Newsletter Archive

Sy’s News #8 – 15 (August 2022 – September 2023)

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Sy’s News
August 2022 Issue (#8)

First, I want to welcome all the new subscribers to this Newsletter, and to tell you that if you are interested in receiving the previous issues, just send me a message using the Contact page of my website: https://sygarte.com/ and I will send you a collection of the previous issues by email.

Lots of news this month. First, about the paperback version of my book: The Works of His Hands. Unfortunately, it now looks like it will continue to be unavailable until September. I will send out a special short message as soon as I know that the book is back in stock and ready for delivery. It turns out that the very long delay in printing and shipping new copies of the book is, like so many supply problems these days, due to the pandemic. There has been such a strong demand for shipping boxes recently that the paper companies have switched to cardboard manufacturing instead of making book paper.

As a result, the normal time it takes to get newly printed books to stores—usually three weeks— has been extended to 12 weeks or more I do have a limited number of paperback copies, and I am offering them to pastors, people starting book discussion groups, and anyone with a really compelling reason to get a copy of the book before September.

You may request a free copy using the Contact page; be sure to include your shipping address and the reason for your request. Again, I have a very limited number of copies, so I will not be able to grant all requests. The Audiobook and Kindle versions continue to be readily available through Amazon.

The really big news is that my second book has been approved by the Kregel Press acquisitions board, and a contract has been signed. I am putting the finishing touches on the manuscript, which is due at the publisher in a few weeks.

I will keep you all informed about the style and format of the new book in future issues. I have not yet made a public announcement about this, and all further information will also be shared with my Newsletter subscribers first.

Finally, I have just returned from a wonderful conference organized by Cameron and Brittany Bertuzzi of Capturing Christianity in Houston. I gave two talks on biology and God. Other speakers included Erica Carlson, a physicist; Joshua Swamidass, a computational biologist; Seth Hart, a philosopher of biology; Zachary Ardern, an evolutionary biologist; and Michael Jones from Inspiring Philosophy, who had a debate with paleontologist Marcus Ross. William Lane Craig, James Tour and Andrew Moon live-streamed their presentations.

It was a wonderful three days of fellowship and discussion of the connections between science and Christian faith. I am also in the process of preparing a gift for all subscribers that I think you will enjoy. More about that in the next issue. Meanwhile, God bless you all, and keep the faith.

——–

Sy’s News
September 2022 Issue (#9)

Good news on all fronts this month! First, my book The Works of Hands (“Works”) is back on the shelves and at Amazon in paperback, as well as Kindle and Audiobook formats. So now there is no excuse to put off getting a copy and reading it before it gets sold out again. If you subscribed to this Newsletter because of my Capturing Christianity interview or other YouTube appearances, I am sure you will get a lot out of this book. If you have already read it and liked it, I would ask you to post a review on Amazon or Goodreads (or both). If you read it and didn’t care for it…never mind.

Finally, if you are a true fan of the book, and have already posted a review, thank you so much. This qualifies you for lots of exciting stuff to be revealed in the future.

And now for the latest on my second book, working title – Harmony. I am about to send my final draft off to the publisher, and eagerly await whatever fate is to befall it. (It reminds me of the first day of school for one’s first child.) BTW, working titles are almost never the final titles for books. That decision is made by a “titling committee.” More about that later also.

And since you have read this far, you deserve a reward. The gift I mentioned in the last issue is ready to send to all subscribers.

Among the (very) few criticisms of Works has been the lack of an index. I tend to agree that an index would have been a good idea. So, I made one. Using Textract software, I have produced a professional looking index in pdf, consisting of about 200 terms. If you would like a copy, just send me a note to my email address sygarte@gmail.com, and I will send it to you by return email. All I ask is that you share neither my email nor the Index with anyone else, since this is a limited free offer for subscribers only.

The interview I did with Cameron Bertuzzi of Capturing Christianity (CC) in August of 2021 (released this past March) has passed the milestone of 1 million views, for which I am humbled and grateful. Those who enjoyed watching the video will be glad to hear that this past August, during the second CC Conference, we taped another live interview, which covers the second part of my journey to faith as reflected in Part 2 of Works. I haven’t seen it, and don’t know when it will be released, but I pray it will be something to look forward to.

In the next issue I plan to fill you in on some of the lesser-known secrets of the publishing world, and also discuss some special projects aimed at subscribers. Thanks for reading, and thanks for all your support and encouragement. Blessings and peace to all.

Sy’s News
December 2022 Issue (#10)

Yes, I know, I missed sending you a Newsletter in October or November, and I am sure you were all gnashing your teeth or bemoaning the horror of missing out on yet another highly informative (and somewhat promotional) email. Well, gnash (now there’s a Wordle word) or bemoan no more. Actually, I never promised a monthly newsletter, what I said was not more than monthly. Being the recipient of over a dozen of these things, I feel I am safe to assume that you were not terribly distraught at my delinquency. OK, enough mindless drivel.

