Matchsticks Contemplating Eternity
Life, Death, and Faith in What Is
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
These essays invite the reader to join the author's quest for meaning and wonder in the natural world. After the journey out of evangelical fundamentalism recorded in Unified Field Theology, the journey continues. Through years with more darkness than anticipated, the light shines through. And darkness turns out to be the best place for discerning faint and distant lights.
The natural forces studied in the search for the unified theory reveal that the creative sustaining power of the universe is real and observable through science. Humility and wonder are found responding to the size of the cosmos. The strangeness of the quanta invites us to mystery and things beyond rational comprehension accompanied by the assurance that our most basic level is as eternal as the universe. Significance appears in caring for each other, a trait which is now found in both the animal and plant world as well.
Returning to traditional sources of faith, the Bible remains an amazing library of voices revealing one people's evolution of understanding of the ultimate. Like practices of other cultures, it invites us to be still and know. Life is indeed good. We are here, together, choosing how we respond to a very real God.
Gregory W. Brown is an author, educator, pastor, and lifelong seeker. He teaches history at the University of Southern Indiana and has taught from kindergarten through graduate school. He is published in the fields of intentional community, state history, and the effect of government policy on diverse learners. His most recent book was Unified Field Theology: A Journey from Evangelical Fundamentalism to Faith in What Is (2018).
“Greg asked me one day to read an essay. . . . Little did I know he was setting me up to preview what would ultimately become the thoughtful, insightful, and adventurous search for the best that life has to offer. . . . Within this complete collection, no matter where you are in life’s journey, you will find ideas, stories, examples, and reasons to recognize the power of unity versus conflict in human community and existence.”
—Sam Melchior, Teacher and Environmentalist
“Greg’s book should liberate anyone who was raised in a very conservative religious environment, was educated in a scientific curriculum, and has experienced living and working in today’s world. Greg’s writings span a broad spectrum of his experiences in religion, education, science, and history, which he skillfully calls upon in several essays where he sees the world as it is.”
—Roger Hubele, Farmer and Church Leader
“Greg is trying to free us from some of the fundamentalist ideas that were written centuries ago, when there was little known about our world and how it works. . . . Greg is attempting to open our minds to a better understanding of this whole process for the benefit of all mankind. We have to respect each other and all of our differing opinions formed from our own life experiences.”
—Morris McCall, retired Family Doctor
“Matchsticks Contemplating Eternity leaves no question off the table. With engaging essays, Greg Brown successfully employs logic, science, philosophy, and religion as sparks to ignite the enlightenment of finite human minds in understanding infinite universal questions. Uppermost, Brown finds reason for hope in this illumination of the universe.”
—Donald E. Pitzer, Professor emeritus of History, University of Southern Indiana