Del Mar resident provides unique perspective in book ‘A Scientist’s God’

Jerzy Lewak took a while getting to writing his book, “A Scientist’s God,” which he says gives undeniable proof of the existence of God and spirituality.

In fact, it took 55 years for the seeds planted in college in 1957 to grow into the 100-page Kindle book.

The 73-year-old Del Mar resident, who has more than 50 years of experience in theoretical physics, electrical engineering and computer sciences, was raised a Catholic and still attends services.

“I believe very strongly … but I don’t agree on many points,” he said. “Spirituality is more important than religion.”

It was his scientific background and discussions while in college in England that first focused his thoughts on God and spirituality.

“Discussions with others convinced me then that most do not see things the way I do,” he said. More recently, he considered inadequate “publications of declarations and reasonings by some atheistic scientists and the published arguments against such atheistic arguments by other scientists.”

Lewak, who joined the faculty at UCSD in 1966 and took early retirement in 1991 from his post in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is all about science — from teaching it to starting two software companies and having “about 10 patents, several more pending and to be written.”

His companies include Nisus Software, which he started in 1984 about the time the first Mac computers hit the street. Nisus was the “first windows software,” made to be used on IBM personal computers, he said.

“We were trying to get into educational software because it was so bad,” he recalled.

The second company, also still in existence, is SpeedTrack, a company working on a way “for all users of databases to navigate through data to the contained information.”

And while he’s still involved with both companies and his many new discoveries, he said, the recent spurt of writings by Richard Dawkins and Nobel Laureate Herbert A. Hauptmann “who deride with disdain and ridicule a belief in God and our spiritual nature” fired up his desire to set the record straight, he wrote in a press release about his book.

His aim is to help people understand how science, the belief in God and “our spiritual nature,” are compatible, he said.

“One example is the proof of our spiritual nature — the fact that we are not just machines, as many scientists seem to treat us,” he wrote in an e-mail, outlining the details of his writing. “The fact that our subjectivity, the experiences we have and are conscious of, cannot be a material property because they cannot be detected objectively.

“We must distinguish between objective truth and subjective truth. The foundations of all objective studies is physics. It deals only with matter and its properties. Any property of matter must be physically detectable and measurable using physical instruments. Detection of any property of matter cannot rely only on statements made by, or reactions of humans.”

The Polish-born scientist, who was deported by the Soviets to Kazakhstan, then escaped to Teheran and went to Tanzania before being educated in England, goes into a lengthy discussion about how he reaches his conclusion, summarizing by saying, “All our subjectivity, all our individual experiences, are non-material so I call them spiritual.”

He also argues that “believers and disbelievers are really both believers in a creator of all reality, but believers claim it is an intelligent, purposeful and all powerful creator God, whereas disbelievers claim, often only by implication, that it is an unintelligent, purposeless, dumb ‘machine.’ Both tenets are based on belief.”

Continuing that thought, he said, “The book points out that believers in God can answer our important subjective questions and millions of otherwise unexplained human experiences, whereas believers in a dumb machine do not have a chance.”

Part of the book focuses on “out-of-body experiences,” another topic that Lewak has studied in depth. “There’s no credible evidence I’ve been able to find that contradicts the reality of the out-of-body experience,” he noted. “If there is anything, I would be willing to read it.”

When he’s not trying to prove the existence of God and spirituality, Lewak likes to solve problems in software engineering. But he’s also active outdoors, as well, enjoying cycling and daily bodysurfing — without a wetsuit and unless it’s been raining.

He also likes reading and puzzles --— “but only puzzles that are real. I stop myself from puzzles that the only satisfaction is that I solved it.”

Where to obtain Lewak’s book

“A Scientist’s God: New Arguments for the Existence of God and Our Soul. A scientist’s personal exploration.”

Published as a Kindle book, it may be borrowed or purchased for $9.99 at the Amazon Kindle store.

Web and blog page:ascientistsgod.com. Note: Lewak hasn’t blogged much, he says, because he’s been busy with other activities.

By Kathy Day