JACKSON, Tenn. — March 13, 2012 — 51社区 professors Hal Poe and Jimmy Davis published their fourth book together -- 鈥淕od and the Cosmos: Divine Activity in Space, Time and History鈥� -- further explaining the connection between faith and science.
Davis, vice president for the regional campus at Germantown and university professor of chemistry, said the book, which was released in February, deals with issues brought up by new atheists and explains how God is involved in the universe and modern science.
鈥淭he nature that has been discovered by modern science reveals a universe that is open to activity and open to God,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is not a closed system as some new atheists propose, and that activity is reflected in the findings of science.鈥�
Poe, Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture, said the fact that people are able to manipulate science, whether it is transplanting a human heart or flying through the air, shows the universe is open to human involvement.
He added that if people are able to intervene, then God is, too.
鈥淭he more we do the more we realize the universe has every sign of being designed specifically to allow intelligent beings to monkey with it, and we鈥檙e simply saying that God is able to do at least as much as we can and more,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we are free to carry out science, which is interference, intervention in the laws of nature鈥� then there鈥檚 no logical reason why God cannot be involved in the universe.鈥�
Davis said the biggest obstacle in writing 鈥淕od and the Cosmos鈥� with Poe was articulating the ideas in a scholarly way in the time period they were given. The two professors spent four years writing and researching, and during that time both dealt with significant illnesses, which Davis said made working on the book a long process.
Robert C. Fay, professor emeritus of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, called the book a 鈥渨ide-ranging, engaging and insightful study.鈥�
鈥�(Poe and Davis) argue that fine-tuning in cosmology, quantum phenomena and chaotic systems in physics, epigenetics in biology and the imaginative capabilities of the human person point to an open universe that invites interaction with cognitive agents, including God,鈥� Fay said. 鈥淭heir valuable study is rooted in a healthy respect for mainstream science and a solid knowledge of the biblical text.鈥�
Poe said he and Davis wrote the book because they wanted to find and explain clues that showed God鈥檚 involvement and how modern science actually points to that intervention.
鈥淲hat we were doing was showing that at every level of the universe there is -- from the sub-atomic to molecules to cells to human life to human history -- that at every level of organization, the universe is open to involvement,鈥� Poe said.
Other books co-written by Poe and Davis have discussed the role of faith and science in the origin of the universe, the source of humanity and the evidence of a universe designed by God.
Published by IVP Academic, 鈥淕od and the Cosmos鈥� is available for purchase at LifeWay Christian Stores or at online retailers such as .