Quantum Theology

Postulating a new theology is, by any standard, no mean feat. Attempting to define, as O'Murchu valiantly does, a theology that embraces the latest advances in quantum physics can only be considered a task of Herculean proportions. While well-intentioned and well-researched, this book extrapolates farther and farther away from quantum mechanical insights into realms which, at times, are quite speculative in order to create a basis for a quantum theology. For example, O'Murchu begins his system with synergy, the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, a principle that is not inherently a quantum mechanical conclusion at all. O'Murchu gives his argument sharper focus when he describes Stephen Hawking's concept of the birth of the universe, and he does a workmanlike job of creating what might best be called a cosmological theology. Unfortunately, the author's circuitous prose is difficult to follow. However, putting O'Murchu's audacious work into perspective, even Roger Penrose, in his Shadows of the Mind, admitted he was challenged to find a basis for consciousness in quantum mechanics. Finding a basis for God in quantum mechanics may be something else altogether. (Jan.)