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Title: 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God
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Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
List Price: $16.95
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| 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Prometheus Books Superficial Treatment | The author is a good writer, but by trying to deal with 50 reasons in a book of this length he has of necessity limited himself to a superficial treatment.
The danger with this is that readers may think that they have been presented a good analysis of each of the reasons, which is very misleading. Most of the reasons considered could be given chapter length treatment and still leave much to analyze.
This is not to say that another author could have done any better, but it was the author's choice in taking on too much. I would say that, at best, the book could serve as an introduction to further analysis. | | 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Prometheus Books A practical handbook to debunking why most people believe |
I have read hundreds of books dealing with a multitude of issues on all sides of the debate over religion. I used to be a committed Christian that was planning on being an Apologist for Christianity. I have read the most sophisticated arguments for both Christian Theism and Atheism. One thing I have realized through the years, is that the overwhelming majority of believers do not ground there beliefs on the sophisticated reasons and detailed arguments of the religious philosophers and Apologists. Different studies from sociologist and anthropologists have shown that almost all believers in all the different religions, do not convert to the religion of there choice by the logical outcome of a rational endeavor, weighing the evidence pro and con and then deciding. Instead almost all convert before any serious reasoned consideration of the evidence, and convert based of other factors that are either non-rational or irrational. This is not only true when it comes reasons why there religion may be true, but even the doctrines or beliefs of there religion are usually not reasonably considered in any detail either, before conceding to the religion. So both the whats and whys of their belief are not given much attention or reasoned consideration before they join their religion. Out of the people that do end up considering in detail the rational of the whys and whats of there belief, only do so after they have joined (again this is the majority there are exceptions). Even most Apologist admit and often complain how most believers dont know why or what they believe. The real reasons that the overwhelming Majority of religious people give for believing in there religion are the reasons Guy P Harrison gives in this book, not the sophisticated and long winded technical arguments that many apologists claim to base there beliefs on. He does an outstanding job of dealing with these reasons in plain non-technical language, and with a genial non-condescending tone. Any person can gladly in full confidence give this book to there religious friends and family, knowing they wont be offended and will be able to understand the contents of the book. Rather Religious philosophers like to admit it or not, these are the real reasons most people give for believing, and these reasons the author gently but forcefully refutes. This book is a great feast of common sense that both skeptic and believer would benefit from reading. The depth you can dive into these issues are endless. But this book does refute the most common reasons most people give for believing. Of course you can always dig deeper, and there are plenty of books out there on the market if you want to do so. All things considered this is a great book, and I wish I could hand it out to every believer in the world. I highly reccomend this book. | | 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Prometheus Books A must read, even if light on Christian apologetics | Most of what I'd like to say about this engaging and easy-to-read book has already been said in previous comments. I appreciate Harrison's gentle yet penetrating approach, as well as his ability to level the playing field of all religions by referring to the "gods" of each using the same terms: Jesus, Allah, Shiva and Zeus are all "gods" worshipped by people in various cultures. I also commend him for his use of an approachable, non-academic style. Though apologists and sophisticated believers would likely look down on this approach, it's a book I could give to my Christian friends and family without having to worry about their ability to process the theological jargon common to most works of this nature.
That's the upside. The downside of treating all religions as equals in the same book is that for certain believers (I think of my Christian friends who are well-versed in apologetics), the meager attention given to biblical prophecies and the Resurrection of Jesus will give them reason to dismiss the book as uninformed about a number of important reasons for believing. For example, on page 260 Harrison discounts fulfilled biblical prophecies by saying the fulfillments are found in the same book (i.e., the Bible) as the prophecies:
"What about Jesus? His appearance on Earth was 'prophesized' and then he came, right? Well, not exactly. Where was it predicted and where was it fulfilled? It all happens in the Bible, one book. There are no historical records that verify the events of Jesus's life beyond the Bible. No other sources corroborate the story of his virgin birth and resurrection. The Bible is the only source we have for predictions of Jesus' life so it is not sensible that the same book can be cited as proof that the predictions it makes came true. Suppose I handed you a book and said it was obviously a true story because something is predicted in chapter 1 that later comes true in chapter 25. Based on that alone, would you be convinced that the book is factual? Of course you wouldn't. You would be more likely to conclude that the author wrote in that way in order to make the story work like he or she wanted it to."
