There have always been people who relish a debate—though all too often, even when the subject hardly matters, the whole exercise amounts to little more than intellectual gymnastics in a thimble and scholarly squabbles over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
However, some, such as Clifford Goldstein, have ventured to debate some of the most grandiose questions: Does truth exist? Can we know it? Does God exist, and does He have anything to do with me? Does life have any meaning?
Born into a secular Jewish family in Albany, New York, Clifford Goldstein’s dream was to become a novelist. As a teenager, he spent his time reading voraciously, travelling around the world, and writing with painstaking passion. He began to ask himself difficult questions, and was amazed to find that they were leading him in an unexpected direction—towards notions he had previously rejected: truth, knowledge, and faith. At the age of 21, while studying in Florida, he had a transformative moment when he realised that truth exists: “I’ve just had another one of those radical philosophical changes that usually leave me spinning” (p. 21), he writes in his autobiography, published in 1990 and 1996 under the title The Clifford Goldstein Story. He said to himself: “If it is humanly possible to know truth—why am I here, how did I get here—then I want to know, no matter the cost. No matter where it leads mе, по matter what I must suffer, no matter how painful truth is—I want to know!” (p. 21).
Although not autobiographical, God, Gödel, and Grace distils the author’s life in a way, describing his long years of intellectual struggles candidly, as well as his ups and downs, cherished dreams, and near-death capitulations. For example, he once became convinced that God was asking him to destroy the novel he had been working on for as long as he could remember, which had become a kind of rival god.
In this nearly hundred-page volume, the author sifts through dozens of books, some of which are part of the world’s literary, philosophical, and scientific heritage, while others are less well known. The first chapter opens with an extensive passage from Albert Camus’ The Stranger, the second with Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and the third with Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Listing all the authors cited and works mentioned would exceed the scope of this review, ranging from Sophocles to Brodsky. The quotations, sometimes substantial and sometimes limited to a word or two, evoke, provoke and contribute to the construction of each chapter.
Title, subtitle, and structure of the book
The years the author spent working on the novel he later abandoned left a lasting impression, evident in the novel’s vast emotional depth and rich experiences, as well as the meticulousness of the writing and its impressive rhetorical power. The writing style is complex, full of allusions and figures of speech.
The title of the book is subtly constructed using wordplay and alliteration: God, Gödel, and Grace (the middle term evokes Kurt Gödel, an Austrian mathematician and philosopher who emigrated to the United States and is considered the most important logician of our time—incidentally, he is only mentioned in the book). The book’s central idea is that there are solid reasons to believe in God, but these are not as obvious or self-evident as an algebraic equation. We have compelling reasons to believe in a reality that transcends logic and calculation. Faith remains necessary, but it must not be blind.
Some may be disappointed by the subtitle, “A Philosophy of Faith”, as they expect a more systematic, didactic treatment of the subject. Nothing of the sort. Rather than being a textbook, this book is a collection of essays exploring the theme of faith in relation to universal and profound aspects of human experience. What is the meaning of life in the face of inevitable death? Why does evil triumph? Wouldn’t it be better if God spoke to us more directly?
The titles of the nine chapters often serve as a starting point for a painful moral exploration that is more agonising than any surgery. “The Children…What am I to do about them?” (Title of Chapter 4) is taken from a virulent challenge to the God of Christian tradition put into the mouth of the socialist Ivan Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Other titles announce an approach that starts from science: “Chemical Dilemma” (Chapter 2), “Quantum Leaps” (Chapter 3), “Fundamental Constants” (Chapter 7), and “The Eternal Divisor” (Chapter 8). The title of the final chapter expressively conveys the necessity of making a personal decision: “Either/Or.”
Endings that captivate
However, Clifford Goldstein would not be pleased if his audience were content merely to resonate with his experience of a Robert Frost poem, adopt his interpretation of a mind-bending quantum physics experiment, or accept his understanding of a passage from Goethe’s or Paul’s writings. Dedicating his book to those “whose desire for truth transcends the joy of seeking it,” Goldstein places himself in the same category as his readers and encourages them, sometimes gently and sometimes by irreversibly shattering their self-preserving prejudices. Watching Goldstein challenge the established authorities of science and philosophy encourages you to consider the argument fully and not hide behind those considered more gifted. Commenting on a few lines written by Werner Heisenberg about a scientist’s despair at the complexity and absurdity of matter, Goldstein concludes: “Perhaps he should have studied something a little more logical, a little more rational…like faith!!” (p. 41).
A necessary read
Ultimately, Goldstein’s book’s greatest strength is its ability to construct a captivating philosophical and spiritual approach. With incredible dynamism, the author informs, comments, asks questions, offers criticism, expresses enthusiasm, poses more radical questions, admires, uses irony, and prepares the final lines of each chapter with incredible patience and precision—lines that readers will carry in their hearts for a long time, perhaps forever!
Readers accustomed to such topics being discussed using the Bible as a reference point may criticise the author for infrequently resorting to Holy Scripture. However, Clifford Goldstein targets an audience rarely considered by Christian authors: those distant from the Bible, as he himself was at 20. Notably, another of his books, Life Without Limits combines the two approaches, bridging the gap between secular and biblical thinking.
Reading God, Gödel, and Grace is not only beneficial, but necessary. It will certainly provide readers with long-awaited answers to profound questions.
