Book Description

(Finalist, 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards, Science Category)

You've probably seen it before: a human brain dramatically lit from the side, the camera circling it like a helicopter shot of Stonehenge, and a modulated baritone voice exalting the brain's elegant design in reverent tones.

To which this book says: Pure nonsense. In a work at once deeply learned and wonderfully accessible, the neuroscientist David Linden counters the widespread assumption that the brain is a paragon of design--and in its place gives us a compelling explanation of how the brain's serendipitous evolution has resulted in nothing short of our humanity. A guide to the strange and often illogical world of neural function, The Accidental Mind shows how the brain is not an optimized, general-purpose problem-solving machine, but rather a weird agglomeration of ad-hoc solutions that have been piled on through millions of years of evolutionary history. Moreover, Linden tells us how the constraints of evolved brain design have ultimately led to almost every transcendent human foible: our long childhoods, our extensive memory capacity, our search for love and long-term relationships, our need to create compelling narrative, and, ultimately, the universal cultural impulse to create both religious and scientific explanations. With forays into evolutionary biology, this analysis of mental function answers some of our most common questions about how we've come to be who we are.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Brain Explained

1. The Inelegant Design of the Brain

2. Building a Brain with Yesterday's Parts

3. Some Assembly Required

4. Sensation and Emotion

5. Learning, Memory, and Human Individuality

6. Love and Sex

7. Sleeping and Dreaming

8. The Religious Impulse

9. The Unintelligent Design of the Brain

Epilogue: That Middle Thing

Further Reading and Resources

Acknowledgments

Index

Comments/Reviews

[A] lively mix of solid science and fascinating case histories... The book's greatest strength is Linden's knack for demystifying biology and neuroscience with vivid similes (he calls the brain, weighing two percent of total body weight and using 20 percent of its energy, the Hummer H2 of the body). Though packed with textbook-ready data, the book grips readers like a masterful teacher; those with little science experience may be surprised to find themselves interested in--and even chuckling over--the migration of neurons along radial glia, and anxious to find out what happens next.
— Publishers Weekly

More than another salvo in the battle over whether biological structures are the products of supernatural design or biological evolution (though Linden has no doubt it's the latter), research on our brain's primitive foundation is cracking such puzzles as why we cannot tickle ourselves, why we are driven to spin narratives even in our dreams and why reptilian traits persist in our gray matter.
— Sharon Begley, Newsweek

Linden tells his story well, in an engaging style, with plenty of erudition and a refreshing honesty about how much remains unknown. The book should easily hold the attention of readers with little background in biology and no prior knowledge of brains. It would make an excellent present for curious non-scientists and a good book for undergraduates who are just entering into the brain's magic menagerie. Even readers trained in neuroscience are likely to enjoy the many tidbits of rarely taught information--on love, sex, gender, sleep and dreams--that spice up Linden's main argument. The Accidental Mind stands out for being highly readable and clearly educational. No doubt, the human brain evolved along a constrained path and is, in some respects, designed imperfectly. Linden will send that message home ... We still know too little about the brain's inner workings to judge how well it does its job. What we do know, and what The Accidental Mind helps us to realize, is that the human brain is not designed as many have imagined.
— Georg Striedter, Nature

The majority of this book is an enjoyable neurosciences primer for the general reader. Evolutionary and psychological perspectives provide occasional insights about the mind, but mostly the subject here is the organ capable of conjuring it into existence. Linden makes clear that the physical substrate of our mental phenomena--the squidgy and haphazard mass of our brain--is a gloriously evolved muddle.
— Druin Burch, Times Literary Supplement

Many popular neuroscience books emphasize the brain's complexity using terms of purpose: this region is for emotion, that one for vision, and so forth, each interacting in a perfectly designed whole. This ambitious, engaging, and often irreverent book by Linden adopts a quite different perspective, instead emphasizing the evolutionary origins of the human brain...The book...end[s] with a well-argued discussion of the tension between neuroscience and intelligent design. The emphasis on evolution is laudable...making this book an important counterpoint to breathless paeans to brain design.
— S. A. Huettel, Choice

This is a terrific book that accomplishes its aim of presenting a biological view of how the brain works, and does so in a charming, fetching style.
— Joshua R. Sanes, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

This is the first scientific book I've read with "attitude." David Linden is something of a Howard Stern shock jock and there's a lot of heavy breathing in this overview of brain function and the linkage between psychological and brain processes. Linden is clearly a thoughtful scientist and this comes through in his excellent choice of facts and theories to present. This is a very intelligent book.
— John Lisman, Professor of Biology, Brandeis University

Book Description

Atheism Explained explores the claims made both for and against the existence of God. On the pro side: that the wonders of the world can only be explained by an intelligent creator; that the universe had to start somewhere; telepathy, out-of-body experiences, and other paranormal phenomena demonstrate the existence of a spirit world; and that those who experience God directly provide evidence as real as any physical finding. After disputing these arguments through calm, careful criticism, David Ramsay Steele presents the reasons why God cannot exist: monstrous, appalling evils; the impossibility of omniscience; and the senseless concept that God is a thinking mind without a brain. He also explores controversial topics such as Intelligent Design, the power of prayer, religion without God, and whether a belief in God makes people happier and healthier. Steele's rational, easy-to-understand prose helps readers form their own conclusions about this eternally thorny topic.

Comment

"Steele defends atheism by a comprehensive analysis of attempts to prove and disprove the existence of God. If you want to refute atheism, then you need to reply to Atheism Explained. It may well become the classic work on the subject. It is as readable as it is rigorous."
—J.C. Lester, author of Escape from Leviathan

"A clear, concise, complete, and convincing presentation of the case for atheism. Covers essentially all the arguments for and against God, in science, philosophy, and theology, with sympathy for the believer's views even as they are shown to be untenable."
—Victor J. Stenger, author of God: The Failed Hypothesis

"Atheism Explained is a much better defense of atheism than the recent works by Dawkins and Hitchens."
—James Sadowsky, S.J., Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University

"Atheism Explained is a gem. It is clear, informative, well-argued, provocative, often witty, and unfailingly interesting. David Ramsay Steele ranges over so many issues that I should be surprised if he were right about everything, but it makes for a most stimulating read. The book is in a different league from Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion, and deserves much greater success."
—Jeremy Shearmur, author of The Political Thought of Karl Popper

"A refreshingly readable introduction to the arguments for and against believing in God, and the implications atheism has—and more importantly does not have—for politics, morality, and even religion itself."
—Susan Blackmore, author of Conversations on Consciousness

"Steele explains atheism with scholarship, cogency, wit, and clarity. He aims at the nonacademic reader, but no professional philosopher I know of could fail to be impressed."
—Jan Narveson, author of This Is Ethical Theory

Table of Contents

Preface    ix
Mere Atheism    1
One Kind of God-and a Few Alternatives    3
Religion Can Do Without God    11
The Arguments for God    19
Paley's Challenge to Atheism and Darwin's Answer    21
The Objections to Darwinism    35
Did Someone Set the Dial?    59
Does God Explain Why Anything Exists?    71
Can We Prove God Exists by Pure Logic?    87
Do We Get Our Morals from God?    97
Can We Know God Directly?    107
Faith Doesn't Have a Prayer    117
The Holy Bible Isn't Wholly Reliable    127
Did God Compose the Quran?    153
The Arguments Against God    165
How to Prove a Negative    167
Vast Evil Shows There Is No God    179
Can Human Free Will Explain Why God Allows Vast Evil?    187
Can God Be a Person?    215
What God Can't Do and What God Can't Know    225
Is There a Spirit World?    241
Postscript to Part III: Bad or Feeble Arguments Against God    259
God or the Truth?    263
Atheism Is Irresistible    265
Disillusioned and Happy    279
Notes    287
Bibliography    295
Index    305

Book Description

From the Preface:

Meanwhile we may reflect with comfort on the words of Dupuis: "There are large numbers of men so perversely minded that they will believe everything except what is recommended by sound intelligence and reason, and shrink from philosophy as the hydrophobic shrinks from water. These people will not read us, and do not concern us, we have not written for them. Their mind is the prey of the priests, just as their body will be the prey of the worms. We have written only for the friends of humanity and reason. The rest belong to another world; even their God tells them that his kingdom is not of this world--that is to say, not of the world in which people use their judgment--and that the simple are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Let us therefore, leave to them their opinions, and not envy the priests such a possession."

