Eloquent, urgent, and inspiring, The Constant Fire tackles the acrimonious debate between science and religion, taking us beyond its stagnant parameters into the wider domain of human spiritual experience. From a Neolithic archaeological site in Ireland to modern theories of star formation, Adam Frank traverses a wide terrain, broadening our sights and allowing us to imagine an alternative perspective. Drawing from his experience as a practicing astrophysicist and from the writings of the great scholars of religion, philosophy, and mythology, Frank locates the connective tissue linking science and religion--their commonality as sacred pursuits--and finds their shared aspiration in pursuit of "the True and the Real." Taking us from the burning of Giordano Bruno in 1600 to Einstein and on to today's pressing issues of global warming and resource depletion, The Constant Fire shows us how to move beyond this stale debate into a more profound experience of the world as sacred--a world that embraces science without renouncing human spirituality.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Heavens be praised: here is a scientist who respects religion and relates it to the same impulse that drives scientific inquiry—an aspiration to the true and the real. Astrophysicist Frank is a lover of the skies with sufficient experience of awe to understand there's more than one way to tell the truth. His history of ideas is real science braided with myth and metaphor—the titular constant fire comes from poet Wallace Stevens. He's an engaging storyteller, as might be expected from someone who has published in Scientific American and Discover magazines. He can explain quantum physics and also dismiss woo-woo votaries who produce movies and books based on spurious science. He can relate mythic creation stories to the development of Big Bang theory. Light years beyond the stale standoff between uninspired scientific materialism and unscientific intelligent design, this vision of coexistence appreciates the heavenly music of the spheres. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"An elegant reimagining of the relationship between science and spirituality.. . . . Challenges the assumption that science and religion are implacable foes."--Chronicle of Higher Education
"The most striking aspect . . . . is the passion that Adam Frank displays in writing about his experience as a scientist."--Times Higher Education
"Frank's book is most interesting; it is an easy read."--Perspectives On Science And Christian Faith: Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
In "The Constant Fire" Dr. Frank makes it clear why there need not be a Science vs. Religion debate.
January 22, 2009
Format:Hardcover
Dr. Frank's rendering of humankind's quest to make sense of all that is in front of us and of the experience of the sacred, from the Neolithic era to the present is communicated with remarkable clarity and vibrant narrative skill in this work.
The book transcends the paranoid squabbling that plagues the religion vs. science dialogue. He gets to the meat of why humans have a perennial aspiration to understand the mysteries that are part of their interface with the world and their universe by using sacred narratives and rich mythologies (the positive definition).
His work does not hammer away at the ever so tiresome creationism vs. evolution argument nor is there any scripture bashing. He speaks from an a-theistic standpoint regarding our fundamental human experience of curiosity and awe that motivates us to explore with a deep sense of " the sacred" and how beauty is revealed when the experience is taken to heart.
There is urgency to his thesis. Dr. Frank likens the present status of our emotional intelligence as being in its adolescence. To paraphrase, you wouldn't hand the keys to the universe to a liquored up teenager so he can drive it off a cliff He explains that the fruits of science must be tempered with a sober and mature collective human consciousness in order for us to use science and religion skillfully and compassionately.
The book transcends the paranoid squabbling that plagues the religion vs. science dialogue. He gets to the meat of why humans have a perennial aspiration to understand the mysteries that are part of their interface with the world and their universe by using sacred narratives and rich mythologies (the positive definition).
His work does not hammer away at the ever so tiresome creationism vs. evolution argument nor is there any scripture bashing. He speaks from an a-theistic standpoint regarding our fundamental human experience of curiosity and awe that motivates us to explore with a deep sense of " the sacred" and how beauty is revealed when the experience is taken to heart.
There is urgency to his thesis. Dr. Frank likens the present status of our emotional intelligence as being in its adolescence. To paraphrase, you wouldn't hand the keys to the universe to a liquored up teenager so he can drive it off a cliff He explains that the fruits of science must be tempered with a sober and mature collective human consciousness in order for us to use science and religion skillfully and compassionately.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
a refreshing dip in the wellspring of the human search for meaning
February 16, 2009
Format:Hardcover
This book is a breath of fresh air in a climate stale with the steamy blather of biblical literalists on the one hand and the aridity of scientific reductionism on the other. Dr. Frank writes clearly and engagingly, and with the arc of a storyline he the common ground beneath us all that nourishes the myriad of myth and metaphor we each create in our attempts to understand the world both phenomenologically and spiritually. This is a hopeful tome for a hopeful time!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Tojagi
Format:Hardcover
"...for it has been through science that I have gained a sense of the world's immense spiritual dimension, that I have come to my most potent sense of that character of life that can only be called sacred." (p3)
- Adam Frank
* * *
It seems we live in a society where vulgar anti-theists and vulgar religious fundamentalists are locked in a mortal death grip - with a few vulgar New Agers clowning around on the side. Adam Frank offers a sensible approach to our mythological crisis. His is definitely a five star book. There's just one thing I want to nitpick at. On page 47 the author writes:
"The importance of at least touching on quantum physics is summed up in a famous quote attributed to Richard Feynman: "There are four or five people in the world who understand Einstein's theory of relativity, but nobody understands quantum mechanics." (p47)
- Adam Frank
I seriously doubt that Feynman ever would have said that there are only four or five people in the world who understand Einstein's theory. My understanding is that Einstein's theory is perfectly comprehensible to any intelligent person who wishes to pursue it. Relativity may be an odd truth. But it needn't disturb our innate desire to believe we live in a logical and deterministic universe.
