Roy Abraham Varghese – författare

In one of the biggest religion news stories of the new millennium, the Associated Press announced that Professor Antony Flew, the world''s leading atheist, now believes in God.

Flew is a pioneer for modern atheism. His famous paper, Theology and Falsification, was first presented at a meeting of the Oxford Socratic Club chaired by C. S. Lewis and went on to become the most widely reprinted philosophical publication of the last five decades. Flew earned his fame by arguing that one should presuppose atheism until evidence of a God surfaces. He now believes that such evidence exists, and There Is a God chronicles his journey from staunch atheism to believer.

For the first time, this book will present a detailed and fascinating account of Flew''s riveting decision to revoke his previous beliefs and argue for the existence of God. Ever since Flew''s announcement, there has been great debate among atheists and believers alike about what exactly this "conversion" means. There Is a God will finally put this debate to rest.

This is a story of a brilliant mind and reasoned thinker, and where his lifelong intellectual pursuit eventually led him: belief in God as designer.

This is a book about the greatest love story ever told. It is a story that plays out in three places: in God, in human history and in our lives. And we explore each in turn.

God is Three Persons in infinite-eternal Love. For God is a beginning less, endless Act of Love of the Lover (the Father), the Beloved (the Son) and the Co-Beloved (the Spirit). The Three are One Heart. For to be Heart is to give all of one''s being to the Other: to give totally, unconditionally, forever: to love. They are Three "centers" in a single Ultimate Reality of Love. One Heart. This is the first "level" of the Love Story.

The Father loved us into being through his Son and his Spirit. We were created so that we too might be drawn into the infinite-eternal Love of the Three Persons, our hearts embedded in the Heart of God.

But, as the hunter-gatherers and every ancient culture tells us, we chose not to respond in kind. Our hearts were hardened and we said No to the divine invitation of Love. The result was the ultimate heart attack of death and destruction. Nevertheless, our heart-broken Lover pursued us. 

On the human side, the religions of Africa, Mesoamerica, India, China, Persia, Israel and the Mediterranean societies recognized their Creator and sought forgiveness through the universal practice of sacrifice. But all recognized the breach could not be healed without a perfect sacrifice made by the sinless One. This understanding of God, God 1.0, culminated in the revelation received by the people of Israel. 

The next stage of the Love Story in human history was the incarnation of the Son in Jesus of Nazareth. It was Jesus who revealed God 2.0.

He proclaimed a revolution: "The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth." 

The whole identity and mission of Jesus of Nazareth centered on the Father. Jesus addressed God only as Father. The Father revealed by Jesus was:

•prodigal in his limitless love, all Heart 

•more intimate than any earthly parent and therefore called Abba (the affectionate Aramaic expression for one''s own father) and, above all, 

•"our" Father meeting all our needs, all the time, and drawing us into God Space, the protection and provision of his Providence. 

Henceforth, we cannot see God except as the infinitely, unconditionally loving Father who makes us his children through his Son and in his Holy Spirit. God 2.0. God as Heart.  

By his death and resurrection, Jesus made the perfect sacrifice and removed the barrier to our union with God. Through the waters of baptism, we are invited to be re-invented as a new race: redeemed by the Son and filled with the Spirit and thereby children of the Father in the fullest sense who will live "happily ever after". This is level two of the Love Story.

The third and final level of the Love Story is our own life. We are each love letters written by the Father. If we accept his offer of eternal union, we become his Love Story. 

Everything that exists - atoms and cells, energy fields and ecosystems - is constantly processing information. Everything - photons and planets, microbes and mammals - is constantly moving to a goal, advancing from one state to another. Everything - from particles to butterflies - is constantly causing effects in its environment. Everything is mind. 

Mind, like life, has its own domains and kingdoms - from the mind-cloud that is matter to mind-bots, mind-pods, et al. We live in a metaverse of mind. This is the message of modern science.

Reviews of Varghese''s previous books on the Metaverse of Mind

"Varghese explores the basic and critical questions we face concerning this remarkable and wonderful universe. It is written with a deep understanding of philosophy, spirituality, and the complex science involved, yet expressed in a way which is interesting and very understandable to the non-specialist." - Charles H. Townes, Nobel Prize winner and inventor of the laser.

"Though I found myself arguing (...), the issues raised and [the] lucid outline of modern science''s framework of understanding, helped me to challenge and refine my own answers to the ultimate questions that each one of us must ask." - Arno Penzias, Nobel Prize winner who established the Big Bang Theory with his co-discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.

"The year''s most intriguing book about God" - Time magazine (on a book co-edited by Varghese with contributions from 24 Nobel Prize-winning scientists).

"Towering and courageous."  - Francis S. Collins, Former Director of the National Institutes of Health (on a book co-authored by Varghese and Antony Flew)

The appearances of the Virgin Mary in every culture and era since the birth of Christ is without parallel or precedent. All peoples and nations have their own tale of the Virgin''s visitation. She has left her mark in the lands of Hindus, Jews and Moslems, Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox, Buddhists and Shintoists, Confucians and Communists, Aztecs and animists, hunter-gatherers and city-dwellers. Her maternal presence has been perceived and portrayed in every major racial and social "world". She is without question the mother of all humanity, of all races and nations. She is the meeting-place of the mystical and the historical.

The places, images and events associated with the appearances have become an integral part of the cultural fabric of the societies that encountered the Virgin. So integral in fact that very few people have stepped back to consider the extraordinary panorama of peoples and places involved.

This is the "big picture" shown in Contact! The Virgin as encountered around the globe and across history.

From the introduction to Contact! by Bishop David L. Ricken

(Bishop Ricken declared the apparition of Our Lady of Good Help as worthy of belief making it the only Marian apparition approved in the United States of America)

I am very pleased to write this forward to Contact!, Roy Varghese''s most recent book which tells the story of fifty verified encounters of the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout history. This book is an excellent resource for those who wish to hear what Mary is saying to us and to see how she always leads us closer to her divine Son Jesus. .., When you read Contact!, I urge you to ponder the fact that these apparitions actually did happen. The veil of heaven was pulled back for a brief moment and the Mother of God spoke to us.

Reviews of Varghese''s previous book on Marian apparitions

Ralph McInerny, renowned Catholic philosopher and author of the Father Dowling mysteries:

"Roy Abraham Varghese has just published ... a magnificent book, placing the apparitions in a theological setting, recalling the Church''s attitude towards such happenings from the earliest times, and analyzing the interrelationship and common notes of the various apparitions. ... There may be no other single volume as informative and judicious as this one."

("To All Appearances," Crisis, May 2000)

Catholic News Service (CNS is the news agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

"I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who wants a lucid, comprehensive and intelligent approach to Marian apparitions. The book possesses several strengths. First, Varghese has the remarkable ability to explore 2,000 years of developed Catholic teachings on Mary and present the information in a cogent and easily understandable manner without marring critical distinctions. Second, Varghese''s book stands apart from others because he searches all parts of the world to report on their experiences of Mary. Third, Varghese takes a rigorously academic approach throughout the book, avoiding the oversentimentalism to which so many Marian books fall prey." (Dimitra C. Bolger, "Intellectual Clearly Explains Mary''s Apparitions," CNS, June 15, 2000)