JACKSON, Tenn. — March 26, 2012 — A new book by 51社区 professor Hal Poe examines one of the lesser-known works of his ancestor Edgar Allan Poe and shows that the infamous fiction writer dealt with deep spiritual questions.
鈥淓vermore: Edgar Allan Poe and the Mystery of the Universe鈥� comes from years of Hal Poe鈥檚 study on the writer鈥檚 work. Hal Poe鈥檚 new book comes from his exploration of Edgar Allan Poe鈥檚 鈥淓ureka,鈥� a book where the writer tackled matters of science instead of dark stories.
Hal Poe, the Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union, said in the rarely studied work Edgar Allan Poe wrote about the beginning of the universe, which sounded much like the big bang theory 鈥� a scientific development to surface more than 50 years later.
鈥淭he conclusion of his book was that therefore the universe must have a creator (because of its creation),鈥� Hal Poe said. 鈥淭his amazed me because I had never heard of this book before.鈥�
Edgar Allan Poe鈥檚 discussion of science and religion in 鈥淓ureka鈥� intrigued Hal Poe, and upon exploring the text he found that the notorious author struggled with five basic spiritual questions.
Hal Poe said the first of these questions was why suffering exists, which led Edgar Allan Poe to recognize greater problems.
鈥淚n order to ask the question 鈥榃hy is there suffering in the world?鈥� you must have a sense of justice or fairness or what C.S. Lewis called 鈥榓n idea of right and wrong,鈥欌�� Hal Poe said. 鈥淚t seems to us there鈥檚 something wrong about suffering.鈥�
Therefore, Hal Poe surmised that Edgar Allan Poe鈥檚 second question was why justice exists. A sense of justice implies that people care for each other and led to the third question, why love exists.
The fourth question was a struggle for Edgar Allan Poe in all of his work, Hal Poe said, because he was 鈥渁esthetically oriented.鈥� This question was why beauty exists.
鈥淭he last question is what allowed him to pull all of these things together in 1848 in 鈥楨ureka,鈥� and it鈥檚 鈥榃hy is there something rather than nothing? Why is there a universe?鈥欌�� Hal Poe said.
He added that these five questions shaped all of Edgar Allan Poe鈥檚 work. Hal Poe鈥檚 concern for 鈥淓ureka鈥� came from his desire to connect the spheres of science and religion, specifically Christianity.
鈥淢y concern is to help modern day people understand that the existence of physical laws of nature is not contrary to a God who created those laws,鈥� he said.
Published by Baylor University Press, 鈥淓vermore: Edgar Allan Poe and the Mystery of the Universe鈥� is available for purchase at online retailers such as .