I am certain that Harrison understands the Bible was written over many centuries by various authors. That being the case, it would have been preferable to state that later biblical authors supported previous authors' prophecies by supplying details to make it appear that the earlier writings were being fulfilled. Otherwise, some readers may think Harrison considers the Bible to have been penned by a single author. Apart from the need to be more precise about the authorship question, Harrison does a good job of presenting other reasons not to accept biblical prophecies as supernatural, particularly their Nostradamus-like vagueness.
Left out altogether was any mention of the events surrounding Jesus' Resurrection that convince millions of faithful Christians that something supernatural happened on Easter Sunday morning. This is a cornerstone of Christian apologetics for authors like William Lane Craig, N. T. Wright, and Frank Morrison. I understand it was probably left out because the book attempts to address all religions equally, but this omission will be perceived as a major oversight by many Christian readers.
One of the most powerful of Guy's arguments is his exposition of the well-documented inverse relationship between religiosity and societal health (measured by homicide rates, number of abortions, quality of healthcare, and prosperity) throughout the world. This revelation must be profoundly unsettling for believers who are convinced that the god of their religion is the wellspring of virtue. On the basis of my discussion with believers, the moral argument is appealed to perhaps more than any other to support religion. If this is taken away, it represents a major setback to the legitimacy of religious belief. Unfortunately many believers will respond, "Well, if you look at people who believe and practice their faith just like I do (e.g., those who read the Bible and pray daily with their family), you will find that divorce and crime rates are much lower than average for the population at large. Others may say they're Christians, but their failure to practice it like I do means they cannot be thrown into the same statistical pot as true believers." Much could be said to counter this sort of special pleading, but it's simply hard to pin down anyone with arguments like these. We can always hope that some proportion of Harrison's thoughtful religious readers will take his engaging arguments to heart without persistently exempting themselves from their force.
Don't let my small criticisms of the book discourage you from reading it. It deserves to be read by every believer of every stripe. It will serve as a gentle "jolt" to everyone who believes their religion is special.
| | 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Prometheus Books Fun to read; Difficult to put down | When I first bought this book, I had just finished writing my own book about skepticism and as such was a little unsure of what I was going to encounter. The title didn't indicate whether Guy was a Christian, a member of some other religion, or an atheist. But as I began to read this book, I quickly saw that Guy and I see completely eye-to-eye on the matter.
Guy's book is a fascinating journey through fifty distinct reasons people claim for believing in a god. One by one, with superior writing and logic, Guy gently dismantles the reasons, detailing why they don't stand up to reality, all the while remaining cool-headed, civil, and even compassionate. The ease with which he disassembles the arguments for a god is like the ease with which a highly-skilled artist assembles a fine sculpture. Slowly and with grace, the arguments fall apart like a stack of cards barely held together, if at all. Every person who has ever thought there might be a god should read this book. And atheists will enjoy it too as it will reinforce their own ideas and beliefs--or, more accurately, lack thereof. I highly recommend this book. It reads like a novel; it was fun to read and difficult to put down.
Jeffrey Mark
Author, Christian No More | | 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Prometheus Books Atheists and Agnostics alike will enjoy this amazing book. | | Fresh, positive, non-confrontational approach to the god vs no god debate. Pro- science. Definitely worth purchasing, re-reading and recommending to both religious and non-religious people. | | 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Prometheus Books Product Description | | Many books that challenge religious belief from a skeptical point of view take a combative tone that is almost guaranteed to alienate believers, or they present complex philosophical or scientific arguments that fail to reach the average reader. Guy P. Harrison argues that this is an ineffective way of trying to encourage people to develop critical thinking about religion. In this unique approach, Harrison concisely presents fifty commonly heard reasons that people often give for believing in a god. Then he raises legitimate questions regarding these reasons, showing in each case that there is much room for doubt. From religion as the foundation of morality to the authority of sacred books, the compelling religious testimony of influential people, near-death experiences, theories from intelligent design, and much more, Harrison respectfully describes each rationale for belief and then politely shows the deficiencies that any good skeptic would point out. He also offers something in return--a hopeful and optimistic view of science, the universe, and humanity without the divisiveness, prejudice, and hatred caused by conflicting religious doctrines. Drawing on his experiences as a nonbeliever and his extensive travels around the world, Harrison makes poignant arguments that are sure to inspire thought-provoking discussions. Whether you're a believer, a complete skeptic, or somewhere in between, you'll find his review of traditional and more recent arguments for the existence of gods refreshing, approachable, and enlightening. |
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