Could extra dimensions of reality exist, beyond our commonly accepted four (three of space, one of time)? Have you encountered any evidence of such dimensions?

Thinking deeply about spiritual matters requires thinking outside the restrictive box of everyday life. Those who believe reality exists only in four dimensions (three of space, one of time) automatically abandon the search for possible analytical tools needed to explore extra dimensions. They also may forfeit the capacity to investigate the reality of God.

Ironically, these closed-box thinkers are also rejecting paths of inquiry pursued by many contemporary non-religious astrophysicists, cosmologists, cosmogonists, and mathematicians. They implicitly set themselves at odds with such scientists as Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Kip Thorne, Brian Greene, and others who have affirmed the possibility of extra dimensions.

To put this another way, four-dimensional thinkers seem stuck in outdated, reductionistic Enlightenment worldviews. They may have severed lines of inquiry into extra-dimensional concepts like string theory, multiverses, brane cosmology, imaginary time, or the idea of a “bulk” (or hyperspace) of large, perhaps even infinite, dimensions that lie beyond our four of space-time.

In the philosophical and theological fields, some open-ended thinkers have linked extra-dimensional concepts to their spiritual worldviews:

These and other expansive thinkers have concluded that to determine what is really real (the “Real World” as J. B Phillips puts it, or the “whole real universe,” as C.S. Lewis says) we must move beyond the restrictive worldviews of scientism and seek other, more open channels of knowledge and understanding. We must resolve not to be limited by what we can see, touch, or analyze intellectually with our limited, four-dimensional mental faculties.

So take a moment to reflect: Do you think that somewhere deep in our genes, minds or spirits some capacity exists that would enable us to reach out and explore higher dimensions of reality? Or to put the question in more mundane terms, do we somehow harbor a kind of extra-dimensional “eye” or “ear” or other super-sense that would allow us to connect in some way with a reality beyond this present existence?

Finally, do you think evidence of extra dimensions may lurk somewhere in our four-dimensional reality? If such evidence exists, what form might it take? Is it possible that some extra-dimensional intelligence has already contacted us? If so, what form might this communication take? Have you encountered such evidence? If your worldview is rooted in the Bible, can you recall anything in the Scriptures that might suggest the existence of extra dimensions?