it helped me figure out where I stand on some issues. Most passages were discussion-worthy and ignited me to ponder on the subject matter which I always appreciate.
Similarly, as truth is bigger than proof, I think faith is bigger than God or religion. Therefore, I don't think atheism and faith are mutually exclusive. With the risk of sounding nit-picky, I don't think faith and religion are interchangeable words, and although I didn't necessarily get the impression that the author thinks that I would have appreciated less ambiguity with the use of these two.
I'm not sure I’m the right audience for this book. Personally, I’m not an atheist, and I’m pursuing science, so I don't exactly need evidence for faith and religion and science co-existing. I think this book would be more beneficial for people who see science and religion as the opposite sides of a spectrum, no matter which side they favour. From that point of view, I think this book would provide much more food for thought.
So, is believing seeing? Even if I did start with favourable notions towards the title, this book convinced me thoroughly.
February 20, 2023
A really solid book. The best parts of the book are when he puts science, math, astronomy, and the worldview of the modern science community under scrutiny.
Key components of his argument are not something I necessarily agree with. But, overall very good. What he argues and demonstrates are the following:
#1The axioms/beliefs of science line up best and are in harmony with Christianity more so than atheism.
#2 Science demonstrates that there are realities we cannot prove but know to be true. This supports Christian belief and shows that Christianity and Science work in harmony.
#3 The universe is filled with translogical truths which are deep truths that do not always follow aristitilion logic but are still true.
#4 Humans uniquely have an IQ and an SQ (spiritual quotient that can detect translogical realities) which are essential to our understanding of the universe. Translgocial realities are an area of disagreement or at least require great care and consideration before agreeing to.
#5 On their own math, physics, astronomy, and the scientific method are lacking in their abilities to answer central questions about our universe.
#6 The scientific method is limited in what it can offer and is built on axioms/beliefs that cannot be tested nor proven.
Key components of his argument are not something I necessarily agree with. But, overall very good. What he argues and demonstrates are the following:
#1The axioms/beliefs of science line up best and are in harmony with Christianity more so than atheism.
#2 Science demonstrates that there are realities we cannot prove but know to be true. This supports Christian belief and shows that Christianity and Science work in harmony.
#3 The universe is filled with translogical truths which are deep truths that do not always follow aristitilion logic but are still true.
#4 Humans uniquely have an IQ and an SQ (spiritual quotient that can detect translogical realities) which are essential to our understanding of the universe. Translgocial realities are an area of disagreement or at least require great care and consideration before agreeing to.
#5 On their own math, physics, astronomy, and the scientific method are lacking in their abilities to answer central questions about our universe.
#6 The scientific method is limited in what it can offer and is built on axioms/beliefs that cannot be tested nor proven.
April 5, 2023
This is a good book to read if someone in your life is convinced that science and Christianity are at odds and/or believes science can in some way save us from present sadness.
November 26, 2022
What an amazing read this book is. What I would say is this book must be read with an open mind whatever your stance or belief on the subject of god and/or science. I did note many one star reviews before reading this book and can only assume that the book was read from a closed mind point of view. If you read this book to to confirm your preconceived beliefs or to ridicule the beliefs of others (no matter what side of the subject matter you are on) then you will miss the point and worth of the book. I will not say where my own beliefs were before and after reading this book so as to not give a future reader a preconceived opinion. This book is a must read. The scientific facts are explained in a simple but clear way and by themselves are insightful and interesting. I could go on and on but really my advice is, read the book.
August 4, 2023
As a thermal engineer, I rely on the laws of thermodynamics to make nearly all of my analyses and designs. I use them to put bread on the table. I appreciate their beauty and revel in their elegance.
I have immense faith in them, and with good reason- the laws of thermodynamics have solid evidence backing them up.
Just that, they don't have any proof. No 'rigorous' mathematic logic to condone them....
Dr Guillen (G) tries to drive this basic point home by using various examples from science and religion: All truth does not need 'proof' to warrant its truthfulness. Truth is true by virtue of evidence. And evidence is not the same as proof. Evidence can be observed and/or experienced and/or felt, while proof is just a mathematical endeavor relying on logic - and logic itself has many unproven beliefs as premises, not to mention that logic simply can't handle translogical truths (by definition).
Using quantum physics and cosmology as running aides to support his arguments, Dr G. sheds light on several intriguing concepts. Here are a few:
*There are many translogical truths in both quantum physics (QP) and religion. If we can appreciate the former, why not the latter?
