The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead

From Publishers Weekly
Mathematical physicist Tipler attempts to demonstrate via scientific principles the existence of God and the likelihood of reincarnation. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Expect to hear a great deal about this book, which will be boosted through major advertising and a 13-city author tour. Tipler, a professor of mathematical physics at Tulane, presents a scientific argument for the existence of God.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
What to make of a book that postulates mathematical proof of the existence of God, guarantees the resurrection of the dead, and promises that, for those who so desire, there will be sex in heaven? Tipler certainly has all the credentials of a bona fide physicist. He's a professor of mathematical physics at Tulane University and specializes in global general relativity, the branch of physics pioneered by Roger Penrose and Stephen Hawking, but his study of the cosmos has led him to some rather extreme and disconcerting ideas based on an uneasy mix of science, theology, and fantasy. While some of his discussions about time, space, and life, which he defines as "information preserved by natural selection," are challenging and alluring, his conclusions are simply wild. For instance, Tipler rather blithely tells us that after leaving the doomed earth to colonize other planets, our species will eventually become extinct, but life itself will survive in our "machine descendants," who will, in turn, ensure the resurrection of each and every person who ever lived. When will this occur? "The dead will be resurrected when the computer capacity of the universe is so large that the amount of capacity required to store all possible human simulations is an insignificant fraction of the entire capacity." Apparently, Tipler takes great comfort in this thought, as will, perhaps, some of his readers. The rest may just experience an overwhelming sense of dismay. Donna Seaman


From Kirkus Reviews
A scientific argument that foresees the evolution of computer intelligence into an equivalent of God is likely to be greeted with skepticism by the majority of readers, and those who wade through this densely argued text are likely to emerge more puzzled than enlightened. Tipler (Mathematical Physics/Tulane) offers a cosmological theory he calls the Omega Point, based on the expansion of intelligent life to fill the known universe. Since the distances between habitable planets are so great, only spacegoing computers can ever hope to colonize the universe, he argues. The constant increase of computer intelligence will allow future computers not only to equal human accomplishments, but to recreate in exact detail all human beings who have ever lived. Tipler's insistence on calling this recreation a ``resurrection'' seems to be overstating his case. Similarly, a universal computer intelligence may be the sort of deity suitable to science fiction, but not one that many church-goers would find satisfactory. As tests of his theory, Tipler makes several predictions, one of which, involving the mass of the top quark, is in agreement with recently obtained experimental data, but most of which the average reader has no way to evaluate. He devotes the concluding chapters to consideration of such traditional theological questions as the problem of evil, the nature of heaven and hell, and a comparison of the Omega Point theory to the views of the world's great religions. An ``Appendix for Scientists'' provides more rigorous presentation of his arguments for those capable of following advanced mathematics. Tipler is wrestling with issues of enormous importance, but in the end his answers seem highly idiosyncratic and unlikely either to convert the skeptics or to satisfy the religious. (20 line drawings) (Quality Paperback Book Club selection; author tour) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"A doozy of a book... it's 2001: A Space Odyssey meets The Divine Comedy." --Esquire.

"A thrilling ride to the far edges of modern physics." -- New York Times Book Review.

"A dazzling exercise in scientific speculation, as rigoroulsy argued as it is boldly conceived." -- The Wall Street Journal.

"A book that proves the existence of the Almighty and inevitability of resurrection, without recourse to spiritual mumbo jumbo... Tipler does it all." --Mirabella.


Review
"A doozy of a book... it's 2001: A Space Odyssey meets The Divine Comedy." --Esquire.

"A thrilling ride to the far edges of modern physics." -- New York Times Book Review.

"A dazzling exercise in scientific speculation, as rigoroulsy argued as it is boldly conceived." -- The Wall Street Journal.

"A book that proves the existence of the Almighty and inevitability of resurrection, without recourse to spiritual mumbo jumbo... Tipler does it all." --Mirabella.


From the Publisher
Is there a higher power in the universe? What happens to us when we die? Leading physicist Frank J. Tipler tackles these questions and more in an astonishing and profoundly important book that scientifically proves the existence of God and the physical resurrection of the dead. "A doozy of a book... it's 2001: A Space Odyssey meets The Divine Comedy." --Esquire. "A thrilling ride to the far edges of modern physics." -- New York Times Book Review. "A dazzling exercise in scientific speculation, as rigoroulsy argued as it is boldly conceived." -- The Wall Street Journal. "A book that proves the existence of the Almighty and inevitability of resurrection, without recourse to spiritual mumbo jumbo... Tipler does it all." --Mirabella.

ANNOTATION

An expert in global relativity, through his model of the universal end-time (the Omega Point Theory), constructs a stunningly plausible argument for the existence of a universal resurrection, attempting to show that "through physics . . . it is possible, even likely for all of humanity to be resurrected" (Esquire).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Frank J. Tipler is a major theoretician in the field of global general relativity, the rarefied branch of physics created by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. Like most modern scientists, Tipler was an atheist who gave little thought to questions of theology. Yet, in devising a mathematical model of the end of the universe, Tipler came to a stunning conclusion: Using the most advanced and sophisticated methods of modern physics, relying solely on the rigorous procedures of logic that science demands, he had created a proof of the existence of God. Tipler's model of the universal end-time is called the Omega Point Theory. For the last seventeen years, Tipler has explored the implications of the Omega Point Theory, one of which is even more astonishing than the evidence of God's existence: It is not only possible, but likely, that every human being who ever lived will be resurrected from the dead. As Tipler writes in his preface, he arrived at his proofs of God and immortality "in exactly the same way physicists calculate the properties of the electron." In The Physics of Immortality Tipler guides the general reader through the details of his exhilarating discoveries. Displaying an awesome command of disciplines as diverse as computer science, economics, particle physics, cosmology, and evolutionary biology, Tipler constructs a stunningly plausible argument for God and the universal resurrection. Lucid in style, audacious in aim, breathtaking in scope, powerfully argued, and, finally, deeply moving, this is a book that will change the way you think. No reader, whether skeptic or believer, will look at the universe in the same way after encountering this remarkable work.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Mathematical physicist Tipler attempts to demonstrate via scientific principles the existence of God and the likelihood of reincarnation. (Sept.)

Library Journal