Title: From Darkness to Sunrise: One Man’s Natural Epiphany
Author: Theodore G. Obenchain
Publisher: Authors Press
ISBN: 978-1-643148-42-7
Pages: 173
Genre: Creative Non-fiction / Philosophy
Reviewer: Jason Lulos
Pacific Book Review
From Darkness to Sunrise: One Man’s Natural Epiphany chronicles the narrator’s unique spiritual awakening, an unlikely route in that it arises from deep scientific inquiry. His epiphany is not a sudden “eureka” moment characteristic of most “aha” realizations. Rather, his scientific and spiritual coalescence forms over a gradual period of education and cumulative understanding of the wonders of science and life itself. It is a beautifully and intelligently written book which is both educational and enlightening. The narrator’s journey/epiphany also sheds some very interesting light on the debate between evolution and intelligent design.
The story begins with the narrator, Martin Holmes, in rural Appalachia in Kentucky. As a young child of about five years old, his family attends a funeral, and he is taken by the solemnity of the music and the people there. This experience would spark his lifelong fascination with life and death. Martin is a curious child to a fault. He questions everything, including his primitive Baptist family’s religious habits and beliefs. Being brought up in a conservative community only fueled Martin’s curiosity more and perhaps led to his eventual, more rebellious career. A chance sighting of a guitar on the side of the road instigated Martin’s journey as a musician. But his love of music started early with church songs and the otherworldly sounds of his mother playing the dulcimer. Martin developed quickly as a guitar player and singer and became a professional musician with all the stereotypical lifestyles that tend to come with it: sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Having left his religious upbringing in the past, he thrived in this reckless life for years until he hit an existential and spiritual pit of despair. He realized he had been leading a hedonistic and philosophically empty life. He was fundamentally, clinically, and spiritually bereft.
Martin’s climb out of this pit was helped by therapists and medication. But the main means of his liberation was education. Martin read deeply on philosophy and the natural sciences. From Spinoza to Darwin to Watson and Crick, Martin devoured anything about life and its origins. Even the skeptic, he would not accept any argument for God or spiritual meaning unless it had scientific or logical reasoning. In the end, his gradual epiphany results from deep study and introspection. His epiphany is a realization in which he reconciles the unimaginably vast complexity of life and the possibility of a Creator.
This is a fascinating book. The writing is stellar. Martin’s story from rural farm boy to rock star is a page-turner. Martin then takes the reader on a journey through the history of the natural sciences. It is a long journey, but it is highly educational, sometimes esoteric but always thoughtful and interesting. Einstein famously said, “God does not play dice.” And this is just what Martin has been seeking all along. From Darkness to Sunrise is a great read and I recommend it to anyone interested in the notion that science and spirituality are two sides of the same coin.