*Besides IQ, we all possess a degree of spiritual intelligence called SQ, which allows us to grasp many transcendental and metaphysical realities
*Science has a lot more in common with religion than with atheism.
*Special relativity points towards absolute truths
*All fields of science rely on faith to some extent. That's not too dissimilar from religion.
*Believing is seeing; seeing is reacting.
While the doctor portrays his journey towards Christianity and thus uses many verses from the Bible to make his arguments, people belonging to different religions can also benefit from his insights. Most of all, atheists can use this book to fire-up those dormant SQ neurons back up again. That can help them enlarge their worldview to incorporate truths existing beyond this very narrow materialistic realm.
I have immense faith in them, and with good reason- the laws of thermodynamics have solid evidence backing them up.
Just that, they don't have any proof. No 'rigorous' mathematic logic to condone them....
Dr Guillen (G) tries to drive this basic point home by using various examples from science and religion: All truth does not need 'proof' to warrant its truthfulness. Truth is true by virtue of evidence. And evidence is not the same as proof. Evidence can be observed and/or experienced and/or felt, while proof is just a mathematical endeavor relying on logic - and logic itself has many unproven beliefs as premises, not to mention that logic simply can't handle translogical truths (by definition).
Using quantum physics and cosmology as running aides to support his arguments, Dr G. sheds light on several intriguing concepts. Here are a few:
*There are many translogical truths in both quantum physics (QP) and religion. If we can appreciate the former, why not the latter?
*Besides IQ, we all possess a degree of spiritual intelligence called SQ, which allows us to grasp many transcendental and metaphysical realities
*Science has a lot more in common with religion than with atheism.
*Special relativity points towards absolute truths
*All fields of science rely on faith to some extent. That's not too dissimilar from religion.
*Believing is seeing; seeing is reacting.
While the doctor portrays his journey towards Christianity and thus uses many verses from the Bible to make his arguments, people belonging to different religions can also benefit from his insights. Most of all, atheists can use this book to fire-up those dormant SQ neurons back up again. That can help them enlarge their worldview to incorporate truths existing beyond this very narrow materialistic realm.
December 7, 2021
Michael Guillen is a thoughtful guy with qualifications up the kazoo on science in Cosmology, Physics and Mathematics. But he is also a Christian. What this book attempts to do (quite successfully in my opinion) is to reconcile science and spiritual belief.
For all of those who yammer that "the science is settled" on any subject in science - he offers Einstein who argued that the point of science is that it is always testing existing knowledge. It is never settled. That is the point.
Fundamentally he argues that any belief system, including science and atheism, includes a series of hypotheses which are unprovable. We begin with faith about key issues and positions and then build on that those unprovable assumptions. That's true for issues in science and issues in religion - although he points out that many of the basic stories in the Bible have lots of specific confirmations in the historical record.
Guillen makes a distinction between IQ and SQ (the spiritual equivalent of IQ on faith related topics). He suggests that without both, one cannot think carefully about the great issues in life.
When I started this book I was reminded of Pascal's wager in which the noted mathematician argued that even if he did not believe in God that it was a better bet to hold that belief (Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas if God does exist, he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (an eternity in Hell).
But as I read Guillen's arguments I thought his book was so much more. And it is.
For all of those who yammer that "the science is settled" on any subject in science - he offers Einstein who argued that the point of science is that it is always testing existing knowledge. It is never settled. That is the point.
Fundamentally he argues that any belief system, including science and atheism, includes a series of hypotheses which are unprovable. We begin with faith about key issues and positions and then build on that those unprovable assumptions. That's true for issues in science and issues in religion - although he points out that many of the basic stories in the Bible have lots of specific confirmations in the historical record.
Guillen makes a distinction between IQ and SQ (the spiritual equivalent of IQ on faith related topics). He suggests that without both, one cannot think carefully about the great issues in life.
When I started this book I was reminded of Pascal's wager in which the noted mathematician argued that even if he did not believe in God that it was a better bet to hold that belief (Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas if God does exist, he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (an eternity in Hell).
But as I read Guillen's arguments I thought his book was so much more. And it is.
March 8, 2022
DNFed this book in chapter five when the author started going off about the Bible not being logical. WOW! I’m am very very concerned with the way he was even defining logic. By “not logical” he meant that it didn’t line up with his worldview. The example he gave was that Darwin said that the strongest will always win and survive. Since he saw that statement as logical and Jesus contradicts this, that meant the Bible was illogical. *facepalm* But then he still decided to have faith in this illogical religion?!