A quote (p. 65):

Historical theology has hitherto endeavoured to interpret tradition in the sense of its historical Jesus, and has lost its way in a labyrinth of difficulties, contradictions, and insoluble problems. We raise the question whether the documents may not be better and more simply interpreted in the opposite sense, and whether there is any need at all to interpret the tradition historically. On which side the truth is found cannot be determined by the starting point of the inquiry, but only by showing which interpretation best squares with the facts and which can be most easily established. In any case our method cannot be pronounced wrong because, starting from a different assumption, we reach conclusions other than the theologian; not may one charge us with "confusion" or appeal against us in the name of "sound" investigation and science when our enquiry into the New Testament documents leads us to deny the historicity of Jesus, as long as it is not proved that our assumption is absurd.

The main chapter divisions:
"The Jewish Witnesses"
"The Roman Witnesses"
"The Witness of Paul"
"The Witness of the Gospels."

Book Description

Reacting against the "romantic cult of Jesus," which, he argued, was undermining intellectual truthfulness, eminent German philosopher Arthur Drews (1865-1935) exposes the Jesus of the Gospels as a mythical character. When first published in 1910, this classic work drew violent criticism from theologians, the press, and the public, and even led to mass demonstrations as well as personal threats against the author.

Drawing on the late-eighteenth-century French philosophies and the more contemporary studies of Sir James Frazer and other cultural anthropologists, Drews argues that no basis exists for seeking a historical figure behind the Christ myth. Indeed, if anyone may be called the "great personality" of Christianity, that person is Paul, who gave it the strength to conquer rival religions. Says Drews in his preface: "Without Jesus the rise of Christianity can be quite well understood, with[out] Paul not so. If in spite of this anyone thinks that besides the latter a Jesus cannot also be dispensed with, this can naturally be opposed; but we know nothing of Jesus. Even in the representations of historical theology, he is scarcely more than the shadow of a shadow. Consequently it is self-deceit to make the figure of this 'unique' and 'mighty' personality, to which a man may believe he must on historical grounds hold fast, the central point of religious consciousness."

Through an exhaustive comparative study of ancient religions, Drews shows that Christianity is a syncretism of various pagan and Jewish beliefs, and that a strong pre-Christian cult of Jesus as son of God and messiah existed. Boldly rebutting the sentimentalizing Christologies of his own day and ours, The Christ Myth is a valuable source book for students of religion, historians, and all those interested in examining the origins of Christianity.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition   21

THE PRE-CHRISTIAN JESUS   29

     I. The Influence of Parseeism on the Belief in a Messiah   37

     II. The Hellenistic Idea of a Mediator (Philo)   46

     III. Jesus as Cult-God in the Creed of Jewish Sects   51

     IV. The Suffering of the Messiah   64

     V. The Birth of the Messiah. The Baptism   88

     VI. The Self-offering of the Messiah. The Supper   128

     VII. Symbols of the Messiah. The Lamb and the Cross   140

Book Description

In times of questioning and despair, people often quote the Bible to provide answers. Surprisingly, though, the Bible does not have one answer but many "answers," "answers" that often contradict each other. Consider these competing explanations for suffering put forth by various biblical writers:

• The prophets: suffering is a punishment for sin
• The book of Job, which offers two different answers: suffering is a test, and you will be rewarded later for passing it; and suffering is beyond comprehension, since we are just human beings and God, after all, is God
• Ecclesiastes: suffering is the nature of things, so just accept it
• All apocalyptic texts in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament: God will eventually make right all that is wrong with the world

For Ehrman, the question of why there is so much suffering in the world is more than a haunting thought. Ehrman's inability to reconcile the claims of faith with the facts of real life led the former pastor of the Princeton Baptist Church to reject Christianity.

In God's Problem, Ehrman discusses his personal anguish upon discovering the Bible's contradictory explanations for suffering and invites all people of faith--or no faith--to confront their deepest questions about how God engages the world and each of us.

"My ultimate goal in this book is to examine the biblical responses to suffering, to see what they are, to assess how they might be useful for thinking people trying to get a handle on the reality of suffering either in their own lives or in the lives of others, and to evaluate their adequacy in light of the realities of our world. What comes as a surprise to many readers of the Bible is that some of these answers are not what they would expect, and some of the answers stand at odds with one another." - Bart Ehrman

Contents

Preface ix

1. Suffering and a Crisis of Faith 1

2. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God:
The Classical View of Suffering 21

3. More Sin and More Wrath:
The Dominance of the Classical View of Suffering 57

4. The Consequences of Sin 91

5. The Mystery of the Greater Good:
Redemptive Suffering 125

6. Does Suffering Make Sense?
The Books of Job and Ecclesiates 159

7. God Has the Last Word:
Jewish-Christian Apocalypticism 197

8. More Apocalyptic Views:
God's Ultimate Triumph over Evil 229

9. Suffering: The Conclusion 261

Notes 279

Index 285

Scripture Index 291

Comment

"No one has so eloquently told the history of the biblical God's absences and traditional excuses as Ehrman."
- Willis Barnstone, author of The Other Bible

"Ehrman's clarity, simplicity, and congeniality help make this a superb introduction to its subject."
- Booklist

"Ehrman, a prolific and popular author, has put his journey into words in a new book God's Problem ... Ehrman actually ends God's Problem on an upbeat note, a kind of call to arms for people to be good--to themselves and to others ..."
- San Diego Tribune

"Ehrman ... addresses one of the most compelling issues in all of human experience, and he has done so with clarity and insight. You may be surprised, you may be troubled, but you will certainly be challenged and moved by this book."
- Marvin Meyer, author of Judas

"God's Problem is a wonderful book, powerful in its questions and bold in its answers. Believers will be met on their own terms and drawn into important questions; doubters will enjoy a smart and friendly tour of some key ideas, from the enlightening perspective of an author who long believed."
- Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of Doubt: A History and The Happiness Myth

"This serious book by a serious scholar will be talked about and cannot be ignored by any collection. Ehrman ... is a New York Times best-selling author and a familiar media figure in the scholarly discussion of the New Testament. Here, he turns from his usual historical-critical concerns to theological consideration of the problem of suffering: namely, if God is all-powerful and all-loving, how can suffering exist? Ehrman writes in a clear and engaging style, bringing personal reflection and reason to bear on academically sound readings of biblical perspectives on suffering, from both the Old and the New Testament. Ultimately, the book is a very personal statement that will anger some and resonate with others; most important, it will provoke mature consideration of this very important question. For all libraries."
- Darby Orcutt, Library Journal

Book Description

DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett (1818-1882) was 19th-century America's most controversial publisher and free-speech martyr. Bennett founded the "blasphemous" New York periodical The Truth Seeker in 1873, and his publications were censored and prohibited from newsstands long before the expression "banned in Boston" was heard. In less than a decade, the former Shaker and self-described Thomas Paine infidel became the most successful publisher of freethought literature in America--perhaps the world. Mark Twain, Clarence Darrow, and Robert G. Ingersoll ("The Great Agnostic"), were only a few of the illustrious freethinkers who subscribed to the periodical devoted to "science, morals, freethought and human happiness." But Bennett's opposition to dogmatic religion and puritanical obscenity laws so infuriated Anthony Comstock, the U.S. Post Office's "special agent" and self-proclaimed "weeder in God's garden," that the freethinking publisher was eventually prosecuted, subjected to a controversial and widely publicized trial, and finally imprisoned.

