Real hands carved Nazareth wood; and we remember them, when we shape our own frameworks in life. In a very different occupation, in a modern chemistry lab, might the daily tasks of a working scientist indicate how a skilled divine Craftsman toils to create the new? George does not discuss science itself, nor any disputes of science and faith. He reflects on the actual doing of chemistry—and how that work seems to mirror our inner lives. You need neither a science nor a belief background to access these readable 2,000-word Reflections.

George chooses 52 common words from laboratory life, each the name of a research principle or long-studied practical process. He sets each beside Bible verses and also many secular quotations, to gain an unusual perspective on the hidden purposes of God in us. We share the adventurous experimental journey to an exciting new chemical compound, first by preparing for a bold transformation. Then long purification must follow to give the desired precious product. A b&w image of George’s from the Holy Land enriches each Reflection (in colour on Kindle Fire).The actual new creation of crystals is also studied.

In an authentic laboratory, might any scientist—or an observer of one—learn something about God’s love and the work of the Holy Spirit, or simply discover Jesus at work in each one of us?

Below is the chapter list:

CONTENTS

Introduction, Warnings and Me

1. Process - The Way To Do It

2. Raw - A Word To Move On From

3. Work - Where Even Jesus Began

4. Discovery - Or Is It Rediscovery?

5. Transformation - Can we Change?

6. Research - Asking Questions!

7. Synthesis - The Art of Creation

8. Starting Materials - Of Every Kind

9. Crushing - Pressure Has a Cost

10. Drying - The Aridity Grows

11. Distillation - Revealing the Truth

12. Directions - The Method of Change

13. Set-up - The Place of Change

14. Conditions - The Best Environment

15. Hazards - Safety and Care

16. Reagents - The Tools of Change

17. Catalyst - The Agent of Change

18. Names - The Footprints of History

19. Laws - The Price of Discovery

20. Mechanism 1 - Could We Know?

21. Mechanism 2 - Know What?

22. Driving Force 1 - The Power of God

23. Driving Force 2 - The Gift of Faith

24. Driving Force 3 - The Hunger

25. Experiment - Faith and Unknown

26. Novel - What We Did Not Expect

27. Real - The Chemistry That Works

28. Monitoring - Detecting the Change

29. Setback! - Trying Again

30. Abandoned - Nothing To Be Done

31. Waste - Yet Mercy Has Not Failed

32. Product! - The New Creation

33. Quenching - Icy Reality

34. Filtration - A Precipitate Division

35. Extraction - One World to Another

36. Purification - The Long Road

37. Chromatography - The Distinctive

38. Reverse-phase - A Backward View

39. Contamination - Purify Again!

40. Concentration - Need For Stamina

41. Crystallisation - The Perfect Solid

42. Recrystallisation – Until Constant

43. Yield - Weighing the Crop!

44. Spectroscopy - Light That Reveals

45. Analysis - The Sober Judgement

46. Pure - A Completed Task

47. Error - Scientists are Human

48. Delivery - Purposeful Living

49. Serendipity - The Happy Discovery

50. Reporting - Chemistry Sharing

51. Analogue - Planning For The Next

52. Chemistry - Special and Urgent

Acknowledgements and apologies, partly to fellow scientists

REFERENCES

APPENDIX 1: ‘Crystals from Scratch’ – toward chemical and spiritual purity

[& separate references]