John 1:1 refers to Jesus as the logos. Traditionally this is translated as “word.” But it can also be translated as “logic.” Jesus *is* logic just as much as Jesus is love. He is literally the embodiment of logic. After all, God never contradicts himself!
I am perfectly fine reading a book a scientist who isn’t a theologian. I get that he didn’t have any idea what he was talking about sometimes, especially when reading the Old Testament for the first time as an unbeliever. But to go so far as to teach that the Bible is illogical and teach that people should believe it anyway is going waaay too far. It’s like telling people that it’s ok to be a relativist. I just couldn’t continue reading…
John 1:1 refers to Jesus as the logos. Traditionally this is translated as “word.” But it can also be translated as “logic.” Jesus *is* logic just as much as Jesus is love. He is literally the embodiment of logic. After all, God never contradicts himself!
I am perfectly fine reading a book a scientist who isn’t a theologian. I get that he didn’t have any idea what he was talking about sometimes, especially when reading the Old Testament for the first time as an unbeliever. But to go so far as to teach that the Bible is illogical and teach that people should believe it anyway is going waaay too far. It’s like telling people that it’s ok to be a relativist. I just couldn’t continue reading…
June 26, 2022
Sandwiched between the autobiographical section and the personal growth and life application conclusion of this book is a philosophical understanding of what faith is, and why everyone has/uses it. The difference between IQ-based faith and SQ-based faith is the most important part of Dr. Guillen thesis. Chapter 6 is therefore the keystone chapter. Roy Clouser has expressed similar ideas. When 'science' believing atheists express a lack of belief what they always miss is that they are expressing a belief. Your worldview matters. It changes everything. This book provides a way to evaluate yours.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2023
This book was interesting for the first 100 pages and then it lost my interest. This could easily be a TedTalk and I would have gleaned the same amount of insight from the 14 minute discussion as the 200 page book.
What I will take with me is this: it takes faith to believe in science. It takes faith to believe in God. It is not stupid to believe in truth beyond seeable, provable things. In fact our whole right brain is occupied with helping us believe and interact with unseen things.
Science and religion are siblings in many ways. Cheers.
What I will take with me is this: it takes faith to believe in science. It takes faith to believe in God. It is not stupid to believe in truth beyond seeable, provable things. In fact our whole right brain is occupied with helping us believe and interact with unseen things.
Science and religion are siblings in many ways. Cheers.
August 26, 2022
The book started pretty well by explaining science with combination with Bible and Christianity. However, the more i read the book the more I’m getting confused on what the writer was actually trying to say. The comparison between Science and Bible do not seem to make any sense to me also. Everything just feel too twisted and forced. Only able to read at most 40% of the book. Decided to just close it and find the next great read.
December 4, 2021
In his book Michael Guillen documents his pilgrimage from a ‘pious scientific monk’ through an intellectual and spiritual quest to integrate science and Christianity and establish his current worldview which encompasses both.
Guillen finds through his scholarly analysis and comparisons of the intrinsic nature of science and Christianity that they are not, as is often thought, mutually exclusive. He has found for himself arguments that enable him to put aside his atheism to reconcile a belief in God / Christianity alongside his work as a scientist.
The explanations and discussions used to conclude that the scientific and Christian worldviews are fundamentally compatible are thought provoking and convincing. The inclusion of a few personal revelatory spiritual experiences was an interesting deviation from the largely academic discussion and was a highlight of the book for me.
A belief in God does not produce any conflicts for me personally, but for those who have a science based worldview and who perhaps discount the notion of incorporating God or a spiritually based belief into their lives, I would recommend this as a thought provoking read.
Guillen finds through his scholarly analysis and comparisons of the intrinsic nature of science and Christianity that they are not, as is often thought, mutually exclusive. He has found for himself arguments that enable him to put aside his atheism to reconcile a belief in God / Christianity alongside his work as a scientist.
The explanations and discussions used to conclude that the scientific and Christian worldviews are fundamentally compatible are thought provoking and convincing. The inclusion of a few personal revelatory spiritual experiences was an interesting deviation from the largely academic discussion and was a highlight of the book for me.
A belief in God does not produce any conflicts for me personally, but for those who have a science based worldview and who perhaps discount the notion of incorporating God or a spiritually based belief into their lives, I would recommend this as a thought provoking read.