Based on original sources and extensively researched, this in-depth yet accessible biography of D.M. Bennett offers a fascinating glimpse into the turbulent period of late 19th-century America--the Gilded Age, a time when our nation was controlled by pious politicians, powerful manufacturers, and censorious clergymen. Roderick Bradford follows Bennett's evolution from a devout Shaker to an unremitting skeptic and America's most iconoclastic publisher. He details the circumstances that led to Bennett's historically significant New York obscenity trial and the monumental, though ultimately unsuccessful, petition campaign for a pardon. This was the largest protest of its kind in the 19th century and one that went all the way to the White House. Bradford also investigates Bennett's prominent role in the National Liberal League, his interactions with leading suffragists and the National Defense Association (a forerunner of the ACLU), and his flirtation with spiritualism and theosophy.

Bradford has written a valuable historical contribution, a long-overdue tribute to a free-speech champion, and a colorful depiction of memorable characters and events during a period of great change in American history.

Contents

Acknowledgments.  9

Note to the Reader.  11

Introduction.  13

1.  The Believers.  25

2.  Seeds of Doubt.  49

3.  The Truth Seeker.  73

4.  The American Inquisition.  97

5.  The Trinity.  131

6.  Crowding the Mourners.  147

7.  The United States v. D.M. Bennett.  165

8.  Behind the Bars.  187

9.  The Castle on the Hill.  201

10. Warfare by Mudballs.  215

11. Beloved Infidel.  233

12. An Infidel Abroad.  247

13. Position of the Planets.  269

14. A Truth Seeker around the World.  283

15. A Theosophical Odyssey.  297

16. The Freethought Missionary.  323

17. Return of the Pilgrim.  339

18. The Defender of Liberty, and Its Martyr  363

Afterword.  385

Selected Bibliography.  389

Index.  391

Comments

"Roderick Bradford reintroduces a significant nineteenth-century reformer whom mainstream historians have unfairly neglected. D. M. Bennett was the most influential publisher during America's Golden Age of freethought. Even more important, through his dogged opposition to morals campaigner Anthony Comstock--and the high price he eventually paid for it--Bennett mounted a heroic defense of freedom of expression, in the process helping to shape twentieth-century free speech standards in ways that few appreciate today. Displaying a masterful command of the historical material, Bradford deftly rescues the memory of D. M. Bennett, truly an American none of us should forget."
- Tom Flynn, Editor, Free Inquiry Magazine and author of The Trouble with Christmas

"Rod Bradford's D. M. Bennett, The Truth Seeker is the first complete biography of freethought publisher and social activist D. M. Bennett. This highly researched account is an important contribution to the history of 19th century reform that documents the career of a man who stood up to postal censor Anthony Comstock and who, like his hero Thomas Paine, believed that service to mankind is the only true religion."
- Kenneth W. Burchell, Historian and Co-founder of the Thomas Paine Institute

"Rod Bradford's highly readable and engaging book reveals a man who is strikingly relevant to our times--politically, socially, and intellectually--for today we face the same sort of intolerance that Bennett did in his day. Comstockery, McCarthyism, and demagoguery are not dead; they still stalk our society and government at all levels. More than ever, we need the spirit of D. M. Bennett to defend the liberty on which this country was founded and is based."
- John Algeo, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Georgia

Book Description

The open, secular society is in retreat. From Washington to Rome to Tehran, religion is a public matter as never before, and secular values--personal autonomy, toleration, separation of religion and state, and freedom of conscience--are attacked on all sides and defended by few. The godly claim a monopoly on the language of morality in public debate, while secular liberals stand accused of standing for nothing.

Secular liberals have undone themselves. For generations, too many have insisted that questions of conscience--religion, ethics, and values--are "private matters" that have no place in public debate. Ironically, this ideology prevents them from subjecting religion to due scrutiny when it encroaches on individual rights and from unabashedly defending their own moral vision in politics for fear of "imposing" their beliefs on others.

In this incisive book, philosopher Austin Dacey calls for a bold rethinking of the nature of conscience and its role in public life. Inspired by an earlier liberal tradition he traces to Spinoza and John Stuart Mill, Dacey urges liberals to lift their self-imposed gag order and argues for a secularism based on the objective moral value of questions of conscience. He likens conscience to the press in an open society: it should be protected from coercion and control, not because it is private, but because of its vital role in the public sphere. Conscience is free, but not free from shared standards of truth and right.

Marshalling the latest research on belief, the mind, and ethics, The Secular Conscience delivers a compelling ideal for the future of the open, secular society.

Table of Contents

Introduction    7

1. Secularism Lost Its Soul    23

2. Why Belief Belongs in Public Life
   (And Unbelievers Should Be Glad)    43

3. Spinoza's Guide to Theocracy    59

4. Why There Are No Religions of the Book    85

5. Has God Found Science?    97

6. Darwin Made Me Do It    115

7. Original Virtue    133

8. The Search for the Theory of Everyone    151

9. Ethics from Below    165

Index    261

Comments

"In a dazzling display of erudition, this book presents a cogent argument for secular liberalism ... Dacey's presentation is especially timely in view of the emphasis by some current presidential candidates on their religious identity ... Dacey's analysis helps to put this question into the larger perspective of liberty and conscience ... This is a thoughtful, well-reasoned argument for progressive secularism."
- Publishers Weekly

"Dacey seeks nothing less than to interrupt a suicide, and he has written a beautiful primer on how our secular tradition can be rescued from self-defeat. The Secular Conscience reveals how simplistic notions of privacy, tolerance, and freedom keep dangerous ideas sheltered from public debate. This is an extraordinarily useful and lucid book."
- Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation

"Austin Dacey's The Secular Conscience is sorely needed at a time when both the religious right and the religious left claim that there can be no public or private morality without religion. With wit and a philosopher's insight, Dacey explains exactly why secular morality, grounded in an ethical approach that relies on reason rather than supernatural faith, must be restored to the public square."
- Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism and The Age of American Unreason

"With intellectual vigor and moral confidence, Austin Dacey demonstrates the self-defeating fallacies of efforts to privatize individual conscience and belief. Secularists and nontheists should heed his call to join public debates about fundamental ethical values, instead of questioning the impulse to conduct them."
- Wendy Kaminer, lawyer, author of Free for All

"The Secular Conscience breathes new life into an old topic. Dacey thinks outside the box. His argument for allowing believers back into the 'public square'--and then subjecting them to a forceful critique--is fresh and convincing, as is his surprising critique of the reasoning in Roe v Wade. And his chapters on secular ethics are superb."
- Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University

