What is Quantum Theology?
Perhaps someday soon, scientists will be able to explain how God answers prayers? Should Christians worry? This discussion with a college Professor is a useful introduction. Plus, key takeaways.
Thanks to their exposure to and engagement with all sides on questions concerning religion– atheists and theists broadly, and narrowly, depending on the religious tradition, believers and unbelievers– theologians tend to have a slight step ahead of, for lack of a better term, lay Christians.
Whether theologians are better practitioners of the faith they teach is a dirty debate for several reasons, which I won’t bother you with, save that anyone willing to have that debate is already on the wrong footing for assuming that all theologians are believers.
That aside, unlike woke subject matters like DEI, which are grossly flawed and pretentious about their claims, theology is reasonable and tenacious. Not even the four horsemen of atheism, with their purported assassination of God, could quench the flames of the innate human desire to find and know God.
No theological tradition has suffered so much hate, persecution, and sectionalism as Christianity. Yet, Christian theology owes its enduring nature, in part, to its attraction to opposing forces, whatever their roots. That includes the inquisitions of modern academia.
Take quantum theology, for example, a product of the relatively new field called Science and Religion. I found an article by Andrej Zeman, who recorded an interesting interview with Professor Mark Harris in 2021, to be a useful expose. However, I won’t substitute a detailed introduction for it.
Rather than reposting the article, I have provided a highlight of the key issues raised in the conversation below with essential lessons for Christians to note.
What is Quantum Theology?
Quantum theology explores the relationship between quantum mechanics and theological concepts, such as the nature of God's interaction with the world. Professor Harris defines the emerging field as “trying to understand how fundamental physics tells us about the very depths of nature: What might physics say about the way that the creator God (or gods, if you prefer) relate to the created world?”
Harris also explains the intersection of both fields using this hypothesis, “if physicists are right that quantum mechanics tells us about nature at its most fundamental level, then that would suggest that nature begins and ends with quantum mechanics. So, if you believe that your God has some relationship with the created world - and perhaps can even work in that world, answers prayer, for instance - then quantum mechanics should have some kind of way of informing the way that might happen.”
A striking example Harris used to exemplify his definition is prayer. According to him, since Christians believe in a God who engages the world, then when God answers prayers, quantum mechanics might explain how He did so.
The problem is that if science can accurately determine the world's movements, then God might have fewer roles to play. The removal of God from mundane life is not a guarantee for scientists, though, since quantum mechanics cannot precisely describe the future.
“That's another reason why theologians have been quite enthusiastic to use quantum mechanics and they’ve suggested that maybe God has some kind of room to intervene or work in the world through this kind of interventionistic form of science: quantum mechanics.”
— Mark Harris
One of the notable points established early on in the conversation is that there exists a conflict between religion and scienChristianity'shristianity’s notable engagement with natural theology makes it adequately equipped to forge a healthy understanding of religion and science through quantum theology.
What’s at stake?
A challenge highlighted in the conversation is the age-old “God-of-the-gaps" fallacy. Asked about the integrity of the claims theologians might make when using quantum theology. Whether such claims may be trusted, Harris adds a word of caution, declaring that scholarship in the subject matter is sometimes experimental:
A great example of this is the famous conundrum since the earliest days of Christianity: How to describe Jesus Christ as Son of God? The church councils have maintained that he is both fully divine and fully human, but how can he be both of those and one person at the same time? Does it make sense? One of the things that theologians have latched onto is the early discovery in the development of quantum mechanics that fundamental entities like electrons and light waves and so on can behave as both waves and particles depending on the way you look at them. And I should say that waves and particles can be used as analogies for the divine and the human, since waves and particles are mutually exclusive types of physical matter. The fact that we might need to use mutually-exclusive categories (wave, particle) to describe one entity (e.g. an electron) is known as complementarity. Thus, one of the things that theologians do is to use this model of wave-particle dualities — a way of talking about the humanity and divinity of Christ – as a kind of thought experiment. Now that's all very well as long as you’re cautious about it. But sometimes it's taken too far and almost as though it's “This is exactly what quantum mechanics tells us.” Then you start to run into theological problems about the way you use scientific models to make definite theological truths, for instance. So as long as you're careful and take these as rather loose metaphors, I think that you can do a certain amount of work with quantum mechanics or with science in this way.
What’s in it for Christians?
It’s mostly academic stuff for now, at least based on the flow of the conversation. That said, for believing Christian theologians faced in the field, areas of conflict with faith could be a major concern.
Harris cites Sir Arthur Eddington, who “wrote and lectured prominently about his attempts to reconcile his religious faith with what he was learning as a scientist during this momentous time in physics.”
However, as the field develops, the implications that quantum mechanics could have on theology could become even more practical to one’s faith. So it’s worth knowing a few academic things:
Quantum theology is interdisciplinary, and it’s like the rising field of digital humanities, which I also find interesting and will write about later.
For Christians who enjoy rigorous religious and science debates, the field rides on the rich history between both fundamental areas.
Reading through the lengthy interview was an exercise in the mind. This field will test the strengths and limitations of different approaches to integrating science and faith.
Thanks for reading.
Edit:
Is this the first article you’ve read in this publication? Not to worry if this sounded rather abract; my writing isn’t always like this way. People are searching for God in places where valuable things get lost, or worse, people get missing. Months ago, a video of women paying thousands of dollars to scream in a bush trended across the internet. So, I started this newsletter to share Biblical resources that help ground our desires for personal growth in God. You can read more about my reasons in the post below. — Justice.
Everything good will come!