June 25, 2023
Physicist Michael Guillen presents a thesis that “Believing is seeing; seeing is reacting” in his latest book. In other words, A leads to B (believing leads to seeing the world differently; seeing leads to reacting). For so long, people have argued that seeing leads to believing, but in using more scientific evidence than I could fully comprehend in an audiobook, Guillen argues that what we believe (our worldview) greatly affects how we see the world. Through his work in science, he realized that there are so many things we don’t know nor understand about the world, but when science is viewed through a faith-filled mindset, many of those questions find answers and beauty in a universe of order rather than random happenstance.
Writing in a straightforward yet simple manner, Guillen presents avid scientific evidence for why atheism is actually contradictory to the scientific method. Along the way, he explains his own journey toward Christianity and how that radically changed his worldview and his work as a physicist for the better.
Writing in a straightforward yet simple manner, Guillen presents avid scientific evidence for why atheism is actually contradictory to the scientific method. Along the way, he explains his own journey toward Christianity and how that radically changed his worldview and his work as a physicist for the better.
December 30, 2024
hi hello so it’s been awhile since I read it because I got it as a gift for my boyfriend lol. Anyways, from what I remember it was VERY easy to digest as someone didn’t know hardly anything about quantum physics.
I didn’t expect to enjoy reading it as much as I did, as it was a pretty easy reads with good anecdotes. Other comments mentioned the repetitive nature of the author as a negative, however I appreciated the emphasis.
One negative was there was a bit of unnecessary transphobia at the end of the book. It felt uncalled for and since it was in the last chapter, kinda left a bad taste in my mouth, cause since I liked the rest of the book so much I’m still gonna give it a 4.
I didn’t expect to enjoy reading it as much as I did, as it was a pretty easy reads with good anecdotes. Other comments mentioned the repetitive nature of the author as a negative, however I appreciated the emphasis.
One negative was there was a bit of unnecessary transphobia at the end of the book. It felt uncalled for and since it was in the last chapter, kinda left a bad taste in my mouth, cause since I liked the rest of the book so much I’m still gonna give it a 4.
October 9, 2023
As a science teacher and a lover of all things theology, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Although I feel certain ideas were oversimplified or misrepresented, I thought this book did an excellent job comparing patterns of thought in science and and worldview formation. Although several of his points the author emphasized felt repeated to the point of redundancy, I found it beneficial since I struggle with comprehension.
Definitely recommending this to peers who struggle or question our post truth society, and the interconnectedness of science and faith.
Definitely recommending this to peers who struggle or question our post truth society, and the interconnectedness of science and faith.
October 9, 2025
I’ve recommended this book to countless people. The beginning can seem boring while the author describes his history and accolades, but it’s important in the grand scheme of the book to fully grasp his credibility within the scientific field. I ran to my family to read excerpts that blew my mind numerous times and went through multiple highlighters. Try this book out! It’s a great conversation starter and unequivocally explains the necessary relationship between science and Christianity!
October 30, 2021
If I could rate this more than 5 I would. Possibly my favourite book. Seriously I am reading every book this man has written.
February 1, 2023
I love when science in its quest for truth leads one to the greatest Truth of all! Love his explanations on why science requires faith and how if you are looking for certainty you will have to look elsewhere.
December 25, 2023
This book provides such an important viewpoint in an era when we equate science with rational thought and rational thought with atheism.
Here we have a book written by a highly accomplished, 3x PhD scientist who has a knack for explaining scientific concepts to a lay audience.
Through the author's knowledge of quantum physics and other topics, we are drawn to the conclusion that believing in God is more rational than believing in a purely evidence based 'see to believe', no god worldview.
I was reminded that Atheism is a worldview in itself that takes leaps of faith- how can we know for certain there is no God?
I thoroughly enjoyed the explanation of quantum particles not following typical patterns. How can something be in two places at once? Or quantum entanglement such that observing one particle will disrupt another particle in a completely separate location. It sounds illogical, but that's a quantum particle for you. If you're looking for evidence of God, then quantum physics, theory of relativity, properties of light are excellent places to look- all of which are covered in this book.
The author argues that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are illogical to our human comprehending. While we don't have full-blown, irrefutable evidence of God's existence in this book or anywhere else to my knowledge, we do have hints about the universe that describe how vast and incomprehensible it is to human senses of logic.
The author also describes evidence of God on a more personal note, circumstances and strong feelings in his life.
