Sir John Templeton challenges the reader to apply the same energy that has been devoted to scientific inquiry to the pursuit of spiritual information. The world is at a state of unprecedented technical expertise, but why has our knowledge and faith in our own spirituality stalled and become obsolete in recent times? Possibilities for Over One Hundredfold More Spiritual Information seeks to address this question. It points out that our spiritual knowledge would also have the capacity to increase dramatically if we were to open our minds to the endless possibilities that await us in terms of our spiritual lives. These include altruistic love for all people, new knowledge of the Divine, and a greater sense of our place in the universe. In order for us as human beings to take advantage of all of the spiritual gifts that we have been given, we need to be open and receptive to our individual spiritual natures, and to open ourselves to the limitless spiritual possibilities available to us. The book acknowledges the ancient scriptures and thinkers who have guided us for centuries. Vastly expanded research and the use of scientific method would only enhance our understanding of the wisdom contained within these wise teachings. The benefits of extending our spiritual knowledge might, in fact, exceed the benefits we have realized thus far from scientific and medical advances. Possibilities seeks to reawaken our desire for spiritual knowledge pushed aside so long ago in our quest for scientific knowledge. When these fields work together, the world will reap greater rewards that we can ever imagine.

Spiritual Information is a collection of one hundred essays that explore a portion of the vast interdisciplinary approaches to the study of science and religion. Individually and together, the essays show how the study of ourselves, our planet, and the universe helps us understand our place as spiritual beings within God’s universe. The book is a tribute to Sir John Templeton and his pioneering commitment toward new research that results in “one hundredfold more spiritual information than humankind has ever possessed before.” It begins with essays that reflect on Sir John’s principal domains of interest and expertise: free-enterprise based finance and accelerating spiritual progress. Themes of the sections are: •Science-Religion Dialogue •Cosmology, Physics, and Astronomy •Mathematics, Musicology, and Speculation •Biological Evolution—the Human Being •Social Evolution—the Human Mind and Heart •Religion and Health •The Nature of the Divine •Theology and Philosophy •Faith Traditions “Sir John’s leadership has enabled us to edge ever closer to the frontier where knowledge meets wisdom at the threshold of ‘ultimate reality,’” notes the editor in the preface to this volume. As Spiritual Information presents an overview of how far we have come in the science and religion dialogue, it also opens windows to the vast possibilities for additional research and further advances in spiritual information.

Sir John Templeton challenges the reader to apply the same energy that has been devoted to scientific inquiry to the pursuit of spiritual information. The world is at a state of unprecedented technical expertise, but why has our knowledge and faith in our own spirituality stalled and become obsolete in recent times? Possibilities for Over One Hundredfold More Spiritual Information seeks to address this question. It points out that our spiritual knowledge would also have the capacity to increase dramatically if we were to open our minds to the endless possibilities that await us in terms of our spiritual lives. These include altruistic love for all people, new knowledge of the Divine, and a greater sense of our place in the universe. In order for us as human beings to take advantage of all of the spiritual gifts that we have been given, we need to be open and receptive to our individual spiritual natures, and to open ourselves to the limitless spiritual possibilities available to us. The book acknowledges the ancient scriptures and thinkers who have guided us for centuries. Vastly expanded research and the use of scientific method would only enhance our understanding of the wisdom contained within these wise teachings. The benefits of extending our spiritual knowledge might, in fact, exceed the benefits we have realized thus far from scientific and medical advances. Possibilities seeks to reawaken our desire for spiritual knowledge pushed aside so long ago in our quest for scientific knowledge. When these fields work together, the world will reap greater rewards that we can ever imagine.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. In a time when conservative politicians challenge the irrefutability of scientific findings such as climate change, it is more important than ever to understand the conflict at the heart of the “religion vs. science” debates unfolding in the public sphere. In this groundbreaking work, John H. Evans reveals that, with a few limited exceptions, even the most conservative religious Americans accept science’s ability to make factual claims about the world. However, many religious people take issue with the morality implicitly promoted by some forms of science. Using clear and engaging scholarship, Evans upends the prevailing notion that there is a fundamental conflict over the way that scientists and religious people make claims about nature and argues that only by properly understanding moral conflict between contemporary religion and science will we be able to contribute to a more productive interaction between these two great institutions.

Spiritual Information is a collection of one hundred essays that explore a portion of the vast interdisciplinary approaches to the study of science and religion. Individually and together, the essays show how the study of ourselves, our planet, and the universe helps us understand our place as spiritual beings within God’s universe. The book is a tribute to Sir John Templeton and his pioneering commitment toward new research that results in “one hundredfold more spiritual information than humankind has ever possessed before.” It begins with essays that reflect on Sir John’s principal domains of interest and expertise: free-enterprise based finance and accelerating spiritual progress. Themes of the sections are: Science-Religion Dialogue Cosmology, Physics, and Astronomy Mathematics, Musicology, and Speculation Biological Evolution—the Human Being Social Evolution—the Human Mind and Heart Religion and Health The Nature of the Divine Theology and Philosophy Faith Traditions “Sir John’s leadership has enabled us to edge ever closer to the frontier where knowledge meets wisdom at the threshold of ‘ultimate reality,’” notes the editor in the preface to this volume. As Spiritual Information presents an overview of how far we have come in the science and religion dialogue, it also opens windows to the vast possibilities for additional research and further advances in spiritual information.

In Six Stages on the Spiritual Path, we learn about spirituality and its stages as well as how spirituality helps to reduce our suffering and create more love. Writings from ancient to contemporary mystics across the world provide us with practical and spiritual wisdom that will make our lives happier and more loving. In the first stage on the mystic way, children experience awe and wonder, but they do not realize that this is a spiritual experience. While all indigenous people recognize awe as a mystical experience, only some adults and most artists do. When parents and religious leaders teach children about God, they cause their spiritual growth to flourish or to become stunted at an elementary school level. Awakening is an experience of the Divine that helps us realize that the Sacred Spirit is within us and loves us. Awakening produces love for our neighbors and ourselves. Then love nurtures more awakenings. Illumination and union are deeper mystical experiences that the Holy One is not only within all of us and all of creation, but also that we are within the ONE. Illumination creates more love for all people and all the universe.

The biography of the "Wizard of Wall Street" who has dedicated his life to advancing the scientific study of spiritual realities has been revised and updated. Sir John Templeton was an inspiring and motivational force both through his personal example and through the foundation that bears his name and is dedicated to his mission. This volume reviews the life of this man of vision, from his childhood in rural Tennessee, to his education at Yale and Oxford, to his legendary years on Wall Street, the birth of his children, and the development and growth of "humility theology science." Interwoven with the stories and facts are the roots of his faith and the values that he credits for his financial success and are the catalyst for his lifelong mission. Sir John's biography updates the growth of the many and varied programs of the John Templeton Foundation that support this mission. It also introduces some of the scientists, theologians, philosophers, writers, and fellow investors who now serve as staff and advisors to the John Templeton Foundation, striving toward Sir John's goal of one-hundred-fold more spiritual information gained through the application of scientific methodology and analysis.