This is that wonderful period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when joy is in the air, and so is everyone else, what with recovering from turkey overload and starting in on that totally stress-free period we call “The Holidays”. So I thought this would be a great time to distract you all from deciding who’s family to grace with your presence, what to buy for that uncle who hates everything and so on.

So here are some updates accompanied by an inside look at what it means to actually have a book published. Having sent the manuscript of Harmony off to the publishers, I began doing other stuff, (like revising a technical paper, and eating) thinking that I had oodles of time. Nope. A few weeks later, I was contacted by an Editor at Kregel who was assigned to my book as developmental editor.

There are several kinds of edits that books go through. Developmental is the first. This is where an editor looks at the book as a whole and decides what in the world the publishing company can do with it. Merge some chapters, get rid of a couple, add what’s missing, rewrite those that really don’t say what the author thinks they are trying to say, and so on.

I spent part of October and most of November addressing the comments and suggestions. (You can thank this situation for sparing you the October and November Newsletters). Anyway, I have just sent off said revisions to said editor. What are the other kinds of edits? you ask. That depends on the book genre, the publisher, and other stuff. But there is always a “line edit” and generally a galley edit (this is done by the author, and it’s the last chance to fix anything). A line edit is done by a professional, and involves going line by line looking for typos, grammar no-nos, punctuation, name spelling, and most importantly, accurate attribution of quotes and permissions for use of published material.

Publishers might love your book, think you are the next Lee Strobel or CS Lewis, but if you are missing a permission for that two paragraph segment from somebody’s 5 year old blog post, they will yell at you. Because ignoring a permission to use published material can result in a lawsuit, need I say more.

In the next few months things will proceed for Harmony at an uncertain pace. Publishers don’t just print a book and release it when its ready; they have many books (“projects” in the trade) that are moving through the preparation period. This includes not just editing, but choosing a title, getting a cover design, finding people to read and endorse the book, maybe write a forward, all of which takes lots of time. Marketers and promotional people know that titles and covers sell books, and authors are limited to approval of the decisions of “Titling Committees”.

There are other hallmarks from here along the way to publication, each of which I will keep you posted about. They include fixing the publication date, galley production, first printing, receipt by me of author copies, and lots of pre-release marketing (Details coming).

But before all of that happens, and once the manuscript is approved as revised, I will be able to share with you a lot more about what’s actually in the book. One of my beta readers told me it’s a “one of a kind” kind of book, which could be good or bad, but I think she liked it. Now, getting back to the Christmas season, what a great time to be thinking about giving books as presents! For example, think of how happy your friends and relatives will be to get a copy of my first book: The Works of His Hands for Christmas! (How was that for subtle promotion?).

I am once again offering a free signed Christmas book plate, that includes “For” and “To” spaces to all subscribers. Just send me a note by email, or through sygarte.com/contact, with names, addresses and any special instructions to get the Christmas book plate. And unlike books themselves, this offer is good for people outside the US as well.

And speaking of actual books, I will send a free signed copy of The Works of His Hands to the first five subscribers who request it. (US only, sorry). Keep it for yourself or read it quickly and pass it on to someone you think will like it. And finally, have a great Christmas season, and a happy and healthy New Year.
Sy

Sy’s News
January 2023 Issue (#11)

Happy New Year to all! I am going to depart from my usual discussions of the world of book publishing, along with updates about my second book, and present you with a piece of my writing about science and faith. The following is a modified version of a post that was originally published in my blog “The Book of Works” five years ago. *** Is God Imaginary? There are many essential equations that describe the physical reality of the universe. Einstein’s E = mc² is probably one of the most famous, and also the simplest. In the 1920s, physicist Erwin Schrödinger developed an equation that is of prime importance in quantum physics and chemistry. I first learned about (and worked with) this equation in an advanced physical chemistry course. The equation is critical in understanding the behavior of electrons, molecules, and the wave functions of physics. Here it is:

It isn’t a simple equation at all – all of the terms have complicated meanings – but here I will only discuss one part of it. Recently I saw an amusing post on Twitter by an atheist that was also in the form of an equation. It was this:

This was a somewhat clever attempt by the poster to say something about God. The square root of -1 (and indeed of all negative numbers) is called an “imaginary number.” So the atheist poster was trying to make the point that God is imaginary. The reason such numbers are called imaginary is because the square root of a negative number doesn’t make sense. Such a thing violates basic rules of arithmetic; a negative number cannot have a square root.

