“The eternal now of God is definitely the underpinning of the Eucharist and your theory in Everywhen – absolutely correct.” – from a personal email to Dr. Thomas Sheahen from Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ
Everywhen: God, Symmetry, and Time
by Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen
Have you been told that science and religion are incompatible? Do you think you have to give one up to be consistent?
You don’t. In this book, MIT-trained physicist Thomas Sheahen explains how you can:
- trust in God more readily, by realizing that God is not limited by space and time
- expand your human thinking and step up to a higher plane of understanding
- realize that religion and science are complementary paths to knowledge–not opposed
- understand that God thought up the laws of nature and uses them in creation.
Hardback: $23.99 | Paperback: $18.99 | Kindle: $9.99
REVIEW BY PRAVIN THEVATHASAN, CATHOLIC MEDICAL QUARTERLY
I really enjoyed reading this book. The author has forty-five years of experience as a research physicist. His love of science and the Catholic faith shines through.As we advance from Newton to Einstein, what we see is the development of a symmetrical pattern. Time and Space have a relationship that earlier scientists were not aware of. The laws of physics have a beautiful symmetric pattern. Science is not something random. Everything is ordered. There is something stupendous going on here because it could have been otherwise.But if everything was random, it would not have been possible for us to have such things as the laws of science. The very fact that the universe is so splendidly ordered suggests the existence of God who created space and time.When atheists like Dawkins asks the question: “who created God?”, the assumption is that God himself is in time. This suggests the superiority of time over God, and this is not the case.The Bible teaches us that God is superior to space and time. The world of physics has shown that there is a starting point to creation. This was deeply embarrassing for the atheists! So, they decided to create a fiction: the multiverse. That is one way to come up with one random universe that could sustain life. There is no proof whatever for the existence of this multiverse.Although science and faith complement each other, science is not rooted in religion. The Bible teaches us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go. Our limited minds cannot understand the mind of God. Stephen Hawking famously tried doing so and came up with the idea that gravity could explain everything. Which explains nothing. For Hawking, we are in existence by accident. There is no purpose in life.Can we turn science in an idol? I attended a lecture many years ago given by the distinguished priest-scientist Stanley Jaki. The take home message was that science is limited to measuring quantity. You cannot derive a set of moral beliefs from science alone. Love, beauty, truth, and goodness are beyond science but not opposed to it. In the ninetieth century, classical mechanics appeared to say that everything in nature is determined in advance. Science, it was suggested, can explain everything. How wrong they were. As science advances, the more we come to realise how little we actually know. They are surely wise who, like Socrates, recognize their limitations. “I know nothing” said the Fawlty Towers character Manuel. Such is the wisdom of fools.I do have some reservations. The author appears to suggest that Teilhard de Chardin was someone who showed that science and theology complement each other. Unfortunately, Teilhard appears to have fallen into the errors of pantheism and the denial of original sin. There are other problems with Teilhard. The great Catholic philosopher Dietrich Von Hildebrand was scathing of his theories.Having said that, I think this book is very good indeed. We have one more highly qualified scientist telling us that Christians have nothing to fear from science. Indeed, science and religion complement each other beautifully.
REVIEW BY IVAN ARTHUR, AUTHOR OF PAVEMENT PRAYERS AND SAYNT LACHMI
Everywhen. Beyond Everywhere.
God is smarter than Science.
While most will nod agreement without even thinking about it, a few may squint at the statement, not able to pit a known against an unknown entity. They know this fellow called Science; they have seen him and have marvelled at his revelations; The Other (whom they see mentioned in capital letters) is that unseen conjurer who is said to have pulled those rabbits out of this hat called Creation. To some, like Richard Dawkins and my mathematician neighbour, He does not even exist.
Thomas P. Sheahen, in his gently compelling book, Everywhen, convincingly presents an almost conjugal compatibility between Science and Religion; both confessing to a dependence on Faith. The scientist and physicist has as much faith in E=MC2 as the Christian in the Trinity and the Hindu in an elephant god. He needs to believe in the heritage of science to move on. This faith among physicists embraces an appreciation of the “fearful” symmetry and beauty of God’s creation, the symmetry of a multi-dimensional universe that challenges the boundaries of thought. For anything to be accepted by science, it has to be tested and subjected to measurement, but Sheahen states that “believing that a computer model equals truth is a unique new variety of idolatry.”
Everywhen: God, Symmetry and Time is wide in its scope of inquiry, bringing into focus those blurred images of Infinity and eternal life, which sit easy within the mind of the believer but can never be defined under the proud lens of even the most powerful of Science’s instruments. God is omnipotent and omnipresent, occupying the infinity of both space and time; not just everywhere; Everywhen. This is a book that has insights for everyone, presented in the vocabulary of vectors and matrices for scientists and physicists and clearly articulated for the theologian and layman. Everywhen is for everyone.
TESTIMONIALS
“I am impressed with Dr. Sheahen’s explanation of how God is not only everywhere but also ‘everywhen,’ not dependent on time. God is real; let’s stay Heaven bound. Cheers for eternity! ‘I knew you before you were in your mother’s womb.’ ~ Jer1:5” – Dr. Pat Castle, co-editor with Bernadette Costello of LIFE Runners Daily Devotions
“The author develops a model for the higher dimensional existence of God based on the symmetry laws and special relativity relations of physics, and very clearly explains it using the dimensional model published by Abbot in his book “Flatland”. Very well written and easy to understand, especially for scientific readers.” – Phil Cassady, Physicist
“If one accepts the premise that an intelligence created the universe, I am convinced that He would have to be close to what Tom describes.” – Dr. Steven I. Parks, Washington, D.C.-area physicist
“I think Everywhen: God, Symmetry, and Time will be very valuable for helping people see how science points to faith and to recognize the false dichotomies between faith and science imposed on many minds within the popular culture by those who dislike religion or champion scientism. I also think that this book, particularly the multi-dimensional parts of the last chapter, will help people recognize the possibility of God free from the constraints of time, and a Heaven that may transcend some of the constraints of time. There are many other wonderful insights that will bring people closer to God and the unity between faith and reason.” – Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, Host, “Fr. Spitzer’s Universe”
“Dr. Sheahen has written a very insightful and at times provocative book, addressing the often-forgotten issue of Time in regard to the Omnipresence of God. He points out that Catholic belief in God’s creation, both visible and invisible, includes not only the realm of space and particles, but also the very space-time fabric of reality. He applies the concept of God’s independence from time to discuss the ramifications in the physics world, the meaning of eternity, and even the existence of Hell. I am sure you’ll find this book to be interesting and thought provoking.” – David J. Keys, PhD, author of Discovering the Fullness of Reality and Exploring the Belief in the Real Presence
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Thomas P. Sheahen earned BS and PhD degrees in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his 45-year career as a research physicist, predominantly in energy sciences, he worked for Bell Telephone Laboratories, the National Bureau of Standards, various research corporations, the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He was chosen as a Congressional Research Fellow by the American Physical Society, dealing with energy-related national legislation. Dr. Sheahen wrote the textbook Introduction to High-Temperature Superconductivity.
Dr. Sheahen, a lifelong Catholic, is director emeritus of the Institute for the Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, which focuses on demonstrating the compatibility of faith and science as paths toward knowledge.
OTHER ACADEMIC BOOKS
Disputed Catholic Landmarks: From Disinformation to Information
Disputed Catholic Landmarks by Gerard Verschuuren Everyone's life has landmarks: when you were born, when you graduated from school, when you got your first job, when you got married, and so many more. There must be many landmarks in the history of the Catholic...
The Divine Mosaic: Piecing Together Catholic and Orthodox Unity
The Divine Mosaic: Piecing Together Catholic and Orthodox Unity by James Likoudis This book collects essays, speeches, and presentations given over the course of James Likoudis' seven decades as a Catholic. As a convert from Eastern Orthodoxy, he has devoted the...
Scholars of the Sacred: Dominican Theologians in Late Medieval Byzantium
Scholars of the Sacred: Dominican Theologians in Late Medieval Byzantium by James Likoudis This in-depth study of the Catholic–Orthodox reunion efforts during the tumultuous 11th–15th centuries reveals the vital role played by the Dominican Order in shaping the...
Metaphysics, Truth and St. Thomas Aquinas
Metaphysics, Truth and St. Thomas Aquinas by Dr. Donald G. Boland In studying natural wisdom, Dr. Boland takes a look at how Aristotle defends the principle of non-contradiction, focusing on the great philosopher's treatment of the causes that prompted the ancients to...
Thomas of the Creator
Thomas of the Creator by Dr. Donald G. Boland Based on the works of St. Thomas, in particular his two Summas and his commentaries on Aristotle’s Physics and Metaphysics, this book is divided into three parts; 1) The Existence of God; 2) His Essence; 3) His Attributes,...
Beloved Lover: The Priesthood in the Song of Songs
Beloved Lover: The Priesthood in the Song of Songs by Fr. Gregory Cleveland, OMV In the context of the mystical love poetry of the Song of Songs, Beloved Lover explores how the priest is the living image of Jesus Christ, the Spouse of the Church. The priest is called...
True Catholic Doctrinal Development: The Modal Distinction of Francisco Suárez and its Christological-Theological Consequences
True Catholic Doctrinal Development: The Modal Distinction of Francisco Suárez and its Christological-Theological Consequences by Dr. Rafael Xavier Gonzalez In this book, Dr. Rafael Gonzalez discusses Suárez' modal distinction, which seems to satisfy both medieval...
Contemporary Sacred Art: Conversations on Art & Faith
COMING SOON! Contemporary Sacred Art: Conversations on Art & Faith by Dr. Michela Beatrice Ferri In translation now from the Italian. Buy it in the original language here: What is the so-called “Contemporary Sacred Art”? In her book, Michela Beatrice Ferri...
Metaphysics/Ontology and St. Thomas Aquinas (Twenty Readings in Wisdom Forsaken)
Metaphysics/Ontology and St. Thomas Aquinas by Dr. Donald G. Boland With this book the author moves from what Aristotle and Aquinas called the order of practical studies to the theoretical. At their highest levels it is from the ethical to the metaphysical. To the...
Addressing Moral Confusion
Addressing Moral Confusion by Richard May TBA Paperback: $TBA | Kindle: $9.99 TESTIMONIALS "As a homeschool parent who has taught my children from K to 12, I have found Rich May’s Teachers Workbook on Apologetics to be an excellent, concise and engaging teaching...
Handbook on the Moral Arguments in the Embryo Adoption Debate
To receive a 30% pre-order discount, click on the donate button below and purchase the book for $20.95 + $6 shipping.Handbook on the Moral Arguments in the Embryo Adoption Debate by Elizabeth B. Rex, PhD, and Charles Robertson, PhD The possibility of embryo adoption...
The Social Encyclicals and Saint Thomas Aquinas
The Social Encyclicals and Saint Thomas Aquinas by Dr. Donald G. Boland The social encyclicals of the Catholic Church provide an opportunity to treat human behavior from a practical moral philosophical point of view grounded in Aristotle as interpreted by Saint Thomas...
The Globalization of the Western Cultural Revolution: Key Concepts, Operational Mechanisms
The Globalization of the Western Cultural Revolution: Key Concepts, Operational Mechanisms by Marguerite A. Peeters, Ph.D. A new ethic, secularist in its radical aspects, has spread like wildfire all over the world since the end of the cold war. This ethic is the...
The Lord of the Rings and Catholicism
The Lord of the Rings and Catholicism: Exploring the Christian Roots of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Madeleine Dobrowski This book explores the Catholic themes that can be found in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is written for all lovers of Tolkien, Catholic or...
Conscience and Power: The Contest for Civilization in the West
Conscience and Power: The Contest for Civilization in the West by Dr. Richard Bishirjian Conscience and Power examines how civilization in "the West" arose after the fall of the Roman Empire and has grappled ever after with a desire of citizens of nations of Western...
Clerical Sexual Misconduct, Vol. 2: A Foundational Conversation
Clerical Sexual Misconduct, Vol 2: A Foundational Conversation Editors -- Jane F. Adolphe and Robert L. Fastiggi The abuse, harassment, or devaluation of women, in any form by Catholic priests and bishops, raises concerns about: whether clerics have a healthy...
Heresy Disguised as Tradition
Heresy Disguised as Tradition by Pedro Gabriel A widespread assertion in Catholic circles today is that one can disregard the teachings of Pope Francis or the Second Vatican Council if they teach something that seems to go against tradition. Is this the case? In this...
The Necessity of Knowledge for Love and its Application
The Necessity of Knowledge for Love and Its Application by Fr. Paul Ezinando In this work, Fr. Paul Ezinando not only demonstrates that knowledge is a necessity for love, but he also shows that proper knowledge promotes love. Following the argument of St. Augustine,...
La Cattiva Condotta Sessuale del Clero: Un’Analisi Interdisciplinare
La Cattiva Condotta Sessuale del Clero: Un'Analisi Interdisciplinare A cura di Jane F. Adolphe e Ronald J. RychlakTraduzione italiana di Marco Toti La Cattiva Condotta Sessuale del Clero, Un’Analisi Interdisciplinare è un libro importante curato da Jane F. Adolphe e...
Unfolding a Post-Roe World
Unfolding a Post-Roe World by Francis Etheredge Unfolding a Post-Roe World is the second edition of what had formerly been entitled The ABCQ of Conceiving Conception. It explores what is involved in grasping the beginning of each of us – but we need the truth to open...
