Gerald Schroeder
Encyclopedia
Gerald L. Schroeder is an Orthodox Jewish
physicist, author and lecturer at Aish HaTorah
's Discovery Seminar, Essentials and Fellowships programs and Executive Learning Center, who focuses on what he perceives to be an inherent relationship between science and spirituality.
(MIT). He worked five years on the staff of the MIT physics department. He was a member of the United States Atomic Energy Commission
.
to Israel in 1971, Schroeder was employed as a researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science
, the Volcani Research Institute
, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. He currently teaches at Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies
.
ic, Midrash
ic and medieval commentaries on Biblical creation accounts, such as commentaries written by the Jewish philosopher Nachmanides. Among other things, Schroeder attempts to reconcile a young Earth creationist Biblical view with the scientific model of a world that is billions of years old using the idea that the perceived flow of time for a given event in an expanding universe varies with the observer’s perspective of that event. He attempts to reconcile the two perspectives numerically, calculating the effect of the stretching of space-time, based on Einstein's theory of general relativity
.
Antony Flew
, an academic philosopher who promoted atheism for most of his adult life indicated that the fine-tuned universe
arguments of Gerald Schroeder convinced him to become a deist. In precise adjunct to accurately focus the late Flew's stated position, Flew has concluded his book, There Is A God, wherein he credits Gerald Schroeder at length, with these final words: "I am very much impressed [with] the case for Christianity... Is it possible that there can be or can be divine revelation? As I said, you cannot limit the possibilities of omnipotence except to produce the logically impossible. Everything is open to omnipotence."
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
physicist, author and lecturer at Aish HaTorah
Aish HaTorah
Aish HaTorah is a Jewish Orthodox organization and yeshiva. Aish HaTorah is actively pro-Israel and encourages Jewish people to visit Israel and connect to the land and its history. Some consider the organisation to reflect a more Religious Zionist philosophy in its attachment to Israel, promoting...
's Discovery Seminar, Essentials and Fellowships programs and Executive Learning Center, who focuses on what he perceives to be an inherent relationship between science and spirituality.
Education
Schroeder received his BSc in 1959, his MSc in 1961, and his Ph.D. in nuclear physics and earth and planetary sciences in 1965, from the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT). He worked five years on the staff of the MIT physics department. He was a member of the United States Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
.
Aliyah to Israel
After emigratingAliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel in 1971, Schroeder was employed as a researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science , known as Machon Weizmann, is a university and research institute in Rehovot, Israel. It differs from other Israeli universities in that it offers only graduate and post-graduate studies in the sciences....
, the Volcani Research Institute
Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research
The Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research is an agricultural research center in Beit Dagan, Israel.The Volcani Institute is named for its founder and director for 30 years, Yitzhak Elazari Volcani. It was the first agricultural research institution in Palestine. It began as an agricultural...
, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. He currently teaches at Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies
Aish HaTorah
Aish HaTorah is a Jewish Orthodox organization and yeshiva. Aish HaTorah is actively pro-Israel and encourages Jewish people to visit Israel and connect to the land and its history. Some consider the organisation to reflect a more Religious Zionist philosophy in its attachment to Israel, promoting...
.
Religious views
His works frequently cite TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic, Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
ic and medieval commentaries on Biblical creation accounts, such as commentaries written by the Jewish philosopher Nachmanides. Among other things, Schroeder attempts to reconcile a young Earth creationist Biblical view with the scientific model of a world that is billions of years old using the idea that the perceived flow of time for a given event in an expanding universe varies with the observer’s perspective of that event. He attempts to reconcile the two perspectives numerically, calculating the effect of the stretching of space-time, based on Einstein's theory of general relativity
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
.
Antony Flew
Antony Flew
Antony Garrard Newton Flew was a British philosopher. Belonging to the analytic and evidentialist schools of thought, he was notable for his works on the philosophy of religion....
, an academic philosopher who promoted atheism for most of his adult life indicated that the fine-tuned universe
Fine-tuned universe
The fine-tuned universe is the proposition that the conditions that allow life in the Universe can only occur when certain universal fundamental physical constants lie within a very narrow range, so that if any of several fundamental constants were only slightly different the universe would be...
arguments of Gerald Schroeder convinced him to become a deist. In precise adjunct to accurately focus the late Flew's stated position, Flew has concluded his book, There Is A God, wherein he credits Gerald Schroeder at length, with these final words: "I am very much impressed [with] the case for Christianity... Is it possible that there can be or can be divine revelation? As I said, you cannot limit the possibilities of omnipotence except to produce the logically impossible. Everything is open to omnipotence."
Works
- Genesis and the Big Bang (1990), ISBN 0-553-35413-2
- The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom, (1997), ISBN 0-7679-0303-X
- The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth, (2002), ISBN 0-7432-0325-9.
- God According to God: A Physicist Proves We've Been Wrong About God All Along, (2009), ISBN 978-0061710155.
See also
- Modern day Orthodox Jewish views on evolution
External links
- Gerald Schroeder (official website)
- MIT Alumni Association. News and Views: Nuclear Scientist Sees No God-Science Conflict
- Dr. Schroeder speaking on cosmology: a 30 min. clip from the documentary, "Has Science Discovered God?"
- "The Age of the Universe", aish.com
- Critiques of Schroeder's books by Mark PerakhMark PerakhMark Perakh , born in in Kiev, Ukraine, is a professor emeritus of Mathematics and statistical mechanics at California State University, Fullerton in Fullerton, California....
at the site Talk Reason 1999, 2005, 2007 - Critique of Genesis & the Big Bang, authored by Rabbi Yoram Bogacz.