But, unknowingly, the poster has made a profound theological point in direct contrast to the one he thought he was making. As it turns out, the square root of -1, while imaginary, is of critical importance in math and science. It is used often enough to have been given its own symbol: i. Now take another look at the Schrödinger equation above. Do you see the very first term? Yes, it’s an i.

So if God = i, then God is a crucial component in the basic laws of nature. There is an important point here, which is about what we mean by imaginary. God does exist in our imagination, and perhaps we cannot ever actually get a picture of the reality of God. Much like imaginary numbers. But this says nothing about the existence of God as a real and ultimate force in nature.

The unintended metaphor of God being like the square root of -1 is actually quite powerful. Being imaginary does not equate to being false or nonexistent. Neither in modern science nor in theology. We already know that the basic principles of modern physics, from relativity to quantum mechanics, describe a world of reality that seems irrational to us. And here, again, we can use a metaphor from mathematics. There are also irrational numbers, the best-known being pi, whose values can never be precisely known but only approximated.

So, if imaginary and irrational are critical adjectives needed to give an accurate scientific description of natural reality, how can the labeling of anything as imaginary or irrational (such as God) be an indication of non-existence? On the contrary, it would be quite strange if the creator and sustainer of all that exists were equivalent to a 19^th century clock maker or engineer.

I would like to express my thanks to the atheist who came up with this brilliant meme, and I can only pray that he (and others) will see, as I do, the miraculous hand of God in his unintended profession of faith.

The original post can be found here. I welcome any comments or reactions sent either on my contact page at sygarte.com, or on the original blog post. I expect the next issue will have some news about my new book, which is now being shredded by an editor. Meanwhile if you missed any of the first 10 Newsletters, I can send them to you if you ask for them using the contact page on sygarte.com. I pray you have a blessed new year. Sy

Sy’s News
March 2023 Issue (#12)

I have given up relaxation for Lent. Okay, not really—first of all, giving up things for Lent is supposed to be voluntary, so giving up what you don’t have time for doesn’t count. What I had decided to give up was my online presence, and I have been partially successful at that. But, sad to say, much of the reason for that success was also not my own willpower and prayer, but the same thing that made me give up a lot of my relaxation time. THE NEW BOOK.

Yes, friends, shortly after I sent out the most recent Newsletter at the end of January, the anticipated avalanche of work and information from the publisher arrived in my inbox. So now I will bring you up to date. The really big news first: the New Book has a title! Yes, the legendary Titling Committee has met and come up with a title, based on my working title: “Harmony,” and I love it. This is first time it appears anywhere publicly: Science and Faith in Harmony: Contemplations on a Distilled Doxology.

I also learned that the planned release date will likely be in early 2024, roughly a year from now. What has kept me so occupied for the past several weeks is less interesting, but more intense. I was given a “developmental editor,” the first in a series of editors doing different jobs on the manuscript. Developmental editing is where the heavy lifting comes in. Chapters are cut, combined, or reordered; paragraphs are removed, and new ones requested. Questions are asked and the answers may require rewriting some sections. It’s an intense process that involves frequent contact (email and phone) between writer and editor, sleepless nights, and questioning the meaning of existence (OK, I am somewhat prone to exaggeration—it ain’t that bad).

The good news is that I am finished (I think) with that phase of the publishing process, and the born-again manuscript is now on its way to the next stage—copy editing. More about that next time.

I know that many of you have come here after watching my interview video with Cameron Bertuzzi of Capturing Christianity (which has just passed 1.6 million views). I have been doing lots of interviews recently, and a few weeks ago I did a live event at LifePoint Church in Waldorf, Maryland, which was recorded. The event (an onstage interview, Q and A from the audience, and a slide talk) was recorded, and for those who love three-hour videos, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UGEGYhM9NU

The recording includes some great worship music as well as discussions of ongoing topics by the youth pastors for their youth group in addition to my interview and talk. What you can’t tell from the video is the size and fervor of the crowd (both youth and adults), both of which were very gratifying to me.

In the next issue, I plan to feature an excerpt from the new book that was cut in the development edits—for Newsletter readers only. Meanwhile, don’t forget to read my first book The Works of His Hands: A Scientist’s Journey from Atheism to Faith, since there is still lots of time before Science and Faith in Harmony is available. Blessings to all.

Sy

Sy’s News
May 2023 Issue (#13)

Did you ever think that the aggressive, deceptive and philosophically and scientifically regressive form of modern atheism, called “New Atheism” could be instrumental in bringing atheists to faith? The proponents of this cult (Dawkins, Harris, Coyne, Krauss, etc.) that denies not only God, but free will, the soul, human exceptionalism, and any shred of purpose or meaning to anything, have seemingly dealt a severe blow to the cause of Christ by their rhetoric.