"Whenever I watch a riot over cartoons or meet another Muslim dissident forced to write under a pseudonym, I wonder, where are the Western secular liberals? Why do they shrink from defending freedom of conscience for all? Thanks to Austin Dacey, I now have an answer. As his piercing analysis shows, liberals have lost their grip on the real meaning of freedom. Only with a restored commitment to conscience as an objective moral ideal can they face down fundamentalists while constructively engaging with reformers of the faith. The Secular Conscience should be read by every friend of the open society."
- Ibn Warraq, author of Defending the West

"Finally, a case for secularism that does not seek to rid the public square of religion, but which shows that it can be a place for all to exercise their deepest convictions civilly and on equal terms. Bravo!"
- Mark Silk, Director of the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life, Trinity College

"There is much here for a religious believer to applaud. Dacey's insistence on conscience as a corrigible moral guide, on a public square informed by the vigorous discursive pursuit of first principles and their defense in reason are extremely positive. At a certain point, a believer must part company, but for much of the way we can walk and work together."
- Alan Mittleman, Director of the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies, Jewish Theological Seminary

Book Description

Pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives. Surgeons who pray in the operating room. Pro-life clinics and end-of-life interventions, intelligent-design activists and stem-cell-research opponents--is this the state of modern medicine in America?

In an America that increasingly turns its back on the teachings of science, the worlds of religion and medicine have grown disconcertingly close. A majority of Americans now see prayer and other religious activities as a substitute for well-researched methods of curing disease. Many ask, "So, what's the problem with prayer?" By taking a hard look at the scientific evidence, Richard Sloan believes there is no proven curative power to prayer and that the use of it as a medical treatment undermines effective patient care. In Blind Faith, Sloan exposes the questionable research practices and unfounded claims made by ethical scientists who manipulate scientific data and research results to support their claim of effective mystical intervention in healing. Sloan begins by looking at how good science works and what it's founded on. He then discusses the faulty methodology employed by those trumpeting the role of prayer in healing and implicates a gullible media in the propagation of bad science. He looks at ethical and clinical concerns of the debate and the ultimate trivialization of religion that results. As the Christian right turns its back on science, medicine seems to be its next target. Sloan lays bare the faults of these assertions.

In Blind Faith, Sloan examines the fragile balance and dangerous alliance between religion and medicine--two practices that have grown disconcertingly close during the twenty-first century. While Sloan does not dispute the fact that religion can bring a sense of comfort in times of difficulty, he nevertheless believes, and in fact proves, that there is no compelling evidence that faith provides an actual cure for any ailment. By exposing the flawed research, Sloan gives readers the tools to understand when good medical science is subverted and, at the same time, provides a thought-provoking examination into the origins and varieties of faith, and human nature itself.

Contents

        Acknowledgments  vii

Part One: Religion and Health, Yesterday and Today

    1. Introduction  3

    2. Religion and Medicine in History  15

    3. From Sputnik to Angels: Science, Subjectivity, and the Rise of Irrationalism  27

    4. Why Now?  53

Part Two: Reading the Evidence

    5. Are There Really So Many Studies on Religion and Health?  73

    6. How Good Is the Evidence?  81

    7. Is There Really a Health Advantage to the Religiously Active?  107

    8. Attendance at Services and Mortality  141

    9. Why Long-Distance Healing Doesn't Have a Prayer  157

Reviews

"Reason has regained its voice. Richard Sloan speaks the truth in Blind Faith. It is an eloquent description of the scientific method, and a condemnation of those who pander to a superstitious public with shoddy and deceptive studies that purport to show that religion is good for your health. Professor Sloan explains the statistical tricks that opportunistic researchers use to deceive the public, and does not spare the media for telling the public what it wants to hear. This book should be read by everyone that loves truth."
- Robert L. Park, author of Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud

"If one were to believe the popular media, the efficacy of faith-based therapies is well established. Even in the professional medical literature, there are those who assert the health benefits of prayer, attendance at religious services, and other religious activities. Richard P. Sloan, PhD, professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University, has written extensively on the relationship of medicine and religion and takes issue with this current trend. Blind Faith is his attempt to answer the following questions:
    Do the efforts to link religion and health represent good science?
    Do they represent good medicine?
    Do they represent good religion?
This readable, well-reasoned book critically examines these issues and cites ... important research papers on the subject.
- Journal of the American Medical Association

"In Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine, Dr. Richard P. Sloan Ph.D., has written an important book that should garner the attention of medical practitioners, clergy and the faithful alike. He offers an honest and unsentimental assessment of one of our cultures most powerful shibboleths--that combining religion and medicine represents the highest standard of health care. This carefully reasoned study will give attentive readers pause about the many ethical and professional issues at stake when physicians make faith a subject of their medical practice. Bolstered by a thorough grasp of the extant research, Dr. Sloan probes the deeper consequences of an easy acquiescence to what seems to many to be a panacea at best, or a harmless bit of bedside manner at worst. He makes the case that it could be much more serious than that to patients and the society as a whole."
- Reverend Robert Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches, USA

"Sloan ... takes a close look at the growing encroachment of religion in yet another sphere of American life: medicine. In a series of well-argued, well-documented chapters, Sloan first addresses the medicine tradition in which ill health and disease were linked to moral turpitude and the displeasure of the gods. Disturbingly, he sees signs of a return of this antiscientific attitude in the rise of religious fundamentalism and New Age touchy-feely behavior. Next, he addresses the 'research' purporting to show that religiosity pays off--that going to church and praying or having prayers said for you are good for your health and lead to lower mortality rates. His arguments here form a neat summary on how science works, and on the pitfalls that can beset the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of a clinical trial. For example, the research suggesting that regular attendance at church services (as opposed to even sporadic attendance) was associated with lower mortality rates totally ignored a confounder: People who are sick or disabled are not likely to be regular churchgoers. Other egregious examples include making multiple comparisons after a trial to search for some secondary outcome measure or for a subset of patients where the findings appear statistically significant ... Finally, the author deals with the many ethical issues that arise when doctors are encouraged to take spiritual histories, ask their patients to pray, or otherwise promote religion. Issues here involve the white-coated authority vs. the vulnerable patient, the lack of training of physicians in areas of religion, the trivializing of faith and even the potential for studies that would explore whether Christian prayer is more healthful than Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist. Sloan has done well to sound the alarm, while providing an excellent primer on how medical evidence should be collected."
- Kirkus Reviews

In Blind Faith, Richard P. Sloan has written a provocative, yet judicious and timely book based on meticulous scholarship. This major study comes at a moment when there is vigorous, ongoing national debate and widespread concern about the growing influence of religion and religiosity, and their impact on science, medicine, health and patient care. In his balanced consideration of these issues, Professor Sloan has provided an in-depth examination of key questions including how to preserve the coexistence of faith and science without violating the sacred domain of religion and the necessary autonomy of science and medicine."
- Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation

Book Description

A Lifelong Unbeliever Finds No Reason to Change His Mind

Are there any logical reasons to believe in God? Mathematician and bestselling author John Allen Paulos thinks not. In Irreligion he presents the case for his own worldview, organizing his book into twelve chapters that refute the twelve arguments most often put forward for believing in God's existence. The latter arguments, Paulos relates in his characteristically lighthearted style, "range from what might be called golden oldies to those with a more contemporary beat. On the playlist are the first-cause argument, the argument from design, the ontological argument, arguments from faith and biblical codes, the argument from the anthropic principle, the moral universality argument, and others." Interspersed among his twelve counterarguments are remarks on a variety of irreligious themes, ranging from the nature of miracles and creationist probability to cognitive illusions and prudential wagers. Special attention is paid to topics, arguments, and questions that spring from his incredulity "not only about religion but also about others' credulity." Despite the strong influence of his day job, Paulos says, there isn't a single mathematical formula in the book.