Los principios del cambio
Los principios del cambio: La reforma carmelita de Teresa de Ávila y las ideas de la gestión del cambio Kristina R. Olsen Este libro se basa en los principios de gestión del cambio organizacional para examinar la reforma de la Orden Carmelita de Teresa de Ávila en el...
Rational Responses to Skepticism: A Catholic Philosopher Defends Intellectual Foundations for Traditional Belief by Dennis Bonnette, Ph.D.
Rational Responses to Skepticism: A Catholic Philosopher Defends Intellectual Foundations for Traditional Belief by Dennis Bonnette, Ph.D. Following an avalanche of spirited criticism from skeptics, agnostics, and atheists, who have provided forceful intellectual...
After Justice: Catholic Challenges to Progressive Culture, Politics, Economics and Education
After Justice: Catholic Challenges to Progressive Culture, Politics, Economics and Education by Thomas A. Michaud, Ph.D. In recent decades in the United States, various derivative forms of Progressivism have emerged that manifest its lack of philosophical cohesion and...
Political Science and Saint Thomas Aquinas
Political Science and Saint Thomas Aquinas by Dr. Donald G Boland This book seeks to provide a relatively complete basis for the understanding of political science as presented by Aristotle, with the help of Saint Thomas Aquinas mainly by way of his (partial)...
The Wonder of the Eucharist
The Wonder of the Eucharist: More Voices from the Twentieth Century by Dennis Billy, C.Ss.R. This book examines some of the major literary voices from the past century who deepened our understanding of the Eucharist by embedding it in their short stories, novels,...
Ethics Today and Saint Thomas Aquinas
Ethics Today and Saint Thomas Aquinas: A Complete Course on Moral Philosophy for Our Time and All Times by Dr. Donald G. Boland This book seeks to provide a complete moral philosophy based on the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. The first part deals with the principles or...
A History of Western Civilization from the Three Earliest Civilizations to the Completion of the Reconquista by Fr. Charles Bak, MSA
A History of Western Civilization from the Three Earliest Civilizations to the Completion of the Reconquista: Western Civilization, Part 1 by Fr. Charles Bak, MSA This book tells a good story, actually the best story--the real story! So much of history involves...
Global Healing: Poverty, Migration and Refugees, Race and Religion, War, Morality by Robin Arthur
Global Healing: Poverty, Migration and Refugees, Race and Religion, War, Morality by Robin Arthur This book seeks to examine five challenges that our changing world will increasingly confront in the aftermath of Covid-19, namely poverty, migration and refugees, race...
Paradoxes of Faith and Reason
Paradoxes of Faith and Reason by Dr. Shalina Stilley Paradox it is at the very heart of the Gospel message. The Trinity, the Incarnation, the Cross and Resurrection, and the problem of evil are but a few examples of paradoxes of faith and reason. How can God be three...
Rise and Fall of the American Empire
A new book from En Route Books and media critically analyzes how the Republic fashioned by the Framers of the Constitution in 1787 has been transformed into a deep Administrative State ruled by non-elected experts.Rise and Fall of the American Empire by Dr. Richard...
Assertions and Refutations: An Assessment of Dr Tracey Rowland’s Natural Law: From Neo Thomism to Nuptial Mysticism
Assertions and Refutations: An Assessment of Dr Tracey Rowland’s Natural Law: From Neo Thomism to Nuptial Mysticism by Frank Calneggia This book unties the philosophical knot of Dr Tracey Rowland’s assertions concerning the natural moral law, Faith and reason, nature...
Natural Law – Australian Style
Natural Law - Australian Style: A Study in Disputation focusing on the Work of Peter Singer, John Finnis and Tracey Rowland by Dr. Donald G. Boland This book is a critique of the three most prominent Australian "authorities" on Law and Ethics of the present day,...
The Drama of Metaphysics: An Exploration into the Psychological Power of Worldviews
The Drama of Metaphysics: An Exploration into the Psychological Power of Worldviews by Stephen Alexander Beach Western Philosophy has been a 2500-year conversation attempting to understand the reality which lies beyond the changing physical appearances of the world....
Human Nature: Moral Norm
Human Nature: Moral Norm by Francis Etheredge There is a 'difference, both anthropological and moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle: it is a difference which is much wider and deeper than is usually thought, one which involves in the...
Reaching for the Resurrection: A Pastoral Bioethics
Reaching for the Resurrection: A Pastoral Bioethics Loneliness, Aloneness, Euthanasia, Meaning, Anorexia, Brain Death, Conversion, and the Death and Resurrection of Christ by Francis Etheredge Francis Etheredge returns to the subject of bioethics with essays on...