But it turns out that quite often this stream of hostile negativity has had the opposite effect, that of making people think that these arguments for atheism are so weak and devoid of truth, that maybe God is actually real. I am announcing it first here to you my subscribers that a new book titled Coming To Faith through Dawkins will be released by Kregel Publications at the end of August, this year. The book is edited by Denis Alexander and Alister McGrath, and includes twelve testimonies in chapters by a variety of former atheists, whose reaction to the New Atheism was to consider and then accept Christianity.

I am the author of one of those chapters, as is my wife, Aniko Albert, who was raised in communist, atheistic Hungary, and so is my friend Ashley Lande. The book is already listed on Amazon, and is available for pre-order. I will be sharing more about the book as its release date nears. Speaking of books, progress on my own new book Science and Faith in Harmony is moving well along. I have just finished approving copyedits (or line edits) done by an excellent editor (Robert Hartig) and starting on the marketing phase of preparation for final copy and printing. More about that next time.

I promised a chapter from the new book that was cut (although a part of it was retained in the epilogue) and here it is. The title was Maundy Thursday, and this is its public debut.

On Maundy Thursday, Jesus came into the Church where I was, and sat down in the pew behind me. The service was mostly a musical rendition by the Church choir, along with another church choir and a string quartet. They performed a work by Monteverdi and Haydn’s Missa Brevis. I sat near the front, close to the choir loft, since my wife is a soprano in our Church choir, and I like to watch her as she sings.

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday of Holy Week. It marks the Last Supper, the betrayal and arrest of Christ, and is the lead up to the Good Friday remembrance of the Crucifixion. A somber period, full of reflection. I turned around a couple of times to see how Jesus was reacting to the service. He was paying close attention to the sermon, I noticed. During the singing of the Haydn mass, I could see tears on his face, and his eyes were closed. I also closed my eyes and began to pray.

“Thank you, Lord,” I prayed, “for this beautiful music”. Jesus answered me. “You’re welcome” I heard him say, “but it isn’t I, but your lovely wife and her friends who are providing the music”. Jesus was sitting still with his eyes closed, and there was a very slight smile on his face. He was speaking directly to my soul, without sound. “And thank the composers, who even now are listening to this beautiful rendition of their work, and are gladdened” I turned back to the front of the Church, bowed my head, and asked Jesus: “Why have you come here, to this Church, tonight, Lord? There are larger Churches, Cathedrals even, with much larger choirs, filled with professional singers, and famous preachers.”

“I know that, brother. I have heard people say that there are much bigger and better planets than this one, that there are, or there must be, better species than humans, and that the insignificance of this place and this time is staggering. When I hear that I respond, ‘that might be true, but you are here”’.

“Lord, are you saying that you have come here for me? Has my time come to go with you?”
“No, brother, not yet. I have come to tell you a parable. Once there was a fisherman who was never lucky. He struggled to catch enough fish to survive. He prayed all the time for mercy, for help in catching fish. I granted his wish for mercy and answered his prayer. I told him that it didn’t matter how many fish he caught, that what mattered was that he catch the right fish.”

I bowed my head and heard the choir singing the final Dona Nobis Pacem of the mass. When the Pastor said ‘Amen’, I knew that Jesus had gone. “Thank you, Lord,” I prayed.

But I didn’t understand the parable he told me. What did it mean to catch the right fish? Weren’t all fish more or less the same? And if he was referring to something other than fish, people perhaps, what is the right person, and how are they different from the others? It wasn’t until I was writing this that the answer came to me.

You are the right fish. Yes you, the person reading these words. Jesus knew that not everyone wants to read about science, and many who do, have no interest in Christianity. So, my readership is naturally restricted to a particular group of people who love both science and their Christian faith, and perhaps some folks who are curious about either or both. Jesus was telling me that the number of books I might sell was not what mattered. What matters is that the right people get to read my words, and hopefully take something useful from them. And the fact that you are reading this, means that you are among the people for whom it was intended. This is why you are the right fish. Blessings be upon you.

That was the meaning of the parable for me at this time. But He told me that he had told this parable to someone else, a fisherman, and I realized that of course it fits so many different situations. Are you seeking love from many different people? Are you struggling to accumulate as many possessions as possible? Are you constantly on the hunt for more and more friends or admirers? Perhaps this parable can also be applied to you. “The right fish” is the one you should be seeking – the person you can spend a lifetime with, the friend you can treasure always, the things that actually give you pleasure. I also realized that the parable applied to the other side of my life – that of a professional scientist. Over the three decades of my research career, I have published many papers in the scientific literature, on a variety of subjects. In one fruitful period, my name was among the authors of 15 or more papers each year. Some of these were cited by other scientists many times.