Comments

"He's done it again. John Allen Paulos has written a charming book that takes you on a sojourn of flawless logic, with simple and clear examples drawn from math, science, and pop culture. At journey's end, Paulos has left you with plenty to think about, whether you are religious, irreligious, or anything in between."
- Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History and author of Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries

"For years John Allen Paulos has been our guide for reading newspapers, playing the stock market, and understanding what all those graphs and charts and formulas really mean. No one knows how to dissect an argument better than Paulos. Now he has turned his rapier wit to the grandest question of them all: is there a God? Those who are religious skeptics will find in Paulos's analysis new ways of looking at both old and new arguments, and those who believe that God's existence can be proven through science, reason, and logic will have to answer to this mathematician's penetrating analysis."
- Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American, and the author of How We Believe, The Science of Good and Evil, and Why Darwin Matters

"Using the methods of mathematics, reason and logic, Paulos wrestles religious belief systems to the ground and in the process proves he is as good a writer as he is a mathematician. The book is short, to the point and humorous, and God knows, this subject could use more humor."
- Joan Konner, Dean Emerita of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and editor of The Atheist's Bible

"Another virtuoso performance from a master in the use of mathematics to explore the conundrums and mysteries of everyday life."
- Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind

"John Allen Paulos has done us all a great service. Irreligion is an elegant and timely response to the manifold ignorance that still goes by the name of 'faith' in the 21st century."
- Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation

Book Description

Carl Sagan's prophetic vision of the tragic resurgence of fundamentalism and the hope-filled potential of the next great development in human spirituality.

Carl Sagan is considered one of the greatest scientific minds of our time. His remarkable ability to explain science in terms easily understandable to the layman in bestselling books such as Cosmos, The Dragons of Eden, and The Demon-Haunted World won him a Pulitzer Prize and placed him firmly next to Isaac Asimov, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sachs as one of the most important and enduring communicators of science. In December 2006 it was the tenth anniversary of Sagan's death, and Ann Druyan, his widow and longtime collaborator, marked the occasion by releasing Sagan's famous "Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology" in book form: The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God.

The chance to give the Gifford Lectures is an honor reserved for the most distinguished scientists and philosophers of our civilization. In 1985, on the grand occasion of the centennial of the lectureship, Carl Sagan was invited to give them. He took the opportunity to set down in detail his thoughts on the relationship between religion and science as well as to describe his own personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos.

The Varieties of Scientific Experience, edited, updated and with an introduction by Ann Druyan, is a bit like eavesdropping on a delightfully intimate conversation with the late great astronomer and astrophysicist. In his charmingly down-to-earth voice, Sagan easily discusses his views on topics ranging from manic depression and the possibly chemical nature of transcendence to creationism and so-called intelligent design to the likelihood of intelligent life on other planets to the likelihood of nuclear annihilation of our own to a new concept of science as "informed worship." Exhibiting a breadth of intellect nothing short of astounding, he illuminates his explanations with examples from cosmology, physics, philosophy, literature, psychology, cultural anthropology, mythology, theology, and more.

Sagan's humorous, wise, and at times stunningly prophetic observations on some of the greatest mysteries of the cosmos have the invigorating effect of stimulating the intellect, exciting the imagination, and reawakening us to the grandeur of life in the cosmos.

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction   ix
Author's Introduction   xvii

1. Nature and Wonder: A Reconnaissance of Heaven   1
2. The Retreat from Copernicus: A Modern Loss of Nerve   33
3. The organic Universe   63
4. Extraterrestrial Intelligence   103
5. Extraterrestrial Folklore: Implications for the Evolution of Religion   125
6. The God Hypothesis   147
7. The Religious Experience   169
8. Crimes against Creation   191
9. The Search   213

Selected Q & A   213

Acknowledgments   261
Figure Captions   265
index   275

Comments

"Find here a major fraction of this stunningly valuable legacy left to all of us by a great human being. I miss him so."
- Kurt Vonnegut

Was Carl Sagan a religious man? He was so much more. He left behind the petty, parochial, medieval world of the conventionally religious, left the theologians, priests and mullahs wallowing in their small-minded spiritual poverty. He left them behind because he has much more to be religious about. They have their Bronze-Age myths, medieval superstitions and childish wishful thinking. He had the universe."
- Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion

"Sagan, writing from beyond the grave (actually his ... The Varieties of Scientific Experience is an edited version of his 1985 Gifford Lectures), asks why, if God created the universe, he left the evidence so scant ... Why should God be so clear in the Bible and so obscure in the world? He laments what he calls a retreat from Copernicus, a loss of nerve, an emotional regression to the idea that humanity must occupy center stage." - Scientific American

"Carl Sagan was an unrivaled master at communicating the breadth and beauty of science. It is not an accident that he was also one of the twentieth century's most incisive critics of popular delusion. In The Varieties of Scientific Experience ... Ann Druyan has unearthed a treasure. It is a treasure of reason, compassion, and scientific awe. It should be the next book you read."
- Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation

Book Description

Though the United States is the world leader in science and technology, many of its citizens display a shocking ignorance regarding basic scientific facts. Recent surveys have revealed that only about half of Americans realize that humans have never lived side by side with dinosaurs, and about the same number reject the idea that humans developed from earlier species of animals. This lack of knowledge in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence for evolution springs from a number of negative influences in contemporary society: poor secondary education in some regions of the country, misinformation in the mass media, and deliberate obfuscation by supporters of Creationism and Intelligent Design.

In this concise, accessible, "myth-buster's handbook," educators Cameron M. Smith and Charles Sullivan clearly dispel the ten most common myths about evolution, which continue to mislead average Americans. Using a refreshing, jargon-free style, they set the record straight on claims that evolution is "just a theory," that Darwinian explanations of life undercut morality, that Intelligent Design is a legitimate alternative to conventional science, that humans come from chimpanzees--and six other popular but erroneous notions.

Smith and Sullivan's reader-friendly, solidly researched text will serve as an important tool, both for teachers and laypersons seeking accurate information about evolution.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Myth One:  Survival of the Fittest
Myth Two:  It's Just a Theory
Myth Three:  The Ladder of Progress
Myth Four:  The Missing Link
Myth Five:  Evolution Is Random
Myth Six:  People Come from Monkeys
Myth Seven:  Nature's Perfect Balance
Myth Eight:  Creationism Disproves Evolution
Myth Nine:  Intelligent Design Is Science
Myth Ten:  Evolution Is Immoral
Afterword
Bibliography
Index

Reviews and Comments

"Passionate in their support of evolutionary science, the authors nonetheless adopt a straightforward and ecumenical approach, precisely distilling each hot-button issue to its cogent essence. The result is a meticulously researched and distinctly presented overview of a complex and contentious issue.... A clear, understandable approach makes this an excellent student resource."
- Booklist

"A modest proposal to reverse the national great leap backwards: I say we all familiarize ourselves with the compelling, crystalline logic of The Top Ten Myths about Evolution. Then, let's do our best to connect with those who have yet to accept the ancient legacy of life on earth as revealed by Darwin and affirmed in countless ways by the generations of science ever since."
Ann Druyan, coauthor with Carl Sagan of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