I am a fan of this book, but I only knocked off one star because I felt the author cut short the description of how he arrived at Christianity as his path towards understanding and accepting God into his life. He briefly touches on other religions and explains that he studied those and arrived at Christianity as the religion that meshed best with his worldview and understanding of science. I would've liked to hear more about that.
Here we have a book written by a highly accomplished, 3x PhD scientist who has a knack for explaining scientific concepts to a lay audience.
Through the author's knowledge of quantum physics and other topics, we are drawn to the conclusion that believing in God is more rational than believing in a purely evidence based 'see to believe', no god worldview.
I was reminded that Atheism is a worldview in itself that takes leaps of faith- how can we know for certain there is no God?
I thoroughly enjoyed the explanation of quantum particles not following typical patterns. How can something be in two places at once? Or quantum entanglement such that observing one particle will disrupt another particle in a completely separate location. It sounds illogical, but that's a quantum particle for you. If you're looking for evidence of God, then quantum physics, theory of relativity, properties of light are excellent places to look- all of which are covered in this book.
The author argues that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are illogical to our human comprehending. While we don't have full-blown, irrefutable evidence of God's existence in this book or anywhere else to my knowledge, we do have hints about the universe that describe how vast and incomprehensible it is to human senses of logic.
The author also describes evidence of God on a more personal note, circumstances and strong feelings in his life.
I am a fan of this book, but I only knocked off one star because I felt the author cut short the description of how he arrived at Christianity as his path towards understanding and accepting God into his life. He briefly touches on other religions and explains that he studied those and arrived at Christianity as the religion that meshed best with his worldview and understanding of science. I would've liked to hear more about that.
June 26, 2022
I have mixed feelings about this book. From the reviews in the beginning to the conclusion at the end, there are parts of this book that make a lot of sense and other parts that just don’t. Some of the analogies are great and some really fall flat. I can see why many advocates for Intelligent Design like this book, though it isn’t exactly promoting Intelligent Design.
The book contains 13 chapters divided into 3 sections. The first section, My Journey, has five chapters about the author’s background from a pastor’s kid to an atheist scientist and back to a believing Christian. Section two, The Truth about Faith, includes six chapters detailing the author’s view that both religion and science are faith-based. The final section, Your Destiny, concludes with two chapters on faith and worldviews.
Pros: I liked that a respectable scientist shares about his Christian faith and tells the story of how he came to believe. I think there is value in recognizing that science doesn’t have all of the answers nor does it answer every type of question. I agree that one aspect of humans is that we have a spiritual side that is more developed and unique in the animal kingdom and should not be dismissed.
Cons: Throughout the book, the author brings up fringe areas of science that are not yet well understood and are quite mysterious and uses these to imply that science is not particularly reliable, doesn’t really know about the universe, and requires faith. Many who endorse this book take the view that whenever something is not known or understood in science, this is evidence for God. So, my concern with these sections is that god-of-the-gaps arguments result in a smaller and smaller god whenever something new is figured out by scientists. A more robust view would be that God is providentially behind everything, both what the scientific community has figured out and what is still a mystery. Also, if one area in a scientific field is still in development, that doesn’t suggest that all areas are also tenuous and not really understood. I was disappointed that he did not make this clear. From reading this book one could conclude that any pseudoscience belief is on equal footing with robust, well-tested scientific concepts. I didn’t find the comparison of God and light to be very useful. There were just too many issues with the analogy for it to work. I also believe he presented atheists as a caricature that was not reflective of many atheists, though I’m sure some fit his stereotype. Still, I think many, maybe most, would feel he did not represent them accurately.
Conclusion: I think that Dr. G’s personal story may be inspiring for some and useful for Christians wondering how to fit science and faith together. The book was OK but I would recommend something else if asked for a good book on science and faith.
The book contains 13 chapters divided into 3 sections. The first section, My Journey, has five chapters about the author’s background from a pastor’s kid to an atheist scientist and back to a believing Christian. Section two, The Truth about Faith, includes six chapters detailing the author’s view that both religion and science are faith-based. The final section, Your Destiny, concludes with two chapters on faith and worldviews.
Pros: I liked that a respectable scientist shares about his Christian faith and tells the story of how he came to believe. I think there is value in recognizing that science doesn’t have all of the answers nor does it answer every type of question. I agree that one aspect of humans is that we have a spiritual side that is more developed and unique in the animal kingdom and should not be dismissed.
