Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism And Revealed The Necessity Of Faith

World Renowned Scientist Reasons His Way to Christian Faith: a book review, by David W. Borchers, EdD

It is not often one is able to convince someone through basic cogent argumentation or a universally accepted scientific approach to accept a belief system that contains significant aspects defying rational thinking. There is, however, an internationally known scientist who ended up convincing himself that authentic Christianity is, indeed, true, alive, and well, and worth pursuing – especially from a scientific perspective.

Believing Is Seeing by Michael Guillen, PhD, introduces an approach to understanding and believing in the supernatural – the foundations of Christianity in particular – by beginning with a purely rational/scientific mindset.

The subtitle for Dr. Michael Guillen’s recent book (2021) is “A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of Faith”. The word necessity leapt from the cover as I processed its obvious meaning. Clearly, to Guillen, faith is not something which simply fills an annoying gap in comprehension or thinking – it is not a “rescue” concept of last resort – it is a requirement for complementing, deepening, and empowering our innately driven desire to understand the complexities of our world – and, ultimately, our universe – more fully. Most importantly, it points us to a living, active Creator and the Christian Trinity.

Michael Guillen was raised in a Spanish-speaking Pentecostal home. His everyday life was encompassed with church events and activities. But as he grew in mind and stature, the primary interest and focus of his life became the world of science. By the time Michael graduated from UCLA, he writes, “I belonged body, mind, and soul to the worlds of science and Atheism which seemed to me to go hand in hand.” (p.6)

Cornell, in upstate New York, became Michael’s choice for graduate school. As his studies intensified and deepened, he learned from internationally revered professors concepts that challenged his purely scientific beliefs. Consider these few examples: (a) Galaxies are not randomly scattered about the universe, but instead form a pattern “like a magnificent 3D work of art”. (p.7); (b) Ninety-five percent of the observable universe is invisible to us, and beyond is the remaining universe that is 100% unobservable; (c) The Standard Model of Cosmology (SMC, a scientific explanation of the formation of the universe) is considered to be the “marriage” of General Relativity (GR, the best explanation for gravitational force between very large entities such as planets and solar systems) and Quantum Physics (QP, the best explanation of the three forms of electromagnetism and their interaction and manipulation of atoms and subatomic particles), yet the two theories are “fundamentally incompatible, as inimical as fire and water… A deception, really.” (p. 18)

These inconsistencies and unsolved mysteries, coupled with the import from classes taught by the then wildly popular Carl Sagan (who seemed fascinated with the Holy Vedas – sacred Hindu literature), enticed Michael to investigate several world metaphysical belief systems including Buddhism, Chinese mysticism, Islam, Transcendental Meditation, and even Judaism. But it was Lauren, a former student of one of Michael’s Cornell classes who eventually became his wife, who challenged him to read the Bible with her. He writes, “It took us two years because we picked apart every single word of every single sentence of every single verse of every single chapter of every single book – from Genesis to Revelation.” (p.23) 

Together they found the Old Testament “logical and depressing,” very much like all the other religions – “Karma rules the cosmos and wins the day.” (p. 23) On the other hand, much of the New Testament was not logical: God makes peace with man through Jesus — Who is both mortal and immortal — fully God and fully man; the vilest sinner can be redeemed and go to heaven; the first shall be last; love your enemies: die in order to live; and the meek shall inherit the kingdom (which, as Dr. Guillen notes, defies evolutionary biology!)

Michael now had a great desire to objectively compare science with Christianity and Atheism. Like Christianity, Quantum Physics is not logical. For example, in subatomic physics, entities can both exist and not exist, can change position without traveling, and can be nothing and everything simultaneously. Bottom line? Christianity and science share the enigmatic concept of “translogical” truths, truths that transcend conventional reason. “All men are created equal” from the American Declaration of Independence is a translogical truth, which can neither be proven nor disproven.

After much presentation of substantial supporting evidence, Dr. Guillen ends Chapter 3 by completing this matrix:

ScientificAtheisticChristianDoes absolute truth exist?YESNOYESAre there truths that cannot be proven?YESNOYESIs the universe designed for life?YESNOYES

It seems starkly apparent that Atheism opposes science and Christianity affirms it.

The year was 1995. After two decades of gathering data, Michael was ready to conclude that “it is not hard, in fact easy, to be both a Christian and a scientist.” However, because of his nearly ubiquitous visibility and celebrity acclaim on ABC, and being concerned about his own job security, Michael remained essentially silent about his newly found faith. But in 1997, when responding on national television to a question from Charlie Gibson concerning the ethical questions surrounding genetic cloning, he surprised himself by saying, “Well Charlie, I’m concerned that [British scientist] Wilmut’s cloning technique might one day be used to clone a human being. It worries me not just as a scientist but as a scientist who happens to believe in God.” (p. 57) Although immediately apprehensive that his career might be in jeopardy, Michael was instead congratulated after the program by his news team and a flood of encouraging callers. He calls it his “coming out party”!

While teaching at Harvard University, Michael became acquainted with the person and work of Howard Gardner concerning “multiple intelligences”. Dr. Gardner presented alternatives as adjuncts to the standard IQ measures of verbal/linguistic and mathematical/logical intelligences. Over the decades, this list has grown to now include body-kinesthetic, naturalistic, intrapersonal, visual/special, musical, and interpersonal intelligences. Dr. Guillen proposes to add to this compilation spiritual intelligence (SQ) to reflect man’s propensity toward spiritual art, music, and literature related to life and death, heaven and hell, and the supernatural realm. He employs both IQ and SQ in a variety of combinations to compare and contrast the differences between what he terms “enlightened” and “unenlightened” faith. 

Believing Is Seeing was a delight to read and does not require a dedicated scientific mind to fully appreciate. Dr. Guillen’s writing style invitingly and gently draws the reader into this God-fearing scientist’s worldview and thinking. The book provides a uniquely refreshing perspective on Christianity and Christian apologetics. Although this review has just scratched the surface with this introduction, the reader can look forward to investigating through Michael’s heart and mind this abbreviated sampling of topics:

• IQ and SQ, their relationship to left and right brain dominance, and how these interactions affect a person’s worldview

• Mathematical probabilities of biblical prophecies being fulfilled

• The comparison of Jesus as the “Light of the world” and the amazing translogical properties of light in the physical realm

• The crucially important difference between believing in something and actually trusting in something

• Dealing as a Christian with devastating disappointments as well as mundane life and family challenges

• Varieties of faith, and having faith in one’s own worldview 

• The authenticity and veracity of the Bible

• The size of the universe

As one might expect of a science writer, Dr. Guillen includes an objective True/False self-scaling faith test at the end of his book. He encourages believers and nonbelievers alike to examine Christianity more closely.

For an excellent 90 minute interview with Dr. Michael Guillen, check out the following: