Basing himself on Christian sources-literally "from Saint Paul to Meister Eckhart"-Wolfgang Smith formulates what he terms an "unexpurgated" account of gnosis, and demonstrates its central place in the perfection of the Christ-centered life. He observes, moreover, that the very conception of a "supreme knowing," as implied by the aforesaid sources, has a decisive bearing upon cosmology, which moreover constitutes the underlying principle upon which his earlier scientific and philosophical work-beginning with his ground-breaking treatise on the interpretation of quantum mechanics-has been based. The "fact of gnosis," however, has a decisive bearing on the theological notion of creatio ex nihilo as well, and it is this imperative that Smith proposes to explore in the present work. What is thus demanded, he contends, is the inherently Kabbalistic notion of a creatio ex Deo et in Deo, not to replace, but to complement the creatio ex nihilo. This leads to an engagement with Christian Kabbalah (Pico de la Mirandola, Johann Reuchlin, and Cardinal Egidio di Viterbo especially) and with Jacob Boehme, culminating in an exegesis of Meister Eckhart's doctrine. The author argues, first of all, that Eckhart does not (as many have thought) advocate a "God beyond God" theology: does not, in other words, hold an inherently Sabellian view of the Trinity. Smith maintains that Eckhart has not in fact transgressed a single Trinitarian or Christological dogma; what he does deny implicitly, he shows, is none other than the creatio ex nihilo, which in effect Eckhart replaces with the Kabbalistic creatio ex Deo. In this shift, moreover, Smith perceives the transition from "exoteric" to "esoteric" within the integral domain of Christian doctrine. Wolfgang Smith brings to his writing a rare combination of qualities and experiences, not the least his ability to move freely between the somewhat arcane worlds of science and traditional metaphysics. Alongside Dr. Smith's imposing qualifications in mathematics, physics, and philosophy, we find his hard-earned expertise in Platonism, Christian theology, traditional cosmologies, and Oriental metaphysics. His outlook has been enriched both by his diverse professional experiences in the high-tech world of the aerospace industry and in academia, and by his own researches in the course of his far-reaching intellectual and spiritual journeying. Here is that rare person who is equally at home with Eckhart and Einstein, Heraclitus and Heisenberg Harry Oldmeadow, La Trobe University]

Darwin. Dawkins. Dennett. - This voluble triumvirate has gained oracular status for many scientists and laypersons in the contemporary world. But though the edifice of thought they have erected over and against tradition and faith has gained currency in today's nihilistic mind, it is now rapidly eroding in the serious world of ideas. But what of that heady amalgam of Science and Christianity first put together by Teilhard de Chardin, which struck the Catholic world like a whirlwind around the time of the Second Vatican Council and continues to the present day in the work of such Catholic evolutionists as John Haught and Kenneth R. Miller? What as a rule has rendered Catholics vulnerable to Teilhardian tenets-apart from the fact that these conform to the neo-humanist tendencies of our age-is that the theory is clad in scientific garb: in the modern world, where Science speaks, it appears even angels will listen. In Theistic Evolution, Wolfgang Smith shows himself to be that rare person thoroughly grounded in both science and theology, and what he proves through detailed and rigorous argument is that Teilhard de Chardin has in fact sold us a veritable science-fiction theology. This book, however, is much more than a masterful and indeed definitive refutation of theistic evolutionism: it is at the same time an incomparable introduction to long-forgotten metaphysical and theological truths. In language at once precise and lucid the author recalls teachings going back to the Greek and Latin Fathers, and explains their bearing on questions about the nature of God and man bungled at the hands of many contemporary scientists and theologians.

For many years, Wolfgang Smith has been putting forward an expansive vision of the traditional Christian cosmos alongside an incisive critique of the truncated perspective of contemporary scientism. In Ancient Wisdom and Modern Misconceptions he shows how the physical sciences, freed from prevailing misconceptions, actually corroborate the traditional wisdom long thought to be dead. Basing himself in part upon epistemological considerations first enunciated by Sir Arthur Eddington, he shows that the so-called physical universe proves finally to be constructed by the strategies of the experimental physicist himself. Following this he delves into the foundations of astrophysics and planetary astronomy, and then proceeds to elucidate the concepts of Intelligent Design and vertical causation. He concludes by showing how Anthropic Coincidence should be rightly considered.