Cons: Throughout the book, the author brings up fringe areas of science that are not yet well understood and are quite mysterious and uses these to imply that science is not particularly reliable, doesn’t really know about the universe, and requires faith. Many who endorse this book take the view that whenever something is not known or understood in science, this is evidence for God. So, my concern with these sections is that god-of-the-gaps arguments result in a smaller and smaller god whenever something new is figured out by scientists. A more robust view would be that God is providentially behind everything, both what the scientific community has figured out and what is still a mystery. Also, if one area in a scientific field is still in development, that doesn’t suggest that all areas are also tenuous and not really understood. I was disappointed that he did not make this clear. From reading this book one could conclude that any pseudoscience belief is on equal footing with robust, well-tested scientific concepts. I didn’t find the comparison of God and light to be very useful. There were just too many issues with the analogy for it to work. I also believe he presented atheists as a caricature that was not reflective of many atheists, though I’m sure some fit his stereotype. Still, I think many, maybe most, would feel he did not represent them accurately.
Conclusion: I think that Dr. G’s personal story may be inspiring for some and useful for Christians wondering how to fit science and faith together. The book was OK but I would recommend something else if asked for a good book on science and faith.
July 24, 2025
I have been learning about retrieval practice, so even though I'm writing this review a couple of months after reading the book, I want to see how much information about the book I can pull from my brain.
Guillen had an interesting story, growing up in a strong Pentecostal family—his dad or grandpa was a pastor, I can't recall who, maybe it was both. His passion for science, however, led him to focus on that, not on matters of faith, and for a long time, he did not see that a science-based worldview was compatible with a faith-based worldview. He said he was an atheist.
At Cornell University, he majored in two very different fields of science: astrophysics and quantum mechanics, if I recall correctly. His advisor was not going to allow him to switch his major from astrophysics to quantum mechanics unless he could ace the toughest quantum mechanics class, which he did. He says that having both a macro and a micro view of physics helped him to make connections that others missed.
He said he lived like a monk on campus, not sleeping more than 5 hours a night, buried in his studies. The thing that finally interrupted that was not a thing at all, but a woman who gave him a Valentine. Long story short, they ended up getting married, and their exploration of worldviews and Christianity helped them both (IIRC, she was a believer before he was, so maybe their exploration just confirmed what she already believed) to discover the truth of Christianity and ultimately, the ultimate compatibility between Christianity and science.
Guillen ended up teaching at Harvard, though I don't remember what subject, exactly; maybe it was quantum mechanics. He then had a serendipitous event (that later he would see as God's hand): ABC News was reporting at a museum, and the reporter wanted to know how the eternal pendulum worked. Guillen ended on air explaining how it worked, though he said after a very, VERY long time, friction would stop the pendulum from swinging. His on-camera presence was so captivating and clear, ABC News offered him a job as a science correspondent! He ended up doing that PLUS teaching at Harvard, but when that proved to be too much after some years, he focused just on his job at ABC News, and has since branched off from there into other projects, including speaking all over the world, especially on ideas he brings up in this book!
His most intriguing idea is that we need two "eyes," or two ways of seeing the world to make sense of it. He tells the story about a man who had a lobotomy and had an interesting visual "quirk": if he processed an object only with the right side of his brain (which I think means he saw the object only with his left eye, since the left eye is controlled by the right side of the brain), he could not tell you what the object was or even recognize that there was an object there. However, when asked to draw, he would somehow know to draw the object he did not see—the object he didn't even know was there in front of his left eye!
Guillen uses this story to say that we must look at world through two different lenses. At this point I’m embarrassed that I’ve forgotten so much about this theory. It was quite elegant and creative, even mind-blowing. Basically his idea is that we need both a left-brain, scientific, rational lens along with a right-brain, creative, spiritual lens seeing together to make proper sense of the world.
He shares some amazing truths about our world from his study of physics. For example, particles can exist in two places at once, and only when the particle is measured does it assume a location. Measuring the particle, therefore, affects the particle. Also, things change length depending on how fast you are traveling. The difference is two slight to notice, but things get longer (I think) the faster you travel. This relates back to Einstein’s theory of relativity. Basically everything in the universe is relative, except for one strange fact: the speed of light never changes. With everything else in the universe, the faster you are traveling the longer things are and the shorter time becomes (again, I might be remembering this backwards). But no matter how fast you travel, the speed of light is always the same.
Guillen summarizes this by saying that we live in an Alice in Wonderland world. We just don’t realize it because the changes are at such a microscopic level and to our perception, so slight, especially at the speeds we typically travel at.