"In nature, might always makes right. Humans are the ultimate achievement of evolution. Cave men ate dinosaur steaks. A surprising number of people in the US believe these statements to be true, a situation Smith (anthropology, Portland State U.) and Sullivan (writing, Portland Community College) attempt to correct in this accessible approach to common ideas about evolution. They explain how the "survival of the fittest" does not necessarily apply, why evolution is not just a theory, how humans are mistakenly perceived as superior, why the "missing link" misses the point, why evolution is not random, and why humans cannot claim monkeys as their grandpas. They also take on some of the more complicated ideas, such as the true rule of ecological balance, the true nature of the conflict of intelligent design and evolution, and the ever-present question of morality."
- Book News: the source for information about high-level books since 1976

"Cameron M. Smith's and Charles Sullivan's The Top 10 Myths About Evolution should protect anyone from being hoodwinked by ... erroneous evolutionary arguments ever again. Both Smith and Sullivan address their topic with the sincere intent of educating the reader. The two authors assuage complexity by avoiding difficult terminology in favor of clear and concise language that does not patronize. The Top 10 Myths About Evolution would make a perfect introduction for anyone not familiar with the basic concepts of evolutionary theory."
- Science a GoGo, Interesting science news, research tidbits and science discussion

"The Top 10 Myths About Evolution sets the record straight on popular but erroneous notions that continue to mislead the average American."
- Publishers Weekly, The International Voice for Book Publishing and Bookselling

"This book is a much-needed direct critique of some of the most common fiction that circulates about evolution."
- National Center for Science Education (NCSE)

"I think [The Top 10 Myths About Evolution] is excellent. It clearly explains the fallacies in the 'myths' that we hear from creationists and intelligent design proponents on a regular basis."
- G. Brent Dalrymple, Geologist and author of The Age of the Earth

"Each chapter provides, in a clear and intelligent manner, the arguments for and against the idea or claim of the chapter title. The authors do a commendable job in each case ..."
- Metapsychology Online Reviews

"This meticulously researched myth-buster's handbook will dispel the ten most common misconceptions about evolutionary science."
- Eureka Alert!, the online voice of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

"Smith and Sullivan have done an admirable job of presenting a simple, lucid guide while avoiding the many potential pitfalls that dot this volatile issue."
- Monsters and Critics, book news and reviews

"This is a great little book that's fun to read and jam packed with information. If you're ever involved in conversations about evolution, or you just want to know more about the different issues that have been in the news lately but you don't want to get a degree in evolutionary biology, this book is for you."
- Skepchick Magazine, promoting scientific skepticism among women

"Scientists who find themselves defending evolution to nonscientist Christians will find several useful historical vignettes, scientific points and rhetorical tools in this short book."
- Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith

Book Description

Confronting the fundamentalism that afflicts both Islam and the United States through traditions of dissent, A Call to Heresy discovers unexpected common ground in one of the most inflammatory issues of the twenty-first century: the deepening conflict between the Islamic world and the United States.

Moving beyond simplistic answers, Anouar Majid argues that the Islamic world and the United States are both in precipitous states of decline because religious, political, and economic orthodoxies have silenced the voices of their most creative thinkers--the visionary nonconformists, radicals, and revolutionaries who are often dismissed, or even punished, as heretics.

Majid argues that the United States and contemporary Islam share far more than partisans on either side are willing to admit, and this "clash of civilizations" is in reality a clash of competing fundamentalisms. Illustrating this point, he draws surprising parallels between the histories and cultures of Islam and the United States and their shortsighted suppression of heresy (zandaqa in Arabic), from Muslim poets and philosophers like Ibn Rushd (known in the West as Averroës) to the freethinker Thomas Paine, and from Abu Bakr Razi and Al-Farabi to Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. He finds bitter irony in the fact that Islamic culture is now at war with a nation whose ideals are losing ground to the reactionary forces that have long condemned Islam to stagnation.

The solution, Majid concludes, is a long-overdue revival of dissent. Heresy is no longer a contrarian's luxury, for only through encouraging an engaged and progressive intellectual tradition can the nations reverse their decline and finally work together for global justice and the common good of humanity.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: Saints in Peril

Chapters:

1. Death in Cancùn

2. Specters of Annihilation

3. Islam and Its Discontents

4. Regime Change

5. America and Its Discontents

6. Vital Heresies

Notes

Index

Reviews and Reader's Comments

"Open-minded readers will gain many insights from Islamic and early American 'heretics' bestowing a rich appreciation for the value that voices of dissent bring to any society."
' ForeWord Magazine

"An important fresh perspective on us history. ... This book is fascinating and traces many of the themes in today's Islamic societies that fuel terrorism, as well as helping us understand why Western societies and capitalistic consumption-led globalization is seen as such a threat, not only to Muslims, but many other cultures around the world."
- Hazel Henderson, President of Ethical Markets Media

"A Call for Heresy: Why Dissent Is Vital to Islam and America. I hope a lot of people read it."
- Bill Moyers

"Insightful and eminently readable ..."

Q and A with Anouar Majid

1.'Why did you write this book?

I have been thinking about the basic idea of this project soon after I finished writing Freedom and Orthodoxy in 2003. There was much talk about the United States changing the Arab and Islamic worlds by promoting democracy and freedom. There was also a great deal of talk about reaching out to Arabs. Much money was spent on such ventures, but I kept asking myself, 'How does a nation that is in deep financial trouble and lots of social problems promise to do for foreign nations what it has not been able to do for itself?' I knew that the Islamic world and the United States are both enslaved to the might of global finance. The whole military and diplomatic offensive struck me'and continues to strike me'as unrealistic, more theater than reality.

2. Have your ideas changed since 2003?

Actually, not my ideas, but my approach to the topic. Our five-year-old son's struggle with leukemia in 2004 exposed me to another aspect of American life, the one that brings back the great spirit of this nation. It was unsettling to me to be a witness to the war in Iraq in a hospital room where caring and dedication for children of all nations never stopped. It was then that I wanted to write a book titled Why America Matters. Much of the research into that project is now in A Call for Heresy. I felt that the United States had utterly failed to introduce itself properly to Arabs and Muslims. I may still get back to that book.

3.'What else changed?

The publication of Sam Harris's book, The End of Faith. That book raised serious issues that everyone ought to wrestle with and think about.' The book attacks all three monotheistic religions'Judaism, Christianity, and Islam'but it is Islam that gets the worst press. I agreed with the basic premise of the book, but I wanted to show that much is left unsaid or unexamined in it. That led me into yet another adventure, reading up on the histories of Gnosticism in Christianity and heresy (zandaqa) in Islam.

4. What is A Call for Heresy about?

The book examines the social and cultural conditions in the Islamic and American worlds simultaneously. It is also critical of both, since both civilizations have failed to adapt to the times and changing realities. In the case of the United States, it seems to have regressed into a sort of unprincipled quest for money and power; whereas in the case of Islam, Muslims have failed to move away from doctrines and tenets shaped by people more than fourteen centuries ago. Sam Harris is right: We cannot live by the worldviews of men who had no inkling of what life in the 21st century would be like.
'
5. Why do you address globalization in the first chapter?

Because we are trapped in it. Nothing'absolutely nothing, including the publication of this book'can be explained without a proper understanding of the flows of globalization. The capitalist economy also leads to a lot of violence and suffering; it has terrorized many nations and communities. So, in addressing the question of Islamic terrorism, I situate the problem within the larger context of the global economy. Otherwise, we fall into the all-too-common simplistic explanations. It's religion or genes that make people do things.