With quantum mechanics it's another matter. The very foundation of science, the belief that there is a cause or set of causes for every effect, is mocked. Feynman once said in a lecture not to try to figure out what quantum mechanics actually means in terms of our ordinary experience because there is just no way to compare. This is why quantum mechanics tends to show up in places it doesn't belong. Adam Frank points out the sorry attempt to unite modern physics with Eastern mysticism. Worse yet he says, quantum mechanics was paraded in that horrible film, `What the Bleep Do We Know'. But it's more than just pseudo-scholarship. I watched a lecture by American philosopher John Searle (on YouTube) where he uses quantum mechanics in an admittedly vague way to fudge an explanation of how we human beings can have free will in a deterministic universe. But I tend to believe that what happens in quantum physics, should stay in quantum physics.
At any rate, Adam Frank has written a marvelous book, offering an alternative to the stoic intolerance of hard science with a deep appreciation for that which is sacred. Along with this book I'd also recommend E. O. Wilson's `Creation: an appeal to save life on Earth', 2006.
- Adam Frank
* * *
It seems we live in a society where vulgar anti-theists and vulgar religious fundamentalists are locked in a mortal death grip - with a few vulgar New Agers clowning around on the side. Adam Frank offers a sensible approach to our mythological crisis. His is definitely a five star book. There's just one thing I want to nitpick at. On page 47 the author writes:
"The importance of at least touching on quantum physics is summed up in a famous quote attributed to Richard Feynman: "There are four or five people in the world who understand Einstein's theory of relativity, but nobody understands quantum mechanics." (p47)
- Adam Frank
I seriously doubt that Feynman ever would have said that there are only four or five people in the world who understand Einstein's theory. My understanding is that Einstein's theory is perfectly comprehensible to any intelligent person who wishes to pursue it. Relativity may be an odd truth. But it needn't disturb our innate desire to believe we live in a logical and deterministic universe.
With quantum mechanics it's another matter. The very foundation of science, the belief that there is a cause or set of causes for every effect, is mocked. Feynman once said in a lecture not to try to figure out what quantum mechanics actually means in terms of our ordinary experience because there is just no way to compare. This is why quantum mechanics tends to show up in places it doesn't belong. Adam Frank points out the sorry attempt to unite modern physics with Eastern mysticism. Worse yet he says, quantum mechanics was paraded in that horrible film, `What the Bleep Do We Know'. But it's more than just pseudo-scholarship. I watched a lecture by American philosopher John Searle (on YouTube) where he uses quantum mechanics in an admittedly vague way to fudge an explanation of how we human beings can have free will in a deterministic universe. But I tend to believe that what happens in quantum physics, should stay in quantum physics.
At any rate, Adam Frank has written a marvelous book, offering an alternative to the stoic intolerance of hard science with a deep appreciation for that which is sacred. Along with this book I'd also recommend E. O. Wilson's `Creation: an appeal to save life on Earth', 2006.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truth in science and religion
Far from disproving the case for God, science can in fact lead to spirituality as the early natural philosophers intended because it reveals the harmony and grandeur of Nature. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dr. H. A. Jones
2.0 out of 5 stars
for a humanities class
Ok this book was so wierd and talk about confusing. I got so bored reading it thank god it was for a class and not just reading for fun because i would have thrown it in the trash.
Published 13 months ago by sophie st.clair
4.0 out of 5 stars
Balanced commentary on contemporary conditions
There are those who insist on injecting strict religious precepts into any and all arguments, including science [and politics]. Read more
Published on May 19, 2010 by B. Oliver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent, Broad-Minded Vision of Science
Just finished this book. At first, I confess, I wasn't used to the author's style; I was expecting a somewhat lengthy cosmological science introduction (the author is an... Read more
Published on May 18, 2009 by J. Storey
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable Book
This is a very well-written book. I would recommend it to anyone seeking an eloquent, pleasant tour into the arena of myths and history. Read more
Published on March 17, 2009 by Michael Gooch
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