A joy-filled expedition into experiencing God's majestic, everywhere presence.
DNA, the Danube River, and deep-sea life. Knees and trees. The Swiss Alps, songbirds, and supernovas. God speaks though His creation. And you don't have to be naturally gifted at biology, chemistry, or physics to be awakened to His wisdom and majesty. Pastor, teacher, and non-scientist John Van Sloten invites us to know God more deeply as we marvel at the complexities of His amazing creation.
Knowing God through His written Word enables us to know Him more clearly through His creational Words. How does God speak through His creation, and what is He saying? Each chapter includes interviews with leading scientists and connects creation to its Creator. With the primary foundation that Jesus is the mediator of both salvation and creation, Van Sloten fields questions such as:
- Why are things beautiful and how can beautiful things be engaged?
- How does the doctrine of the Trinity teach us about the nature of tree branches and wound healing?
- What do the doctrines of creation, incarnation, and the resurrection tell us about phenomenon of supernovas?
- How do we engage God's providence through knees and fossils?
We were made to wonder. To marvel. To know and live in awe of God. God Speaks Science expands our hearts and minds so that we might delight in the wisdom, beauty, and awesome power of our triune God!
"I've met some fine scientists who are decent theologians, but there are precious few theologians who are as comfortable with the world of science as John Van Sloten. And if you think Van Sloten's approach is to simply see the hand of God at work in the natural world, then you've seriously underestimated the insight of this 'rational mystic.' Rather, Van Sloten looks much deeper and finds nothing less than God Himself within the very center of scientific inquiry, from ecosystems to atomic forces and everything in between. This work challenges the scientist to experience God's manifest presence in the 'doing' of science and opens the eyes of the theologian to be able to read God's "other" book--the natural world and its holy complexity."
--Gregory A. Kline, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine/Endocrinology, University of Calgary
"Can it be? Are there pathways to knowing God through science? In his new book, God Speaks Science, John Van Sloten guides us down a seldom trod path of knowing God through contemplative examination of scientific discoveries and the roads leading to them. This book is imaginative and revelatory; it contains a well-written series of interesting vignettes while illuminating a neglected area of spiritual inquiry."
--George Chaconas, Professor Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
"I'm not a scientist, but I have always loved trees and stars and music. Even as a boy I perked up when we sang 'all nature sings' and 'round me rings the music of the spheres' or 'thou rising morn in praise rejoice, ye lights of evening, find a voice, ' because even with the most basic knowledge of Jesus I sensed Him speaking--singing, even--through His creation. I still do. The church has a long and beautiful tradition of learning what God is like, not just by reading Scripture, but also by delighting in and studying His creation--and with this book John Van Sloten has done both."
--Andrew Peterson, singer-songwriter; author of The God of the Garden and The Wingfeather Saga
JOHN VAN SLOTEN is a Calgary-based writer, teacher, and pastor who is passionate about helping people engage God everywhere. Over the past ten years he has preached dozens of creation/bible-based sermons on topics like radiation therapy, DNA repair mechanisms, river hydrology, chemical catalysts, tree branches, human knees, and the Giant Squid. John is a regular columnist with the Calgary Herald and his books include The Day Metallica Came to Church and Every Job a Parable. Over the past ten years, he has been awarded three John Templeton Foundation subgrants for preaching science, has been part of an Ambrose Seminary Science for Seminaries, and has been a Sinai and Synapses fellow. www.johnvansloten.com
Pub Date: July 04, 2023
0.47" H x 8.51" L x 5.62" W
208 pages
paperback