In academic science, the number of one’s publications and citations are important measures of professional success. But when I think back on my career, one paper stands out among the over two hundred that bear my name. It was not published in a top ranked journal, it did not gain very many citations, and it had been rejected by several journals before it was finally accepted. It was not even in my field but based on an idea that fascinated me (and still does).

This was a theoretical paper showing that the genetic structure of human DNA exhibits a fractal pattern of activity at several scales. The finding was exciting to me as a scientist (and to a few others over the years) but not because it had any impact on medicine or useful applications. I remember a comment in one of the reviews rejecting the paper from a prestigious journal. “Why has Garte, an expert in environmental and molecular carcinogenesis, taken on this strange subject, with little or no bearing on health?”

I couldn’t answer that question at the time, and now I can only say that I found the “strange subject” to be one worthy of investigation and was highly satisfied with the results. I know now that this DNA fractal paper, published in 2004 with myself as sole author, was the right fish, and the total number of my publications and citations (for those who know what this means, my h-index is 58) no longer hold much value or meaning for me.

The best scientists catch several right fishes, but I thank God that I caught at least one. We live in a world where everyone is so busy fishing, that no one has any free time to think. Perhaps if we concentrated on fishing for the best possible fish, rather than trying to catch them all, we would find a great deal more happiness and live healthier, more enriched lives.

I don’t know if any of this is what Jesus had in mind when He came to visit me in Church on Maundy Thursday. We all struggle to understand the truest, deepest meanings of Jesus’ words, both in scripture and when He speaks to our souls, and since I am assuming that because you are reading this, you are one of the right fish, I suppose you also are familiar with that struggle. All we can do is trust in the Lord, and thank Jesus Christ, our savior, for teaching us so many lessons on how to live, and how to fish.

Some exciting developments, including trips to conferences, are coming up. In the next Newsletter I will feature some books and videos by other Christians on the topic of science and faith that I think you would enjoy. Meanwhile, let’s praise our Lord, and stay blessed.

Sy

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Sy’s News
June 2023 Issue (#14)

I just got back from my first Christian writers’ conference held at Wheaton College. I attended a number of classes and workshops and met a lot of new people, but the best part was meeting and talking in person to my agent, Dan Balow, and my publisher, Catherine DeVries (Kregel Publications)—both great people, friendly and warm. Catherine showed me the first printed copy of the book Coming to Faith through Dawkins, edited by Denis Alexander and Alister McGrath, which I discussed in the last issue of this newsletter.

My own second book, Science and Faith in Harmony: Contemplations on a Distilled Doxology, is also making progress. I approved the draft of a book cover, which is not quite ready for dissemination, but you, my faithful subscribers, will be the first to see it when it is. I have just completed one more round of approving proofreading edits, and the text is ready for typesetting. Endorsements are being gathered (I do not yet know who has agreed to endorse the book).

As part of my job in checking for errors and typos, I just reread the entire book and was pleasantly surprised — I really like it! But of course, I am just a bit prejudiced, I suppose, knowing the author as well as I do.

So that’s the news for June. Here is a brief list of some current Amazon best selling titles in the Science and Faith category. (The Works of His Hands is still on the list, but you already know about that one). Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of Faith Michael Guillen; Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe Stephen C. Meyer; 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity John C. Lennox; Finding God In Science: The Extraordinary Evidence For The Soul And Christianity, A Rocket Scientist’s Gripping Odyssey Michael R. O’Connell; God’s Universe Owen Gingerich.

I will update this list, and also include some videos and podcasts in future issues. Meanwhile, I thought you might like to read another fable I wrote some time ago that was originally included in the first draft of the new book. It was deleted after the decision to cut all the fables from the book. While its on my blog from 2015, I have not published it elsewhere, Enjoy.

Tank God (not a typo)

After eating, I was feeling pretty good. I swam down to the castle, where, as usual, Blackie and Angel were having their daily discussion, or argument (depending on their respective moods). Same topic of course– science vs. religion. Blackie is a scientist and atheist, while Angel is an ardent believer. (Me, I’m an agnostic. Meaning I don’t know and I don’t care.)
“There must be a God,” Angel was saying, not for the first time.
“A God that takes care of us, provides us with everything we need, a God that created the universe, and created it just right for us to live in.”

