Victor J. Stenger
Hardcover | Pages: 294 pages Rating: 3.92 | 7774 Users | 169 Reviews
Declare Books Toward God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
| Original Title: | God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist |
| ISBN: | 1591024811 (ISBN13: 9781591024811) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rendition Conducive To Books God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
Throughout history, arguments for and against the existence of God have been largely confined to philosophy and theology. In the meantime, science has sat on the sidelines and quietly watched this game of words march up and down the field. Despite the fact that science has revolutionized every aspect of human life and greatly clarified our understanding of the world, somehow the notion has arisen that it has nothing to say about the possibility of a supreme being, which much of humanity worships as the source of all reality. Physicist Victor J. Stenger contends that, if God exists, some evidence for this existence should be detectable by scientific means, especially considering the central role that God is alleged to play in the operation of the universe and the lives of humans. Treating the traditional God concept, as conventionally presented in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, like any other scientific hypothesis, Stenger examines all of the claims made for God's existence. He considers the latest Intelligent Design arguments as evidence of God's influence in biology. He looks at human behavior for evidence of immaterial souls and the possible effects of prayer. He discusses the findings of physics and astronomy in weighing the suggestions that the universe is the work of a creator and that humans are God's special creation. After evaluating all the scientific evidence, Stenger concludes that beyond a reasonable doubt the universe and life appear exactly as we might expect if there were no God.Specify Appertaining To Books God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
| Title | : | God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist |
| Author | : | Victor J. Stenger |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 294 pages |
| Published | : | January 2nd 2007 by Prometheus Books (first published 2007) |
| Categories | : | Science. Religion. Atheism. Nonfiction. Philosophy. Physics |
Rating Appertaining To Books God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
Ratings: 3.92 From 7774 Users | 169 ReviewsRate Appertaining To Books God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
Ok....imagine a universe without god. Now picture this one. But I repeat myself. Paraphrasing very loosely, that's the thesis here. I read this book from the library, thereby depriving myself of the loveliest part, which is a beautifullly haunting photo of the earth from space. The book is OK. Turns out that I value reading good writing more than I would have guessed, as I give this book two stars more for its pedestrian writing style than for its content. It has all the charm of a sink. ThisOk....imagine a universe without god. Now picture this one. But I repeat myself. Paraphrasing very loosely, that's the thesis here. I read this book from the library, thereby depriving myself of the loveliest part, which is a beautifullly haunting photo of the earth from space. The book is OK. Turns out that I value reading good writing more than I would have guessed, as I give this book two stars more for its pedestrian writing style than for its content. It has all the charm of a sink. This
Read about ten years ago. I remember struggling with quite a bit of it, probably due to my lack of knowledge of physics.When I am suitably enthused, I will re-read, ie, 'listen' to this on audiobook.In the meantime, I am about to listen to Stenger's more recent audiobook: "God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion". I think I am a bit of a glutton for "physics" punishment!
If you have more than a basic understanding of science you will not learn anything new from this book. If you have already read a couple of books on atheism and science then you will probably find no arguments that you haven't already been exposed to. However, some of these arguments are presented so clumsily that I became skeptical of a conclusion that I already agreed with prior to reading the book. I can only recommend this book to people who have never read anything on the subject before.
Believe it or not, the author actually does make a scientific case against the existence of God - which something most people believe to be impossible. Whether or not he is successful is up to you. At first I thought it was just another psuedoscience punditry book disguised as scientific ("The Case for a Creator", etc.), but I was intrigued enough by the boldness of the title that I decided to give it a try. If you're into non-fiction science type books, add this to your list because it goes at
For the most part this book was very objective and clear. It lacked the arrogance of a Richard Dawkins book which I think only helps Stenger's case. However, I feel this book would be lost anyone who isn't already a scientist because the book is more a bulleted list of theories he says disproves God existence due to lack of evidence otherwise, only referring to other works on physics, cosmology, and evolution. It would take a dedicated layperson to research his hundreds of annotations.With that
My view for a long time now is that, in our modern world with so much updated information, the fact that so many people believe that a single book thousands of years old is the Word of God is simply astonishing. No less surprising to me is the amount of time and effort by intelligent people to try to fit the "God of the gaps" into ever smaller gaps. And the knots that people have tied in logic for thousands of years in an attempt to explain the "problem of evil" strikes me as the ultimate in
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