Creation Ex Nihilo: Thoughts on Science, Divine Providence, Free Will, and Faith in the Perspective of My Own Experiences

Creation Ex Nihilo is about science and faith, the secular view on the one hand, and the Jewish-religious view on the other. Professor Benjamin Fain, the renowned physicist and Soviet refusenik, here adds his contribution to the literature showing that there is no contradiction between science and Judaism. In a scholarly yet readable philosophical meditation, Fain addresses the mind and soul; science, its character and cognizance; the evolution of life and divine providence; and God s omnipotence and omniscience versus humans freedom of will. Fain demonstrates how the human self with its soul, desires, and emotions is linked to the infinite divine mind. In this world of interplay between divine providence and free will, there is a place for human creativity; new things, including science, are created ex nihilo. This book demonstrates conclusively that not only do science and Judaism not collide, they complement each other in helping us to comprehend the world we live in.

Benjamin Fain was born in Kiev. He obtained his Ph.D..D. from the Gorky University (USSR) and acquired a worldwide reputation in the field of laser physics. His activism as a Soviet refusenik, working to bring a cultural, spiritual dimension to the Jewish national movement in the Soviet Union, earned him a thick file with the KGB. After suffering Soviet repression, in 1977 he was finally allowed to fulfill his lifelong dream to move to Israel, where he has been living and working ever since. He is currently Professor Emeritus of the School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University.