Blackie shook his head “Nonsense. We live in a purely natural world. There are good scientific reasons for everything that exists, and everything that happens.”
“Oh really?” Angel retorted “So where does our food come from?” Blackie almost snickered in triumph. “Ha, I have explained this to you. I have made careful and reproducible observations. The food arrives every day between 7 and 8 AM. It is a natural process clearly related to the appearance of light, which occurs just before then.”
“And what about the great shadow from outside?” Angel asked.
“The so-called shadow is simply a recurring distortion in the light patterns from the natural effects of the regular cycle of light and dark. We don’t know what the shadow is yet, but I’m confident we will eventually discover its source. There is certainly no need for you to always go to the edge and worship the shadow, because I have found that even when you don’t, the food arrives anyway. See, how science can overcome superstition?”.
“Well, I remember one time that no food arrived after the light came. And the shadow didn’t arrive either”.
Blackie said, “Oh really? I remember no such time”. I actually remembered this happening twice, but I will say that our memory capacities are all different, and mine is the best.
Angel continued “So what is your explanation for how perfect the universe is? The temperature is always 80 F, we never get bothered by cloudy water or algae, we have all kinds of room to swim in, and no nasty predators who try to eat us. Don’t you think that God must have set this up and is continually maintaining the world for our comfort and safety?”
“Oh yeah, so what about Molly? If there is such a loving God, why did Molly die?” Molly died yesterday and was floating on the surface all day, until just before darkness, when her body disappeared.
Angel said, “I don’t know, but I’m sure God does. Anyway, where did Molly go after she died? I bet you can’t answer that?” Blackie couldn’t—none of us could.
But he did answer her earlier question. “The universe appears to be perfect because but if it weren’t this way, we wouldn’t be here to notice it, would we. It’s called the ichthyopic principle.”
“So you think it’s possible that the universe just happened to be the way it is, despite the very low probability of everything being just right?” I asked Blackie, truly curious. “It’s because this is only one of millions or billions of universes.” Blackie replied. “The others have all kinds of different conditions.”

He swam over to the edge and bumped his nose against it. Angel and I joined him. “There is something out there,” He said. “Probably many more universes.”
Angel said, “That might be, but if there are, then God created them and is helping them also.”
Blackie threw his fins in the air. “I give up”, he said. “You just want to believe in your imaginary sky daddy. What do you think, Gouri?” he asked me. I shrugged (not a simple thing for me to do) and said “I have no idea. But I do know one thing. If that shadow is God, he should get a new tie.”
Blessing to all.
Sy

Sy’s News
August/September 2023 Issue (#15)

I pray you all had a pleasant, relaxing, and enjoyable summer. Lot’s of news for this issue about books: past, present and future Let’s start with my second book, Science and Faith in Harmony. Final edits have been completed, the manuscript is on its way to the printer, the book is scheduled for release on January 23^rd, 2024, and to my delighted surprise, it is already available for preorder on Amazon! The final cover is pictured below, and you will see that noted Christian apologist and scholar, Dr. Sean McDowell has written the preface. I couldn’t be more thrilled.

The Amazon book page is not quite complete, but will be shortly. Coming soon will be six endorsements for the book, from Lee Strobel, author of The Case for Christ and many other books, Denis Alexander, Director Emeritus of the Faraday Institute, Fazale Rana, President and CEO of Reasons to Believe, Perry Marshall, author of Evolution 2.0, James Peterson, Editor in Chief of Perspectives in Science and Christian Faith, and Arnold Sikkema, Executive Director of the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation.

I am blessed to know all of these brothers in Christ, and to call them my friends. In coming newsletters, I will begin to tell you more about the book contents and format, and soon I will start recruiting some of you for launch teams and early marketing. The other exciting news is about the American release of the book Coming to Faith Through Dawkins, edited by Denis Alexander and Alister McGrath in which I have a chapter, and which I told you about in my last newsletter. It is now available for purchase in the US in paperback and Kindle.

My wife, Aniko (also a chapter author) and I received our copies in late July, and I must say that although I like my own chapter a lot, all the other chapters are at least as good, Altogether the 12 (totally independent) chapters present a coherent and convincing case that New Atheism is dead and buried. Here is a snippet from my chapter (Chapter 1) in the book: It turns out that while union strikes and picket lines for racial and economic justice incorporated my long-held humanist values, their source was not Karl Marx, Lenin, or any other communist ideologue, but none other than Jesus of Nazareth . It was not the Greek philosophers who declared there is no difference between Greek or Jew, slave or free, male, or female: it was Saint Paul. It was not the Senate of the Roman empire who proclaimed that love between all people was the central commandment; it was Jesus Christ.

Summer is just about over, and you will be hearing from me on a monthly basis now with offers, excerpts, and news about a possible third book (I am working on the proposal now). God is good. All the time.
Blessings,
Sy

Sy’s News #1
Introductory Issue August 2020

Welcome to the introductory issue of my Newsletter. From here on, you will be receiving these around the first of each month. I am praying that I will have some very exciting news for the September issue.