Principles of Change by Kristina R. Olsen
Principles of Change: Teresa of Avila’s Carmelite Reform and Insights from Change Management Kristina R. Olsen This book draws from organizational change management principles to examine Teresa of Avila’s 16th-century reform of the Carmelite Order. During the last...
The Battle for the 20th Century Mind by Ronda Chervin
The Battle for the 20th Century Mind by Ronda Chervin TBA Paperback: $19.95 | Kindle: $9.99 Reviews A review of Dr. Ronda Chervin’s, The Battle for the 20th Century Mind (St. Luis, MO: En Route Books and Media, 2022) by Francis Etheredge Ronda Chervin sets out her...
Conscious Energy and the Evolution of Philosophy
Conscious Energy and the Evolution of Philosophy by Joe P. Provenzano This is a book about philosophy, but it is a book for everyone—everyone who has ever wondered about the meaning of the universe and human life—because it provides answers to two fundamental...
A Primer in the Philosophy of John Paul II–In His Own Words
A Primer in the Philosophy of John Paul II--In His Own Words by Dr. Michael J. Healy To aid students in comprehending the Holy Father's thought, Dr. Healy provides close-to-the-text summary interpretations of Saint John Paul II's major philosophical works, condensing...
Three Acts: A Commentary on Plato’s Theaetetus
Three Acts: A Commentary on Plato's Theaetetus by Brandon Spun This guide to Plato’s Theaetetus is both an introduction to philosophy and an analysis of the dialogue according to the three acts of the mind. It suggests that Plato explores the problem of knowledge by...
Exploring the Belief in the Real Presence
Exploring the Belief in the Real Presence (Second Edition) by Dr. David J. Keys When an evangelical minister asked him why one would believe that Jesus is present -- body, blood, soul, and divinity -- in communion, Dr. Keys began an intensive study into the ancient...
The Biblical Qur’an: A Christian Investigation
The Biblical Qur'an: A Christian Investigation by Michael Healy, Jr. Can Christians interpret the Qur’an Christocentricly, as we have always done with the Old Testament? How would such a reading of the Qur’an modify our understanding of Christian and Muslim history?...
Philosophy Begins in Wonder
Philosophy Begins in Wonder by Stephen D. Schwarz with Kiki Latimer This book is the compilation of over fifty years of teaching Ethics, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Philosophy of the Person, and Virtue Ethics in the classroom setting. Philosophy Begins in Wonder offers...
The Gender Link to the Human Soul by Kimberly Bruce
The Gender Link to the Human Soul by Kimberly Bruce The Gender Link to the Human Soul establishes gender as an element of the soul retained in this life and for all eternity. This is demonstrated in the brilliant philosophical insights of Thomas Aquinas and John Paul...
History of Peter
History of Peter by Roger Skrenes Peter is spoken of 195 times in the New Testament, twice as many times as all the other Apostles combined. Today, when Peter is discussed, however, what is most often emphasized is the erratic or sinful side of his personality. Jesus...
Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy: Growing Up in Neverland by Dennis Billy, C.Ss.R. This book looks at J. M. Barrie's classic children's story Peter Pan to see what it can tell us about ourselves and our situation today. It discovers in this classic fairy-tale about the boy from...
Weeds Among Wheat
Weeds Among Wheat: L'Arche and the Tainted Legacy of Jean Vanier by Dennis Billy, C.Ss.R. This book is about baking the bread of Christian community from the grains of our broken humanity. It is primarily concerned with distinguishing L'Arche's authentic spirituality...
How to Listen & How to Speak by Dr. Peter Redpath
How to Listen & How to Speak: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants to Renew Commonsense and Uncommonsense Wisdom in the Contemporary World by Dr. Peter Redpath While the subject of this monograph is chiefly human communication in the form of listening and speaking,...
21 Centuries of Church History in 21 Pages by Albert Domm
21 Centuries of Church History in 21 Pages by Albert Domm Focused on our Catholic faith, Albert Domm's 21 Centuries of Church History in 21 Pages engages the Catholic reader in a concise but rich history of our Church one full century at a time. A narrative flow, this...
Words, Concepts, Reality: Aristotelian Logic for Teenagers
Words, Concepts, Reality: Aristotelian Logic for Teenagers By Thaddeus Kozinski, Ph.D. When we hear the word logic, we tend to think of arguments, premises and conclusions, claims and evidence for claims. But this is only half of it. Arguments are made of words, and...