The Reviews

Professor Jeremiah Bodmar, Philosophy, Las Positas.

I find the entire work, as well as the larger research project that it enables, to be thoughtful, brilliant, and inspiring. .... Overall it is a book that I think any interested person could read and get a lot from. There is certainly a market for books that are designed for the common reader with the intent of bringing theism back into mainstream thought.

Professor Leon James, Psychology, Hawaii.

This book is an important initial step in the successful formulation and justification of a new beginning for science which the author calls theistic science.

Here is a scientist who begins by assuming God exists and develops his scientific ideas from that point of view. He has a unique idea that is fascinating. I loved reading this, even though it takes concentration to follow. The discussion combines philosophy, quantum physics, and religion. It reminded me of the Tao of Physics, only more modern and more Christian.

Science and God (nook review at Barnes & Noble)

I always laugh at attempts to prove God, so I had to read this. But, actually, the book comes from a different angle - no proof, just acceptance. What could happen in science if God was assumed? Most scientists probably won't even go there, but this one is up for the task. I've never read a book with this point of view before. Nice.

Dr Greg Baker, Bryn Athyn College.

The relationship between science and religion has a long and variable history. Swedenborg speaks of two sources of truth: revelation and nature. Others saw nature and the Bible as the two "books" that revealed God's creation. Galileo relegated religion to a lower place in the study of nature as suggested by his famous statement that the Bible tells us how to go to heaven and not how the heavens go.
In more recent times, relatively few scientists publicize their belief in Divine creation and/or Divine management of the cosmos. Ian Thompson is an exception to this generalization.
He begins his book with: "I believe in God. I am a nuclear physicist. Those two things do not conflict in my mind, but instead they enhance each other." (p. ix)
 (continued here)

Western civilization has been looking for rational, scientific support for religious faith since the Middle Ages. Finally, here is a book that builds the case for belief in a clear and understandable way.

A True "Theory of Everything" December 2, 2012, Amazon Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars

Ian Thompson has made a significant contribution to a true and comprehensive "Theory of Everything" by bringing together a deep scientific and philosophical background with powerful theological insights. This is a brilliant but challenging work that moves past the sterile debates about science versus religion and takes the conversation into a fundamentally new framework - how do we integrate a knowledge of God with a knowledge of the world.

Review in "the Messenger", December 2012, by Rev. Dr Jim Lawrence, Pacific School of Religion,  here.

Titus Rivas for IANDS Netherlands (in Dutch and English)

Now let physics and religion proceed apace: Amazon Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars

This is a work of surpassing genius in which Thompson gives us new insights into the theological, metaphysical and physical aspects of creation. Using his knowledge of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, in combination with the doctrines of discrete degrees, dispositions, propensities along with ends, causes and effects, a remarkably plausible ontological system is offered in a clear and convincing way. As an advocate and pioneer in theistic science Dr. Thompson shows how Divine Love and Wisdom proceed through multiple discrete levels to create the spiritual world, the mental world and the ultimately the physical world we know through our senses in the milieu of time and space.

Some prior knowledge of at least the basics of quantum physics would be helpful in fully understanding the text but is by no means essential. This is a book best read through at least twice to best grasp the profound principles elucidated by the author, a theoretical physicist who has spent years forging them into a system with profound religious consequences.

Groundbreaking: Amazon Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars

Thompson invites his readers into an adventurous romp through historical theology, philosophy of nature, contemporary physics and (Swedenborgian) theosophy along the way towards an interpretation of modern physics that more than accommodates visionary spirituality. Even though Starting Science from God often enters the abstractions basic both to philosophy of nature and of God, the book is written in a clear and comprehensible style. In its 300 pages one encounters dozens of important thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to the Enlightenment theosopher Swedenborg to such modern titans Alfred North Whitehead, Roger Penrose, and Nicholas Saunders. He creates a theological manifesto driven by a core postulate that proposes love as the fundamental substance and propensity of all that is. Since theology is primarily concerned with the nature of human life as it relates to God, Thompson also incorporates modern psychology as a critical element in a picture framing both modern science and good theology. In nuce, Thompson argues that from known properties of physical materials and their dispositions one can quite plausibly project a multi-level structure of reality held together by a divine love that involves a human consciousness contemplating questions of meaning and purpose and evolving upwardly into creative participation of that love. A daring thesis for an esteemed physicist, and for that reason an important contribution to the current "science and theology" conversation.