Here is what you can expect to find in the coming months: Latest updates on new projects News about my appearances, online interviews and discussions, book tours etc. Special offers only for subscribers Advance copy of articles, blog posts, and special content just for this newsletter Feedback from other subscribers, and your own comments Meanwhile. if you haven’t already read The Works of His Hands: A Scientist’s Journey from Atheism to Faith, you can order it now. And stay tuned for a special offer of a free book for previous purchasers.

Sy’s News #2
September 2020 Issue

SPECIAL OFFER! Last February (seems like years ago!) I had scheduled a book tour. Some of the venues ordered books to be sold at my book signings. Due to the pandemic, all of those were of course cancelled, although I have been doing a virtual tour via Zoom. So now I have lots of extra books. And that brings me to the big news for this issue of the Newsletter. A two-for-one sale!! While supplies last, if you buy a copy of The Works of His Hands from Amazon or another vendor, I will send you a free signed copy of the book. If you already have a copy, you can use this offer to give two gifts to friends for the price of one.

To take advantage of this exclusive offer for Newsletter subscribers, go to the Contact page at sygarte.com, and send me your address, the name you would like the book to be signed to (or no name if you prefer), and the order number of your book purchase. As I said, this opportunity is restricted to subscribers, and it will only last until I run out of books, so don’t wait too long. (Also, unfortunately, I cannot send books outside of the continental US.)

A MESSAGE The Summer is over, and we are still in the middle of this crazy year. My wife showed me photos of the sky over the San Francisco Bay Area (where she lived before and has a lot of friends) with a deep orange color, as the fires and heat continue. Schools are opening and closing, and nobody knows what is going to happen next. We have a college junior at home, taking courses online, and we keep taking long walks to stay in shape. I think of that cry from Scripture, “How long, Lord? How long”?

And then I think: yes, we are suffering, some more than others, but we are not in the state that David had in mind when composing the psalm, at least not yet. And there is some silver in the lining of this orange cloud of fire. We have found ways to worship at church, and even hold daily prayer services, thanks to our technology. We hear positive news about a coming vaccine, and, most importantly, we stay in touch and reach out to those in dire need. This is indeed a time to try men’s souls, and we are being tested. But for those of us who have lived long enough, this is not the first such time.

We know God is with us. We know Jesus Christ suffered with us and for us. We worship a God who is acquainted with suffering, and who has promised us a new life in the Kingdom of Heaven where suffering, fear, mistrust, and doubt are no more. Brothers and sisters, have courage, be strong. Love is coming to us all!

Sy’s News
October 2020 Issue (#3)

Last week, I completed my virtual book tour, which in the past couple of months has brought me to Chicago, Dallas, Vancouver, and Boston. As someone who has done quite a bit of traveling, I must say that I appreciated the very short flights (about three seconds to get to my study) and very comfortable hotel accommodations (just like home!) of this trip.

I spoke at three venues in Vancouver—Regent College, Trinity Western University, and University of British Columbia—and had a large number of attendees at each. Here is a link to the largest gathering at Regent College: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e5N0EUF48U Altogether, I reached close to 300 people on this tour. I have been sending out signed adhesive book plates to people who ask for them as a remote alternative to signing books on the spot.

An Idea All the readings, presentations, and Q and A sessions were done via Zoom, and I found it a great experience. I preferred the meeting format to the webinar style. I like to see the faces of the listeners so I can tell if they’re nodding along, laughing at my jokes, or getting bored or sleepy. And now that it’s over (for the near future, at least) I have been thinking—what would prevent us from having one or more Zoom meetings as a group to discuss Christian faith and science?

I know most, if not all of you have read my book, so it wouldn’t be about that. I’m thinking of this more as a way to meet each other in person and chat about whatever we find interesting. Clearly there are too many of you to have a cozy friendly chat, but I would be happy to host more than one if it seems appealing. At each of my tour events, there were always a few people from distant places who showed up.

We live in a new world now, one where your physical location is irrelevant. If this idea seems interesting, send me a note, either by email to sygarte@gmail com or using the contact form at sygarte.com, and let me know if you would like to participate in the first, trial session of “God and Science – The Conversation.” Also, if you have any ideas for focus topics, let me know those as well. If this thing is successful, we can expand it to a much larger crowd.

Other News In other news, I have set up a podcast, made a couple of episodes, and am working on a bunch more. I will let you all know when they are ready for listening. Meanwhile, you can check out my latest video on Faithful Syence, “An Argument from Biology,” which, while still a work in progress, might be interesting to some. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty75ukCrinA&t=74s Finally, if you did read my book and liked it, don’t forget to spread the word to your friends and neighbors. Thanks, and God bless you all.

Sy’s News
November 2020 Issue (#4)

Lots of news this month!