6. You seem to be rather tough on secular Muslims?

My goal has long been to offer a progressive interpretation of the Islamic faith in order to help move the culture from its impasse. Growing up in Morocco and studying in Fez, I knew that Muslims respond to the familiar language of their faith. It's an emotional thing. The Arabic language is loaded with religious motifs. My challenge has always been how to translate progressive ideas'many of which are from European traditions'into an Islamic idiom. The progressive and humanitarian outlook should not be bound by geography. Secular Muslim intellectuals struck me as modernizing without any critical examination of the West and its legacies.

In this book, however, I ask: What does it mean to say, 'I do my prayers but I am secular?'' I am not interested in whether someone is secular or not; I am much more interested in whether people can examine their faith critically, with an open mind, with no preconceived ideas whatsoever. When it comes to looking at the pillars of the Islamic faith, Muslim intellectuals have not dared to trespass the boundaries of orthodoxy. The talk is always about 'ijtihad''intellectual effort. I say, why not heresy? It's time to take a further step in questioning the pillars of the religious culture.

7. Is this why you discuss the Gnostic tradition within Christianity?

Exactly. We can draw lessons from it. It seems to me that all sorts of people'Christians included'used to be accused of heresy in the early history of that religion. We are all potentially someone else's heretic.

8. You also address Iraq and the failure of the United States to effect change?

Well, yes. The administration that led the charge ' crusade? 'to change that country comes out of religious, even fundamentalist, matrix. There are economic and other issues at stake. But both the U.S. government and several prominent intellectuals have failed to realize that introducing new political structures, such as voting, does not free a people. Iraqis, like most Arabs and Muslims, need to acquire the right to think freely first, before they can engage in free politics. The constitutions of Afghanistan and Iraq both assert the supremacy of Islam. This is why regime change failed. Bombs do not change long entrenched mental habits.
'
9. What then is the solution to the Iraq conundrum?

I don't know. The only positive outcome of U.S. military intervention is the freeing of the Shiites from the Baathist apartheid regime. But now, the Sunnis, supported by the same Wahhabi ideology that has inflamed the world, are furious. The United States seems to be siding with the Wahhabi cohort because it fears Iran. It's all sound and fury. Religion should be kept away from politics. Perhaps a new constitution could help.

10. You mention that dissent is vital to Islam and the United States in your subtitle. Can you explain that?

Sure. Since both societies are in serious trouble'culturally, economically, and politically'neither one can afford to preach to the other. As I mentioned, Islam needs to liberate itself from the stranglehold of tradition by finding examples within and, if necessary, outside its history.' There have been great figures in Islamic civilization who have rejected prophecy, for instance, and questioned all revealed religions. In the case of the United States, American dissenters must take off where the Revolution of 1776 ended. The American revolutionary project is far from over. With so many social casualties and victims'the uninsured, the homeless, the poor, the indebted, the simply confused and disoriented'dissenters, or freethinkers, need to chart out a viable and humane path for future generations. In fact, why not join hands with fellow Muslim dissenters, or heretics, and work toward a global culture of freedom, one that is governed by the sacredness of all living things, not by the dictates and short-term interests of financiers and preachers of hatred.

Book Description

Can science and religious belief coexist?

Many people--including many practicing scientists--insist that one can simultaneously follow the principles of the scientific method and believe in a particular spiritual tradition. But throughout history there have been people for whom science challenges the very validity of religious belief. Whether called atheists, agnostics, skeptics, or "infidels," these individuals use the naturalism of modern science to deny the existence of any supernatural power. Science and Nonbelief chronicles, in a balanced and accessible way, the long history of the battle between adherents of religious doctrines and the nonbelievers who adhere to the naturalism of modern science. Science and Nonbelief provides a nontechnical introduction to the leading questions that concern science and religion today:

• What place does evolution hold in the arguments of nonbelievers?
• What does modern physics tell us about the place of humanity in the natural world?
• How do modern neurosciences challenge traditional beliefs about mind and matter?
• What can scientific research about religion tell us about the nature of belief?
• How do skeptics react to claims at the fringes of science, such as UFOs and psychics?

The volume also addresses the political context of debates over science and nonbelief, and questions about the nature of morality. It includes a selection of provocative primary source documents that illustrate the complexity and varieties of nonbelief.

Table of Contents

1. Science, Philosophy and Religious Doubt
        Philosophers, Doubting and Devout
        The Old Science and the Old Faith
        The European Enlightenment
        Nonbelief Comes of Age
        Science and Nonbelief Today
        Scientific Naturalism

2. An Accidental World
        Why Physics is Hard
        The Nature of Modern Physics
        The Burden of Proof
        God in the Cracks of Causality
        Quantum Mysticism
        Cosmic Harmonies
        Fine-Tuning the Universe
        A Moment of Creation?
        Physics and Naturalism

3. Darwinian Creativity
        Achieving Complexity
        The Physics of Evolution
        Evolution and Religion
        Old Fashioned Creationism
        Intelligent Design
        Creation Through Evolution
        Universal Darwinism

4. Minds Without Souls
        Mind and Matter
        Cartesian Dualism
        Machines Who Think
        Genes and Memes
        The Conscious Brain
        Qualia and Subjectivity
        Mind Over Matter
        The God Module
        Parts and Wholes
        Nonbelief Adapts to Brain Science

5. The Fringes of Science
        Ultimate Explanations
        Miracles and Rejected Knowledge
        Scripture as Miracle
        From Spiritualism to New Age
        Skeptics vs. Psychics
        Miracles in the Laboratory
        UFOs and Aliens
        Direct Experience of the Paranormal?
        Paranormal Skepticism and Nonbelief

6. Explaining Religion
        Too Many Religions
        Religious Studies
        Rational Choice Theory
        The Secularization Thesis
        Religion and Group Selection
        A Virus of the Mind
        The Religious Mind
        Explaining Theology and Nonbelief

7. Morality and Politics
        More Than the Facts
        The State of Science
        The State of Nonbelief
        A Morality of Reason
        The Science of Morality
        Separate Spheres
        An Uneasy Alliance

Book Description

Current discussions in the West on the relation of science and religion focus mainly on science's uneasy relationship with the traditional Judeo-Christian view of life. But a parallel controversy exists in the Muslim world regarding ways to integrate science with Islam. As physicist Taner Edis demonstrates in this fascinating glimpse into contemporary Muslim culture, a good deal of popular writing in Muslim societies attempts to address such perplexing questions as:

• Is Islam a "scientific religion"?
• Were the discoveries of modern science foreshadowed in the Quran?
• Are intelligent design conjectures more appealing to the Muslim perspective than Darwinian explanations?

Edis examines the range of Muslim thinking about science and Islam, from blatantly pseudoscientific fantasies to comparatively sophisticated efforts to "Islamize science." From the world's strongest creationist movements to bizarre science-in-the-Quran apologetics, popular Muslim approaches promote a view of natural science as a mere fact-collecting activity that coexists in near-perfect harmony with literal-minded faith. Since Muslims are keenly aware that science and technology have been the keys to Western success, they are eager to harness technology to achieve a Muslim version of modernity. Yet at the same time, they are reluctant to allow science to become independent of religion and are suspicious of Western secularization.

