cover image A God That Could Be Real: Spirituality, Science, and the Future of the Planet

A God That Could Be Real: Spirituality, Science, and the Future of the Planet

Nancy Ellen Abrams. Beacon, $26.95 (200p) ISBN 978-0-8070-7340-7

Abrams, a lawyer and coauthor of books on cosmology (The New Universe and the Human Future), had long-standing disdain for organized religion and oversimplified approaches to faith and God. But a personal crisis with an eating disorder prompted her to deeply rethink her views about God and religion. She came to understand God as something consistent with what is real in the universe. “God persists and always will because it’s a fundamental characteristic of the connection between ourselves and the universe,” Abrams writes. She argues that God emerges in the world through the human mind and that humans have the responsibility to create a better world for themselves and future generations. She urges readers to pay close attention to climate change and the destruction of the planet. Prayers are answered, she maintains, and yet no one is there to hear them. Much is possible for the planet and its people, she concludes, and she “want(s) to conserve this divine explosion of possibilities.” This book will appeal to scientifically minded readers and those intrigued by process theology. Agent: Douglas Abrams, Idea Architects. (Mar.)