Decoding the Language of God: Can a Scientist Really Be a Believer?

by: George C. Cunningham M.D. List Price: $18.00 Amazon.com's Price: $13.74 You Save: $4.26 (24%) as of 05/18/2013 00:12 EDT Used Price: $1.93 Collectible Price: $19.99 Third Party New Price: $3.05 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used Price: $1.93 This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Binding: Paperback EAN: 9781591027669 Edition: Original ISBN: 1591027667 Item Dimensions: 874080575 Label: Prometheus Books Languages: EnglishUnknownEnglishOriginal LanguageEnglishPublished Manufacturer: Prometheus Books Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 269 Publication Date: December 22, 2009 Publisher: Prometheus Books Release Date: December 22, 2009 Studio: Prometheus Books Related Items: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies---How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion The End of Christianity see more Editorial Review: Product Description: In his bestselling book, The Language of God, Francis Collins--the scientist who led the National Institutes of Health's Human Genome Project--attempted to harmonize the findings of scientific research with Christian belief. In this response to Collins's work, fellow geneticist George C. Cunningham presents a point-by-point rebuttal of The Language of God, arguing that there is no scientifically acceptable evidence to support belief in a personal God and much that discredits it. Written with admirable clarity for the nonscientist, Decoding the Language of God covers much of the same ground addressed by Collins in his book: -Do moral behavior, altruism, and similar moral standards across cultures indicate that humans are somehow in touch with a divine lawgiver, as Collins argues? Cunningham cites data from behavioral genetics that suggest a purely naturalistic explanation for morality. -The existence of evil, both natural and human-caused, has always been a major stumbling block for religious apologists. Cunningham points out how Collins fails to adequately address this issue and the difficulty of reconciling belief in a good God with the existence of evil. -Collins refers to the origin of the universe and anthropic coincidences as evidence of God as creator of all of reality. By contrast, Cunningham notes that there are naturalistic interpretations for the big bang and the fine-tuning of the universe, which adequately explain this evidence. Cunningham also devotes chapters to the unreliability of the Bible as a basis for belief; the conflict between naturalistic explanations of reality, which are anchored in scientific research, and supernatural interpretations, which are not; and the many difficulties in conceptualizing the origins of the universe in terms of a personal God. Unlike recent hostile attacks on religious belief, Cunningham's respectful, well-reasoned discussion will appeal to open-minded people across the whole spectrum of belief and unbelief. Customer Reviews Average Rating: none Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display blog comments powered by Disqus Safe checkout through Amazon.com ©2007-2010 NowUSave.com