An anniversary offer I plan to celebrate the first anniversary of the publication of my book The Works of His Hands: A Scientist’s Journey from Atheism to Faith with a book giveaway. The first ten people who ask (USA only, sorry) will get a free, signed copy of the book. This is a special offer for subscribers to this Newsletter. To get your free book (just in time for Christmas), go to my contact page https://sygarte.com/contact/ and follow instructions. In the comments, you can let me know to whom I should sign the book.

The Works of His Hands Podcast My podcast is up and running. So far there are four episodes posted: two about my journey to faith, one about the Imago Dei, and the most recent, a discussion of evidence for God with noted atheist Aron Ra. https://anchor.fm/sy-garte/episodes/Discussing-Evidence-for-God-with-Atheist-Aron-Ra-emflh5 That one might surprise you! At least two more episodes will drop this month.

My latest scientific paper is in press! I am thrilled to announce that a scientific project related to the origin of life that I have been working on has been completed with the acceptance for publication of a manuscript in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Acta Biotheoretica. The paper describes a model used to probe the evolution of cell replication during the earliest period of proto- life. The results demonstrate that evolutionary gradualism is not likely to explain the development of the high replication accuracy that is needed for the survival of early life and the beginning of the evolutionary process. The paper is still in press, but a pdf is available from my web site at https://sygarte.com/paper/ It is admittedly very technical, so I have posted a summary for non-specialists on my blog.

ZOOM meet-ups Many of you expressed interest in my proposal to participate in at least one conversation meet-up by zoom. I am still in the process of setting this up and I plan to inaugurate these discussions before Christmas. More on this in the next issue!

Other news The first glimmer of dawn showed itself in the good news about one or more COVID-19 vaccines. Let’s all pray that we will soon see the rising of the sun, return to our church buildings, greet our loved ones with hugs and kisses, and let this year of 2020 fade into memory. It’s coming, friends, as surely as the Kingdom of God and the return of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Prepare to rejoice! God bless you all.

Sy’s News
December 2020 Issue (#5)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! Welcome to the last newsletter of this, um….challenging, year. I would guess that New Year’s Eve this year will be celebrated with a great deal of joy, even if not in large crowds. And with the arrival of the first vaccine, we can pray confidently that 2021 will offer the promise of better times. Meanwhile, it’s Advent, and we await the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth changed the world forever.

The First ZOOM meet-up On Saturday the 12^th, I hosted the first meeting of a small group (about 10 people) of newsletter readers. From all accounts, it was a smashing success (probably because I didn’t do all the talking). After introductions and general chatting, we settled on a theme to discuss in future meetings: how to get the message of compatibility between science and Christian faith to the people who need to hear it – our fellow church members. I knew all the attendees, but I was surprised at how many in this group also knew each other. I guess we are a community. The only thing we don’t have is a name. Suggestions are welcome! If you have not indicated your interest in joining this online discussion group and would like to participate, just let me know (either by email or the contact page at sygarte.com).

Podcasts and Videos Two new podcast episodes are available, one on the subject of morality, science and scientism, and one about genetic engineering for “human enhancement”, As usual you can find them on any podcast channel or at the following links: https://anchor.fm/sy-garte/episodes/Human-Morality-Scientism-and-Pseudoscience-eng0bt https://anchor.fm/sy-garte/episodes/Gene-Engineering—Issues-and-Concerns-ent376

Last week I spoke online with Otangelo Grasso about ID, evolution and abiogenesis. I have posted an edited version of the hour and half long discussion on my channel Faithful Syence, https://youtu.be/QOoD5X8Bwy4 I am in the process of making a podcast from the soundtrack of the edited version, focusing on my recent paper (see previous issue) and the topic of abiogenesis. It appears that I will be on Modern Day Debate with Otangelo and two other people to discuss these topics on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 9PM EST.

Other News It’s been a busy month for me (and for everyone, I imagine). I just send off a chapter for a multi-author book to be published next year and have begun putting together the Winter issue of God and Nature. https://godandnature.asa3.org/ Meanwhile, my book, The Works of His Hands began a new spurt of sales growth in early October, which shows no signs yet of tapering off. I credit all of you for spreading the word. Thanks, and keep it up. Finally, we should acknowledge the fact that God is with us (Immanuel). As we await our turns to get vaccinated and turn our world back right side up, let’s not forget to give thanks to all those who have struggled to care for us, work for us, protect us, and provide us with life saving medicines and support. Let us pray for continued good news, and that very soon we will be able to live those inspiring words from Scripture: “Rejoice! I say again, rejoice!” God bless you all.

Sy’s News #16 – 20 (October 2023 – February 2024)

Sy’s News #8 – 15 (august 2022 – september 2023)

Sy’s News #1-7 (August 2020 – July 2022)