With equal mastery Smith presents the serious reader with glimpses of the perennial wisdom eclipsed since the Enlightenment, and shows that traditional cosmology, so far from being disqualified, actually provides the keys to an understanding of science itself. No one entering the fray of current debates regarding "science and religion" can afford to neglect the immense implications of this work by Wolfgang Smith.

Darwin. Dawkins. Dennett. - This voluble triumvirate has gained oracular status for many scientists and laypersons in the contemporary world. But though the edifice of thought they have erected over and against tradition and faith has gained currency in today's nihilistic mind, it is now rapidly eroding in the serious world of ideas. But what of that heady amalgam of Science and Christianity first put together by Teilhard de Chardin, which struck the Catholic world like a whirlwind around the time of the Second Vatican Council and continues to the present day in the work of such Catholic evolutionists as John Haught and Kenneth R. Miller? What as a rule has rendered Catholics vulnerable to Teilhardian tenets-apart from the fact that these conform to the neo-humanist tendencies of our age-is that the theory is clad in scientific garb: in the modern world, where Science speaks, it appears even angels will listen. In Theistic Evolution, Wolfgang Smith shows himself to be that rare person thoroughly grounded in both science and theology, and what he proves through detailed and rigorous argument is that Teilhard de Chardin has in fact sold us a veritable science-fiction theology. This book, however, is much more than a masterful and indeed definitive refutation of theistic evolutionism: it is at the same time an incomparable introduction to long-forgotten metaphysical and theological truths. In language at once precise and lucid the author recalls teachings going back to the Greek and Latin Fathers, and explains their bearing on questions about the nature of God and man bungled at the hands of many contemporary scientists and theologians.

Basing himself on Christian sources-literally "from Saint Paul to Meister Eckhart"-Wolfgang Smith formulates what he terms an "unexpurgated" account of gnosis, and demonstrates its central place in the perfection of the Christ-centered life. He observes, moreover, that the very conception of a "supreme knowing," as implied by the aforesaid sources, has a decisive bearing upon cosmology, which moreover constitutes the underlying principle upon which his earlier scientific and philosophical work-beginning with his ground-breaking treatise on the interpretation of quantum mechanics-has been based. The "fact of gnosis," however, has a decisive bearing on the theological notion of creatio ex nihilo as well, and it is this imperative that Smith proposes to explore in the present work. What is thus demanded, he contends, is the inherently Kabbalistic notion of a creatio ex Deo et in Deo, not to replace, but to complement the creatio ex nihilo. This leads to an engagement with Christian Kabbalah (Pico de la Mirandola, Johann Reuchlin, and Cardinal Egidio di Viterbo especially) and with Jacob Boehme, culminating in an exegesis of Meister Eckhart's doctrine. The author argues, first of all, that Eckhart does not (as many have thought) advocate a "God beyond God" theology: does not, in other words, hold an inherently Sabellian view of the Trinity. Smith maintains that Eckhart has not in fact transgressed a single Trinitarian or Christological dogma; what he does deny implicitly, he shows, is none other than the creatio ex nihilo, which in effect Eckhart replaces with the Kabbalistic creatio ex Deo. In this shift, moreover, Smith perceives the transition from "exoteric" to "esoteric" within the integral domain of Christian doctrine. Wolfgang Smith brings to his writing a rare combination of qualities and experiences, not the least his ability to move freely between the somewhat arcane worlds of science and traditional metaphysics. Alongside Dr. Smith's imposing qualifications in mathematics, physics, and philosophy, we find his hard-earned expertise in Platonism, Christian theology, traditional cosmologies, and Oriental metaphysics. His outlook has been enriched both by his diverse professional experiences in the high-tech world of the aerospace industry and in academia, and by his own researches in the course of his far-reaching intellectual and spiritual journeying. Here is that rare person who is equally at home with Eckhart and Einstein, Heraclitus and Heisenberg Harry Oldmeadow, La Trobe University]