Edis examines all of these conflicting trends, revealing the difficulties facing Muslim societies trying to adapt to the modern technological world. His discussions of both the parallels and the differences between Western and Muslim attempts to harmonize science and religion make for a unique and intriguing contribution to this continuing debate.

Reviews

"One of the few recent books that truly illuminates the troubled relationship between science and religion ... a rich mix of intellectual history, philosophical reasoning and personal insight."
- New Scientist

"Taner Edis makes a compelling case that classical Islamic thought cannot accommodate a modern scientific culture whose basis is experimentation, quantification, and prediction. He exposes the vacuity of faith-based science using a range of examples. But Edis does not rule out an eventual reinterpretation of Muslim theology that will, as in other world religions, eventually allow science and Islam to go their own separate ways."
- Pervez Hoodbhoy, Professor of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, author of Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality

"In a cultural arena dominated by polemics, Tanner Edis, a historically sensitive Turkish-American physicist, stands out as a voice of reason. I don't know of a better introduction to science and religion in Islam than An Illusion of Harmony."
- Ronald L. Numbers, author of The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design

Book Description

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great, a provocative and entertaining guided tour of atheist and agnostic thought through the ages--with never-before-published pieces by Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Christopher Hitchens continues to make the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first-ever gathering of the influential voices--past and present--that have shaped his side of the current (and raging) God/no-god debate. With Hitchens as your erudite and witty guide, you'll be led through a wealth of philosophy, literature, and scientific inquiry, including generous portions of the words of Lucretius, Benedict de Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Mark Twain, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, H. L. Mencken, Albert Einstein, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and many others well-known and lesser known. And they're all set in context and commented upon as only Christopher Hitchens--"political and literary journalist extraordinaire" (Los Angeles Times)--can.

Atheist? Believer? Uncertain? No matter: The Portable Atheist will speak to you and engage you every step of the way.

Comments

"A fascinating collection of articles that just say no to religion ... Required reading for anyone who believes, disbelieves, or just isn't sure yet." - People (Critic's Choice)

"The writings Hitchens assembles ... will surely bring on new controversies, which is just the sort of thing on which he has thrived over a long and fruitful career." - Kirkus

Book Description

In recent years a noticeable trend toward harmonizing the distinct worldviews of science and religion has become increasingly popular. Despite marked public interest, many leading scientists remain skeptical that there is much common ground between scientific knowledge and religious belief. Indeed, they are often antagonistic. Can an accommodation be reached after centuries of conflict?

In this stimulating collection of articles on the subject, Paul Kurtz, with the assistance of Barry Karr and Ranjit Sandhu, has assembled the thoughts of scientists from various disciplines. Among the distinguished contributors are Sir Arthur C. Clarke (author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and numerous other works of science fiction); Nobel Prize Laureate Steven Weinberg (professor of physics at the University of Texas at Austin); Neil deGrasse Tyson (Princeton University astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium); James Lovelock (creator of the Gaia hypothesis); Kendrick Frazier (editor of the Skeptical Inquirer); Steven Pinker (professor of psychology at MIT); Richard Dawkins (zoologist at Oxford University); Eugenie Scott (physical anthropologist and executive director of the National Center for Science Education); Owen Gingerich (professor of astronomy at Harvard University); Martin Gardner (prolific popular science writer); the late Richard Feynman (Nobel Prize-winning physicist) and Stephen Jay Gould (professor of geology at Harvard University); and many other eminent scientists and scholars.

Among the topics discussed are the Big Bang and the origin of the universe, intelligent design and creationism versus evolution, the nature of the "soul," near-death experiences, communication with the dead, why people do or do not believe in God, and the relationship between religion and ethics.

Selected Comments

"Provides a wide ranging overview of a complex and challenging topic of interest to many.
 - Australian Humanist

"Science and religion have been seeking common ground through ongoing dialogue ... this volume provide[s] a dimension to the conversation that has seldom been heard ... present[s] important and provocative voices too often drowned out."
 - Publishers Weekly

Book Description

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.

Praise

"Darwin chased God out of his old haunts in biology, and he scurried for safety down the rabbit hole of physics. The laws and constants of the universe, we were told, are too good to be true: a set-up, carefully tuned to allow the eventual evolution of life. It needed a good physicist to show us the fallacy, and Victor Stenger lucidly does so. The faithful won't change their minds, of course (that is what faith means) but Victor Stenger drives a pack of energetic ferrets down the last major bolt hole and God is running out of refuges in which to hide. I learned an enormous amount from this splendid book."
- Richard Dawkins, author of the New York Times best-seller The God Delusion

"Marshalling converging arguments from physics, astronomy, biology, and philosophy, Stenger has delivered a masterful blow in defense of reason. God: The Failed Hypothesis is a potent, readable, and well-timed assault upon religious delusion. It should be widely read."
- Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation

"This book stands alone among many other publications in a similar vein, in that it is written from the standpoint of a professional scientist whose arguments, besides their clear logic, are bolstered by facts of science. Stenger convincingly shows in this book that a combination of factual evidence with a simple logic makes the belief in supernatural entities untenable. A valuable addition to every school library."
- Mark Perakh, Professor of Physics Emeritus, California State University, Fullerton, author of Unintelligent Design

"Both casual readers interested in what science has to say about religion and scholars looking to acquaint themselves with the latest science-based arguments against God will find much in this book worth their attention."
- Taner Edis, Associate Professor of Physics, Truman State University, author of The Ghost in the Universe: God in Light of Modern Science and Science and Nonbelief

"A fascinating and thought-provoking book that won't convince a single 'believer' but is fascinating and thought-provoking nonetheless."
- Marcus Chown, author of The Quantum Zoo

Table of Contents

Book Description

Rejecting belief without evidence, a scientist searches the scientific, theological, and philosophical literature for a sign from God--and finds God to be an allegory.

This remarkable book, written in the layperson's language, leaves no room for unproven ideas and instead seeks hard evidence for the existence of God. The author, a sympathetic critic and observer of religion, finds instead a physical universe that exists reasonlessly. He attributes good and evil to biology, not to God. In place of theism, the author gives us the knowledge that the universe is intelligible and that we are grownups, responsible for ourselves. He finds salvation in the here and now, and no ultimate purpose in life, except as we define it.

Contents

1. Sort of a hypothesis
2. Science, evidence, and nonsense: Why science has a greater claim to objectivity
3. Signs, wonders, and anecdotes: How people use evidence selectively
4. Questioning authority: Why the Bible cannot be literally true
5. The evil that men do: How what we call evil is the result of our biological nature
6. Aquinas's error: Why the philosophical arguments fail to establish the existence of a purposeful creator
7. Experimentalist's universe: Why we are biological systems governed by the laws of the universe
8. The magnificent structure of nature: Why the universe is more compelling than any mythology
9. Questions theists ask.

Reader Comment

An engaging, well written book on science, religion, and pseudoscience. Young, a physicist, explains why he thinks the universe is an impersonal place, not presided over by any God or other spiritual force, and puts all of this in the context of skepticism and the paranormal. There are similar books out there, but No Sense Of Obligation distinguishes itself in two ways particularly.

One is that it is amazingly easy to read, given the complexity of some of the topics he addresses. Young is totally lacking in academic pomposity, and knows how use personal anecdotes as well as scientific references to keep his narrative flowing.

Second, Young is careful to explain how even without theological beliefs, he considers himself Jewish and strongly religious in a profound sense. Overall, this is a thought-provoking book which will appeal to every skeptic.
- Taner Edis