This ends what I can remember from my brain. Now I am going to refer back to the book to see what I didn’t store in my long-term memory. I’d like to learn this information, so I will have to practice retrieving it later.
What I forgot is that the "right-brain" way of seeing Guillen dubs Spiritual Intelligence Quotient (SQ), and the "left-brain" way of seeing Guillen dubs simply IQ. IQ can only take you so far; you need SQ, which is faith-based apprehension of what you cannot logically prove, to go the distance. But again, as Guillen warns, you don't want to be all SQ—otherwise you'll wish on a star and expect your wish to come true. You need SQ and IQ working together.
At one point Guillen says that SQ and IQ combined to make human beings literally move mountains. This has happened, not through the words of one person with faith, but through the SQ faith syngerized with the IQ of many humans over the agents, such as Euclid, who invented (or at least gave shape to) geometry and came up with such SQ-truths (Guillen also calls these truths translogical or Godelian truths) as the point, which has no width or height of depth—in short, no mass, and thus is a non-entity—but yet has a real existence. Euclid was just one step in the chain that has led human beings to advance; together as a species, we've now being able to combine SQ and IQ to invent dynamite, etc., which has literally thrown mountains into the sea. So when Jesus says in Matthew 17:20,
At another point, Guillen likes SQ to the blue lens of 3D glasses and IQ to the red lens. You need to look through both to truly see the universe.
This part—which I believe is the thesis of his book: we need both IQ and SQ to see—I had to re-read to write about; I will try retrieving this later to solidify this into my long-term memory.
I easily give this book 5 stars because it was so readable and opened my mind to all kinds of information about physics and, most of all, Guillen's ingenious way of explaining how faith, SQ, is an innate and vital dimension of human experience.
Guillen had an interesting story, growing up in a strong Pentecostal family—his dad or grandpa was a pastor, I can't recall who, maybe it was both. His passion for science, however, led him to focus on that, not on matters of faith, and for a long time, he did not see that a science-based worldview was compatible with a faith-based worldview. He said he was an atheist.
At Cornell University, he majored in two very different fields of science: astrophysics and quantum mechanics, if I recall correctly. His advisor was not going to allow him to switch his major from astrophysics to quantum mechanics unless he could ace the toughest quantum mechanics class, which he did. He says that having both a macro and a micro view of physics helped him to make connections that others missed.
He said he lived like a monk on campus, not sleeping more than 5 hours a night, buried in his studies. The thing that finally interrupted that was not a thing at all, but a woman who gave him a Valentine. Long story short, they ended up getting married, and their exploration of worldviews and Christianity helped them both (IIRC, she was a believer before he was, so maybe their exploration just confirmed what she already believed) to discover the truth of Christianity and ultimately, the ultimate compatibility between Christianity and science.
Guillen ended up teaching at Harvard, though I don't remember what subject, exactly; maybe it was quantum mechanics. He then had a serendipitous event (that later he would see as God's hand): ABC News was reporting at a museum, and the reporter wanted to know how the eternal pendulum worked. Guillen ended on air explaining how it worked, though he said after a very, VERY long time, friction would stop the pendulum from swinging. His on-camera presence was so captivating and clear, ABC News offered him a job as a science correspondent! He ended up doing that PLUS teaching at Harvard, but when that proved to be too much after some years, he focused just on his job at ABC News, and has since branched off from there into other projects, including speaking all over the world, especially on ideas he brings up in this book!
His most intriguing idea is that we need two "eyes," or two ways of seeing the world to make sense of it. He tells the story about a man who had a lobotomy and had an interesting visual "quirk": if he processed an object only with the right side of his brain (which I think means he saw the object only with his left eye, since the left eye is controlled by the right side of the brain), he could not tell you what the object was or even recognize that there was an object there. However, when asked to draw, he would somehow know to draw the object he did not see—the object he didn't even know was there in front of his left eye!
Guillen uses this story to say that we must look at world through two different lenses. At this point I’m embarrassed that I’ve forgotten so much about this theory. It was quite elegant and creative, even mind-blowing. Basically his idea is that we need both a left-brain, scientific, rational lens along with a right-brain, creative, spiritual lens seeing together to make proper sense of the world.
