Reality and Waves: A Quantum Physics Cosmology, Philosophy of Religion, and Ethic explores how the findings of Quantum Physics have rich implications for coping with the realities of everyday life and for developing a Philosophy of Life. Drawing on the insights of an early founder of the discipline, Werner Heisenberg, Ellingsen notes that the study of microscopic realities of the atom results in "weird" findings about reality, that it does not behave as predictably as other Sciences would lead us to think. The uncertainty about these realities emerges because the components of the atom often behave like waves. Drawing on Heisenberg's reflections it is argued that these findings can be applied to visible reality. Just as light is in waves, even our brains embody waves. Public opinion and historical eras are also waves. This vision of reality explains the continuities and discontinuities in life, the highs and lows. Relying on Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle and concept of Complementarity, aided by Augustinian thinking, the case is then made for how Religion and Science can exist side-by-side, what is provided by an appreciation of a God Who dwells in the "stuff" of matter, a God Who perhaps binds the particles and atoms into matter. The concept also helps us understand how God can both determine reality and yet not be in control in all events. In addition, it gives us confidence in dealing with the waves of life and helps us appreciate how a good God still governs in the midst of pandemics, injustices, and tragedies.

This volume is a unique interpretation of what Martin Luther contributes to renewed appreciation of Biblical diversity. The Church in the West is struggling. One reason behind this is that the prevailing models for Theology have imposed logical and modern ways of thinking about faith that renders theology academic, and therefore largely irrelevant for daily life. By letting the first Reformer speak for himself in this book, Mark Ellingsen shows how Martin Luther's theological approach can reform the Church's theology today. The real Luther-not the one taught by his various systematic interpreters-presents Christian faith in its entirety, with all its rough edges, in such a way as to direct on how and when to employ those dimensions of the Biblical witness most appropriate for the situation in which we find ourselves.

Mark Ellingsen dares you to go ahead and sin bravely In this refreshing and unique book, he challenges the religious legalism pervasive throughout American evangelicalism today and encourages a new understanding of what it means to be both a Christian and a human being. Equipped with the joyful, rebellious vision of Martin Luther, father of the Protestant reformation, and the latest in neuroscientific research, Ellingsen offers a new approach for healthy living - one opposed to the duty-oriented, selfish and stifling conception of faith that has gained such a strong foothold in contemporary American culture. It is an approach that fully embraces the active role that God's grace plays in each person's life and the fun and freedom one gains from it.

Beginning with the first theological analysis of Rick Warren's brand of Christianity, this book exposes the burdens and narcissism that purpose-driven and duty-bound living encourages, and includes the purveyors of the Prosperity Gospel, taught by such influential preachers like Joel Osteen, in his critique. Ellingsen writes that brave sinners, aware of God's grace in their lives, instead say "no" to narcissism and "yes" to healthy risk-taking that gets beyond selfish desires to the desire to help one another. When people sin bravely, acknowledging that everything done is done in sin with God's saving grace acting upon them, people can learn to recognize God. This awareness leads to freedom and joy, since the pressure is now removed to do and be good. In addition, total dependence on God entails a self-forgetfulness that leads to happiness. The more boldly someone acknowledges their sin, in failing to take credit for the good they have done, the more focused on God the individual becomes. Correspondingly, this self-forgetful lifestyle is a promising counter-cultural alternative to the cultural narcissism, which so dominate in many segments of contemporary American society. This book demonstrates both how and why brave sinning leads to joy, and in so doing offers readers practical advice on living this way.

Ellingsen also cites recent neurobiological findings showing that when people forget themselves in order to focus on bigger projects, the pleasure centers of the brain are stimulated and people become happier and more content. It is this joyous risk-taking that he suggests brings people closer together, closer to God, and closer to a better understanding of themselves. Sin Bravely dares to be that joyful alternative to the purpose driven life.

In an inclusive reading of Augustine, Mark Ellingsen reveals a patterned conceptual richness in Augustine's thought. "The Richness of Augustine" is a wonderful introduction and a rich ecumenical and historical resource. It is the first introduction that places in focus the significance of Augustine's African cultural and ethnic roots.