Author: David E. Comings
Publisher: Hope Press
ISBN: 1878267736
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 2
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Book Description
Dr. David Comings, an internationally renowned physician, human geneticist and neuroscientist, proposes that spirituality is genetically hardwired into a specific part of the brain, is pleasurable, is critical to the evolution and survival of man, and will never go away. It strives to allow readers to develop a rational spirituality in which the fact-based rational brain and the faith-based spiritual brain can live in peace. In an era when politicians are judged on the basis of the strength of their belief in God, when schools are urged to teach Intelligent Design, and when religious terrorists threaten the existence of Western civilization it is critical to dispassionately examine the question - Did man create God? A wide range of issues are examined including intelligent answers to intelligent design; the relevance of modern cosmology to the existence or non-existence of god; the role of genes in spirituality; innate morality, the problem of evil, and many others. Michael Shermer called this the most detailed and up-to-date science ever generated on the subject of religion and suggested it will be the definitive scientific reference on religion for some time to come. This book is for those who have also questioned any part of their faith but treasure their spirituality and want answers that are not hostile to spirituality or religion.
Author: Reza Aslan
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0553394738
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321
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Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of Zealot explores humanity’s quest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of God. In Zealot, Reza Aslan replaced the staid, well-worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. In his new book, Aslan takes on a subject even more immense: God, writ large. In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. As Aslan writes, “Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless of whether we’re believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves.” But this projection is not without consequences. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature—our compassion, our thirst for justice—but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. All these qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments. More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, God: A Human History will challenge the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives. Praise for God “Timely, riveting, enlightening and necessary.”—HuffPost “Tantalizing . . . Driven by [Reza] Aslan’s grace and curiosity, God . . . helps us pan out from our troubled times, while asking us to consider a more expansive view of the divine in contemporary life.”—The Seattle Times “A fascinating exploration of the interaction of our humanity and God.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “[Aslan’s] slim, yet ambitious book [is] the story of how humans have created God with a capital G, and it’s thoroughly mind-blowing.”—Los Angeles Review of Books “Aslan is a born storyteller, and there is much to enjoy in this intelligent survey.”—San Francisco Chronicle
Author: Robert Banks PhD
Publisher: Lion Books
ISBN: 0745959644
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160
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Book Description
This book addresses one of the oldest questions posed to religious believers: if God made everything, who made God? Most recently levelled by the New Atheists, the question was asked in ancient Greece and has preoccupied religious believers in the centuries since. Here, renowned scholar Robert Banks explores the history of the objection - from its earliest vocalization in the ancient world to its most famous opponents, Freud, Marx, and others. Ideal for anyone with a general interest in new atheism, for those studying religion, or wanting to sort out what (if any) elements of their idea of God are man-made.
Author: J. Anderson Thomson
Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)
ISBN: 0984493239
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 89
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Book Description
In this groundbreaking volume, J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., MD, with Clare Aukofer, offers a succinct yet comprehensive study of how and why the human mind generates religious belief. Dr. Thomson, a highly respected practicing psychiatrist with credentials in forensic psychiatry and evolutionary psychology, methodically investigates the components and causes of religious belief in the same way any scientist would investigate the movement of astronomical bodies or the evolution of life over time—that is, as a purely natural phenomenon. Providing compelling evidence from psychology, the cognitive neurosciences, and related fields, he, with Ms. Aukofer, presents an easily accessible and exceptionally convincing case that god(s) were created by man—not vice versa. With this slim volume, Dr. Thomson establishes himself as a must-read thinker and leading voice on the primacy of reason and science over superstition and religion.