He shares some amazing truths about our world from his study of physics. For example, particles can exist in two places at once, and only when the particle is measured does it assume a location. Measuring the particle, therefore, affects the particle. Also, things change length depending on how fast you are traveling. The difference is two slight to notice, but things get longer (I think) the faster you travel. This relates back to Einstein’s theory of relativity. Basically everything in the universe is relative, except for one strange fact: the speed of light never changes. With everything else in the universe, the faster you are traveling the longer things are and the shorter time becomes (again, I might be remembering this backwards). But no matter how fast you travel, the speed of light is always the same.
Guillen summarizes this by saying that we live in an Alice in Wonderland world. We just don’t realize it because the changes are at such a microscopic level and to our perception, so slight, especially at the speeds we typically travel at.
This ends what I can remember from my brain. Now I am going to refer back to the book to see what I didn’t store in my long-term memory. I’d like to learn this information, so I will have to practice retrieving it later.
What I forgot is that the "right-brain" way of seeing Guillen dubs Spiritual Intelligence Quotient (SQ), and the "left-brain" way of seeing Guillen dubs simply IQ. IQ can only take you so far; you need SQ, which is faith-based apprehension of what you cannot logically prove, to go the distance. But again, as Guillen warns, you don't want to be all SQ—otherwise you'll wish on a star and expect your wish to come true. You need SQ and IQ working together.
At one point Guillen says that SQ and IQ combined to make human beings literally move mountains. This has happened, not through the words of one person with faith, but through the SQ faith syngerized with the IQ of many humans over the agents, such as Euclid, who invented (or at least gave shape to) geometry and came up with such SQ-truths (Guillen also calls these truths translogical or Godelian truths) as the point, which has no width or height of depth—in short, no mass, and thus is a non-entity—but yet has a real existence. Euclid was just one step in the chain that has led human beings to advance; together as a species, we've now being able to combine SQ and IQ to invent dynamite, etc., which has literally thrown mountains into the sea. So when Jesus says in Matthew 17:20,
"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you"Jesus is not referring to the epic faith act of one person but of the human species together putting SQ and IQ to work.
At another point, Guillen likes SQ to the blue lens of 3D glasses and IQ to the red lens. You need to look through both to truly see the universe.
This part—which I believe is the thesis of his book: we need both IQ and SQ to see—I had to re-read to write about; I will try retrieving this later to solidify this into my long-term memory.
I easily give this book 5 stars because it was so readable and opened my mind to all kinds of information about physics and, most of all, Guillen's ingenious way of explaining how faith, SQ, is an innate and vital dimension of human experience.
November 29, 2021
Incredible first half, disappointing back half
The first half of the book is a revelation, making fascinating comparisons between the leaps of faith necessary to understand or attempt to explain quantum mechanics and relativity and those of ordinary religion. Truly, what we thought we knew about the universe shrank significantly after Einstein and his criticisms of science worship are well worth airing.
However, the second half of the book has very little to say and does a great deal to narrow the scope of the claims in the first half. It’s disappointing that Guillen felt the need to use the trans community as a counter-example to an earlier proclamation that seemed to state that the search for truth is eternal. The passages about cancel culture very nearly ruin an otherwise fascinating book as it reduces the scope to something akin to “old man yells at cloud”. I suspect a lot of the 5-star reviews stopped around 3/4 of the way through.
Overall: I think it poses important questions but stumbles near the conclusion. Could have been a breathtaking 175 page read.
The first half of the book is a revelation, making fascinating comparisons between the leaps of faith necessary to understand or attempt to explain quantum mechanics and relativity and those of ordinary religion. Truly, what we thought we knew about the universe shrank significantly after Einstein and his criticisms of science worship are well worth airing.
However, the second half of the book has very little to say and does a great deal to narrow the scope of the claims in the first half. It’s disappointing that Guillen felt the need to use the trans community as a counter-example to an earlier proclamation that seemed to state that the search for truth is eternal. The passages about cancel culture very nearly ruin an otherwise fascinating book as it reduces the scope to something akin to “old man yells at cloud”. I suspect a lot of the 5-star reviews stopped around 3/4 of the way through.
Overall: I think it poses important questions but stumbles near the conclusion. Could have been a breathtaking 175 page read.
February 10, 2024
As a dyed in the wool atheist I was skeptical, but he had some pretty interesting ideas that made me think. I wish his spirituality ideas were more generic and not a full acceptance of Christianity dogma, but there was a lot to move me toward considering more possibilities, and realizing that strict adherence to needing proof is not the way to go.
July 12, 2022
interesting i suppose but it didn't need to be transphobic at the end like that wasn't necessary lol
October 3, 2024
Without solid evidence but belief.
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