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    How to Believe in God and Science: In Three Easy Steps
    How to Believe in God and Science: In Three Easy Steps
    How to Believe in God and Science: In Three Easy Steps
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    How to Believe in God and Science: In Three Easy Steps

    By Joe Provenzano

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    About this ebook

    This book is about how I have reconciled my belief in God with the findings of modern science and other issues. I realize that many others have written books about this and I have looked at many of their approaches and solutions. Most of these books base their arguments on repackaged, old ideas. A few introduce new ideas based on concepts from modern physics, e.g., using wave function entanglement to explain the relationship between God and human beings or the Uncertainty Principle to explain how free will works. I have not found any of these books convincing.
    I have also looked at the scientific solutions, which are atheistic, and I have not found any of them convincing either. What you will find in this book is very different from what you’ll find in any of these books.
    The common, underlying problem with all of these approaches is that both sides are trapped inside the Materialist vs. Spiritualist Box. They do not capture the essence of consciousness and/or they limit themselves to the currently known laws of physics. You will see some new ideas in this book that are completely outside the box. This book is self-contained. You do not need to bring knowledge about philosophy, theology, or science. All you need to understand everything in this book is a mind that is open to new ideas and a willingness to think through the issues.
    I have written this book because I’m convinced that the simple, three-step process described in the following pages will be helpful to a number of logical, scientifically-minded folks who are seeking new ways to reconcile their belief in God with the findings of modern science and other issues.
    However, this book is not for everybody. I believe there are many approaches to believing in God. In this book I will be focusing on HOW I believe, not WHAT I believe.
    But first, the WHAT: I was born and raised a Catholic and remain an active Catholic to this day. I believe in the truth of the Judeo-Christian tradition as revealed in the Bible and expressed in traditional Catholic Doctrine. I believe that God created the universe, that God gave us the Ten Commandments, that Christ was both human and divine, died for our sins, and that we can have everlasting life in heaven with God if we love God and love our neighbor as described in the Bible. I have a Masters in physics and believe in evolution and the findings of modern science. However, I do not believe in the atheistic interpretations of evolution and modern science. I am fully aware of the many popular attempts to put belief in God together with evolution and modern science, I do not find any of them convincing.
    Next, the HOW: That is what this book is about. We’ll cover the three-step process that I have developed to reconcile my belief in God with evolution, science and other issues. My particular solution is only an example of the process. You may not like my solution, but if you like the process, then you may be able to use it to develop your own particular solution. You will find that this process is very different from the arguments you have seen elsewhere.
    Remember that HOW people establish their faith is only a vehicle to a goal. Being comfortable with your faith is the goal. Some believers may like to drive a car, others may like to fly, and I may choose to ride a horse through the mountains. The bottom line is that all believers need to arrive at a belief in God that they are comfortable with, regardless of how they get there.
    Follow me, the new trail that I’ve found is this way.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJoe Provenzano
    Release dateMar 6, 2015
    ISBN9781311485427
    How to Believe in God and Science: In Three Easy Steps
    Author

    Joe Provenzano

    Joseph P. Provenzano “Joe Pro” worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for over thirty years, building computer models and simulations for the U. S. Army. Before that, he graduated with a Masters degree in physics with minors in philosophy and theology. He has previously written two books related to this topic: Conscious Energy and a second book, Logical Faith with theologian R.W. Kropf. Joe Pro is a straight shooter. Known as “Tex Fiddler” in the Single Action Shooting Society®, he’s a three-time Senior World Champion Cowboy Action Shooter. In this book he’s offering a simple 3-step process, with his opinions provided only as examples of the process. His years of thinking about the roadblocks to his faith in God can help you—if you are open-minded to some new ideas.

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    Book preview

    How to Believe in God and Science - Joe Provenzano

    How to Believe in God and Science

    In Three Easy Steps

    by Joe Provenzano

    Copyright 2012 Joseph P. Provenzano

    2nd Edition 2017

    To my wife Linda for her encouragement, support and love—for all these years

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied, and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form.

    Acknowledgements

    I have been thinking about these issues for over fifty years, going back to my high school days. I could never remember or thank everyone that helped me work out these ideas. I will mention a few who have been especially helpful with this book. I’m not saying that any of them endorse all of the ideas in this book, but they certainly helped me clarify and better present these ideas.

    None of this would have been possible without my wife, Linda. She has understood my passion for these issues since we got married in 1967 and she has made it possible for me to have the time to read, think and write. I love her more that I could ever express.

    Our sons, Gary and Dan grew up hearing about and discussing St. Thomas Aquinas, Teilhard de Chardin, Conscious Energy, the existence of God and the rest of the issues you’ll find in this book. Gary graduated with a math degree at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. He is very good with logical insights. Dan graduated with a Ph. D. in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology. Dan was also very helpful in developing the ideas in this book along with making sure that I got the physics right.

    My brother-in-law Ron Morgan and I have been discussing philosophy and theology for many, many years. He has a deep faith in the bible and the teachings of the Catholic Church, but he does like to discuss these issues. Together we discovered a new way to think about how God might have created the universe. That idea is a key part of this book and is covered in detail in Chapter 7.

    Father Richard W. Kropf, Ph. D, STD, my co-author in a previous book titled Logical Faith, has been an invaluable source for many years. He understands Teilhard de Chardin better than anyone I've ever encountered and has been a great source of information about Church history and theology.