Author: JOACHIM ONYEAKOR
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1477136959
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 247
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Book Description
The author believes that the religious arena has turned into a market place hence anyone can buy God and religious institutions can also canvass for membership to increase their sales. He expresses his dismay at most religions of the world and their levels of hypocrisy, particularly within the Pentecostal Christian community that is fragmenting into untold numbers and has turned into a tool of fraud and deceit; selling God, selling salvation, selling false dreams and false hopes; deploying stage- managed miracles as catch tools' and also as tools of mind slavery. He is not comfortable with suicide bombers within the Islamic community who erroneously claim that such extreme level of ugliness will lead them into heaven'. He says that the ways religious institutions are conducting themselves lately; we no longer know who created who; whether God created Man or Man created him for a purpose. According to the Christian Bible, Christ did say "do unto others as you will have them do unto you; love one another" hence the Author begs to know whether "others and one another" according to Christ mean all races and religious faiths since those golden rules are not being applied by those who told us about Christ. In the name of Capitalism and Materialism, Man has almost turned into a base animal hence making this earth look like a jungle where no rules apply and where conscience and love no more have a place. We live in times when Man create diseases and create their cures. The author believes that since most people especially Africans believe in the Bible information and Bible stories, and the Bible has it that the Pharaohs of Africa did enslave the Israelites in the past, then colonialism and slavery may be human nature and a form of revenge which one must also strive to resist. Colonialism seems to be a form of ugliness just like Apartheid, forceful dominance, slavery and other forms of Man's oppressions and inhumanity against fellow Man which happens from time to time in human history which humanity must also fight to outlive. The author disagrees with the notion that God chooses some people to rule over others, hence he believes that people choose themselves. According to the Christian Bible, Christ did say to his disciples that, greater things shall they do in his name, hence it is time that the so called Christian anointed men of God who are performing miracles only on church stages also walk on water for all to see. Unfortunately, the continent of Africa where it is said that civilization began, has more churches than factories yet the continent has failed to develop.
Author: Norman L. Geisler
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433581442
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 417
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Book Description
To some, the concept of having faith in a higher power or a set of religious beliefs is nonsensical. Indeed, many view religion in general, and Christianity in particular, as unfounded and unreasonable. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek argue, however, that Christianity is not only more reasonable than all other belief systems, but is indeed more rational than unbelief itself. With conviction and clear thinking, Geisler and Turek guide readers through some of the traditional, tested arguments for the existence of a creator God. They move into an examination of the source of morality and the reliability of the New Testament accounts concerning Jesus. The final section of the book deals with a detailed investigation of the claims of Christ. This volume will be an interesting read for those skeptical about Christianity, as well as a helpful resource for Christians seeking to articulate a more sophisticated defense of their faith.
Author: André Comte-Sponville
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780670018475
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 236
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Book Description
Poses an argument for living a spiritual life that is not dependent on religion, explaining that an acceptance of philosophical spiritual traditions and values does not require practitioners to embrace the existence of a higher order.
Author: Anthony A. Hoekema
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 9780802808509
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 282
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Book Description
ccording to Scripture, humankind was created in the image of God. Hoekema discusses the implications of this theme, devoting several chapters to the biblical teaching on God's image, the teaching of philosophers and theologians through the ages, and his own theological analysis. Suitable for seminary-level anthropology courses, yet accessible to educated laypeople. Extensive bibliography, fully indexed.
Author: Amir D. Aczel
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062230611
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
The renowned science writer, mathematician, and bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem masterfully refutes the overreaching claims the "New Atheists," providing millions of educated believers with a clear, engaging explanation of what science really says, how there's still much space for the Divine in the universe, and why faith in both God and empirical science are not mutually exclusive. A highly publicized coterie of scientists and thinkers, including Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens, and Lawrence Krauss, have vehemently contended that breakthroughs in modern science have disproven the existence of God, asserting that we must accept that the creation of the universe came out of nothing, that religion is evil, that evolution fully explains the dazzling complexity of life, and more. In this much-needed book, science journalist Amir Aczel profoundly disagrees and conclusively demonstrates that science has not, as yet, provided any definitive proof refuting the existence of God. Why Science Does Not Disprove God is his brilliant and incisive analyses of the theories and findings of such titans as Albert Einstein, Roger Penrose, Alan Guth, and Charles Darwin, all of whose major breakthroughs leave open the possibility— and even the strong likelihood—of a Creator. Bolstering his argument, Aczel lucidly discourses on arcane aspects of physics to reveal how quantum theory, the anthropic principle, the fine-tuned dance of protons and quarks, the existence of anti-matter and the theory of parallel universes, also fail to disprove God.
Author: John C. Lennox
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 031049219X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 191
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Book Description
What did the writer of Genesis mean by “the first day”? Is it a literal week or a series of time periods? If I believe that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, am I denying the authority of Scripture? In response to the continuing controversy over the interpretation of the creation narrative in Genesis, John Lennox proposes a succinct method of reading and interpreting the first chapters of Genesis without discounting either science or Scripture. With examples from history, a brief but thorough exploration of the major interpretations, and a look into the particular significance of the creation of human beings, Lennox suggests that Christians can heed modern scientific knowledge while staying faithful to the biblical narrative. He moves beyond a simple response to the controversy, insisting that Genesis teaches us far more about the God of Jesus Christ and about God’s intention for creation than it does about the age of the earth. With this book, Lennox offers a careful yet accessible introduction to a scientifically-savvy, theologically-astute, and Scripturally faithful interpretation of Genesis.
