Conversations Beyond Science & Religion

Thousands of books have been written about quantum theory. Originally conceived in the early 20th Century, its successes — and mysteries — continue... The post The Quantum Enigma: A 20-Year Retrospective with Author Fred Kuttner appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net .

Eben Alexander’s story is unique among the annals of near-death experiences. As a practicing neurosurgeon, Eben was trained within the... The post Eben Alexander and the Proof of Heaven appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net .

Conventional medical science treats the body — including the mind — as a machine.  If parts of the machine fail or become diseased, the standard approach is to treat the malady with chemicals, operate on damaged parts, or destroy unwanted cells with intense radiation.  At times, in the instance of acute trauma, stabilization of bodily […] The post Sacred Psychiatry appeared first on WebTalkRadio.n...

We are all familiar with the concept of tuning, particularly in regard to musical instruments. We know that to "stay in tune" means to play with the right pitch and to harmonize with other instruments. Even the untutored ear knows when a piano is out-of-tune: something sounds out-of-balance and disjointed. Sounds that only roughly track […] The post Life in a Finely Tuned Universe with Luke Barnes...

With the recent attack on Israel by Hamas and the horrors of war spread throughout the media, it might help to remember that Islam and Judaism pray to the same God. Judaism traditionally teaches that one connects with God through following the commandments, or the mitzvot.  In his new book, Transcendental Judaism: Enlivening the Eternal Within to […] The post Transcendental Judaism appeared first...

In our current mechanical worldview, we view the brain as a biochemical machine consisting of intricate particles known as neurons. As an engineer’s design and technology limit the function of a machine, so the DNA molecule limits the function of the brain. Simply put, machines do not have visions, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, spiritual awakenings, […] The post Breaking Through...

In his groundbreaking 1993 book, The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World, Amit Goswami used the findings of quantum theory to argue that consciousness creates what we perceive to be the material world.  This conclusion is in direct opposition to scientific materialism, which holds that consciousness — if it even exists — arises […] The post Amit Goswani and the Future...

In his new book, Radical Loving: One God, One World, One People, Rabbi Wayne Dosick, PhD, combines inspiration with revelation, adds a few words of wisdom, and then splices in a series of enlightening tales exemplifying the point at hand.  He shines a light on the common ground to all religions, which are all rooted in one Source, and then compares the vision of religion to the deep problems of th...

Throughout history, humans have always had extraordinary experiences we often called miracles—events that fill us with wonder and bafflement.  The problem is that under our current scientific worldview, miracles are not supposed to occur because they constitute a violation of the laws of nature.  But suppose that what we call miracles actually reveal the true nature of the physical world, which is...

As the case against materialism builds, the credentials of the opponents to this pessimistic view of the world continue to increase.  This show's guest, Dr. Harald Walach, holds a double Ph. D in Clinical Psychology, and History and Theory of Science.  He is currently a professor with Poznan Medical University in Poznan, Poland, and author of more than 170 peer reviewed papers, 14 books, and 100 b...

The Source with a capital S is a neutral, "new age" term referring to the ground of Being. But it has a richer meaning than the Big Bang of modern cosmology or Darwin's primordial swamp out of which life supposedly arose. This Source organizes life, gives it coherence, and injects it with meaning.   If all things came from the Source, then it would seem helpful if we "went home" and reconnected wi...

Along with Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin is one of the two leading scientists in our modern era.  The topic of evolution dominates biology and has permeated our thinking far beyond Darwin's original conception of the subject.  To believe in evolution is tantamount to being considered a civilized human being.  But a major problem presents itself:  how many people actually understand what Darwin s...

Perhaps no other-worldly phenomenon captures the mind more than near-death experiences.  We are all born with an innate hope that there is something beyond this physical world, and near-death experiences give us a glimpse that these hopes are real.  This show's guest P.M.H. Atwater, L.H.D ( http://pmhatwater.hypermart.net/)., had two near death experiences when young.  40 years and 18 books later,...

The notion that we live in a hardened, physical material world, separated from mind, is ingrained into our consciousness.  It is a such a common thought that as some have said, to accept the independence of the material world is a test of sanity.  But it turns out that the question is not that straightforward after all.  And importantly, in our modern, free-thinking culture, the question is no lon...

Is science really a religion?  Is religion a science? Modern science itself is based upon a set of unquestioned beliefs, such as the origins of matter, life, and consciousness.  We take the scientific theories about the origins of these phenomena as true, whether we understand the explanations or not.  Meanwhile, religious experiences, such as near-death experiences, have a lot in common; similarl...

Crop circles are geometric, patterned formations mysteriously carved into farm fields.  In a way, they are farm-sized snowflakes.  They have been observed all around the world, but primarily in the United Kingdom.   To see a crop circle in person or in a color photograph ( https://cropcircles.lucypringle.co.uk/) speaks a thousand words.  The natural inclination is to conclude they are fakes; an op...

Although today science and angels stand on opposite ends of the credibility spectrum, this was not always the case. In the 16th Century, Dr. John Dee, court advisor and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, was considered the foremost scientific genius of his age. He helped lay the foundation for modern science and made pioneering advances in navigation and optics. His theoretical work extended to the...

Each of us is free to interpret the physical world however we want.  At some point, experience and reason show one interpretation to be better than another.  (This may be called the scientific method.)  Then, that interpretation gains adherents, builds support, and dominates.  But few play the long game, or wait for the disfavored interpretation to work itself through modern culture. This week's g...

What if someone studied the paranormal not as fringe events or untrustworthy occurrences but instead as providing insight into the sacred?  What if someone dispensed with the notions of "real" and "unreal," "natural" and "supernatural," and instead viewed all human experiences as providing keys to understanding the world we inhabit? This is how this week's guest, Professor Jeffrey Kripal of Rice U...

Over 200,000 books on Amazon have "dream" in the title.  And there is something about dreams that have always captivated the mind.  How many times do we read about athletes, artists, lovers, and the person on street talk about how their dreams have come true?  We "live the dream;" and at times, it all feels like a dream.  The dream permeates culture from music (e.g., the Dream Weaver, Dream On) an...

Over 200,000 books on Amazon have "dream" in the title.  And there is something about dreams that have always captivated the mind.  How many times do we read about athletes, artists, lovers, and the person on street talk about how their dreams have come true?  We "live the dream;" and at times, it all feels like a dream.  The dream permeates culture from music (e.g., the Dream Weaver, Dream On) an...

The standard interpretation of the meaning and purpose of life is that we are mortal creatures who have evolved from bacteria through the mindless, directionless process of Darwinian evolution.  According to Darwin's leading modern-day advocate, Richard Dawkins, we are "survival machines – robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes."  The standard interpreta...

Visions have a better chance of coming true if they are in fact connected to the outer world; if the make-up of visions have something in common with the make-up of the physical world.  Almost 100 years scientists discovered, through theory and experiment, that the outer, physical world, consists not of things but of waves and energy packets.  These things that we thought made up an independent wo...

The consequences of quantum theory, even after a century, have still not permeated our consciousness, or the very field that discovered it: physics.  Professor Richard Conn Henry, a guest on my show in 2014, observed in an article that he published in Nature Magazine, entitled, The Mental Universe, that the world we live in consists not of things, only observations.  But what does this mean?  One...

The consequences of quantum theory, even after a century, have still not permeated our consciousness, or the very field that discovered it: physics.  Professor Richard Conn Henry, a guest on my show in 2014, observed in an article that he published in Nature Magazine, entitled, The Mental Universe, that the world we live in consists not of things, only observations.  But what does this mean?  One...