    I received helpful answers to questions regarding cosmology from Dr. Shaun Hotchkiss, University of Sussex, and Dr. Brian Koberlein, Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Koberlein also granted permission for me to quote from one of his recent articles.

    Many of my friends at JPL have been also been very helpful. Bob Chamberlain has a very logical mind has been a great sounding board for these ideas as well as also serving as the primary editor of all of my books. Zack Nolan and John Spagnuolo, Jr., a Ph. D. in Mathematics, both helped me greatly by reading and analyzing this book in depth. Also thanks to John for designing and drawing the cover illustration. Marcus Traylor and Jay Braun also provided helpful comments.

    Others that have help me clarify and explain the ideas in this book include Foley Provenzano, Bryan Morgan, my very good friends Spencer Hoglund, Mark Romano, Ph. D., Gary Citrenbaum, Ph. D., as well as a long-time Conscious Energy advocate Ed (Joe) Crummey.

    Thanks also to Eben Alexander, M.D., author of Proof of Heaven, and Father Jack Mahoney, author of Christianity in Evolution, for permission to reference their works.

    Table of Contents

    Preface

    Introduction

    Chapter 1. Three Steps and Three Concepts

    Step I. Understand the different types of issues.

    Chapter 2. What We Know, Experience, and Believe

    Chapter 3. Additional Roadblocks to Belief in God

    Chapter 4. Paths to God

    Step II. Survey the models of how God could have created the universe.

    Chapter 5. What is a Model?

    Chapter 6. Models of Consciousness

    Chapter 7. Models of How God Could Have Created the Universe

    Step III. Accept that one of the inclusive models is possible.

    Chapter 8. The Issues vs. the Models

    Chapter 9. Overall Model Assessments

    Chapter 10. Beyond Step III

    About the Author

    Other books by Joe Provenzano

    Contact Joe Pro

    Preface

    There are many good reasons to believe in God, but for some people there are issues, or roadblocks, to having the belief. Some of these issues are related to what we know, or may someday know, from science, but there are also other types of issues. This book is for people who have any of these issues. It provides a three-step process to develop a belief in God that is consistent with the findings of modern science and all the other types of issues. If you do not have any of these issues blocking your faith in God or you do not want to believe in God, then this book is not for you.

    Many books have been written that argue for the existence of God and many that argue against the existence of God. This is not one of those books; it is very different and it is based on some new concepts you will not find in those books. I believe that God is the creator of the universe, but that God did not design the universe nor did God intervene during the evolutionary process.

    Some of the reasons for believing in God come from deep within and some are purely rational. However, in the end, I cannot have a faith that is blocked by scientific or logical arguments.

    If you want to have a faith in God that is not blocked by issues from science or from anywhere else, saddle up and take a ride with me.

    Back to Table of Contents

    Introduction

    This book is about how I have reconciled my belief in God with the findings of modern science and other issues. I realize that many others have written books about this and I have looked at many of their approaches and solutions. Most of these books base their arguments on repackaged, old ideas. A few introduce new ideas based on concepts from modern physics, e.g., using wave function entanglement to explain the relationship between God and human beings or the Uncertainty Principle to explain how free will works. I have not found any of these books convincing.

    I have also looked at the scientific solutions, which are atheistic, and I have not found any of them convincing either. What you will find in this book is very different from what you’ll find in any of these books.

    The common, underlying problem with all of these approaches is that both sides are trapped inside the Materialist vs. Spiritualist Box. They do not capture the essence of consciousness and/or they limit themselves to the currently known laws of physics. You will see some new ideas in this book that are completely outside the box. This book is self-contained. You do not need to bring knowledge about philosophy, theology, or science. All you need to understand everything in this book is a mind that is open to new ideas and a willingness to think through the issues.

    I have written this book because I’m convinced that the simple, three-step process described in the following pages will be helpful to a number of logical, scientifically-minded folks who are seeking new ways to reconcile their belief in God with the findings of modern science and other issues.

    However, this book is not for everybody. I believe there are many approaches to believing in God. In this book I will be focusing on HOW I believe, not WHAT I believe.

    But first, the WHAT: I was born and raised a Catholic and remain an active Catholic to this day. I believe in the truth of the Judeo-Christian tradition as revealed in the Bible and expressed in traditional Catholic Doctrine. I believe that God created the universe, that God gave us the Ten Commandments, that Christ was both human and divine, died for our sins, and that we can have everlasting life in heaven with God if we love God and love our neighbor as described in the Bible. I have a Masters in physics and believe in evolution and the findings of modern science. However, I do not believe in the atheistic interpretations of evolution and modern science. I am fully aware of the many popular attempts to put belief in God together with evolution and modern science, I do not find any of them convincing.

    Next, the HOW: That is what this book is about. We’ll cover the three-step process that I have developed to reconcile my belief in God with evolution, science and other issues. My particular solution is only an example of the process. You may not like my solution, but if you like the process, then you may be able to use it to develop your own particular solution. You will find that this process is very different from the arguments you have seen elsewhere.

    Remember that HOW people establish their faith is only a vehicle to a goal. Being comfortable with your faith is the goal. Some believers may like to drive a car, others may like to fly, and I

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