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This anthology of new critical essays written by experts in their fields, in honor of the late Victor Stenger, examines Christianity using established scientific criteria. Where science specifically touches upon the claims of Christianity the authors seek to show those claims lack the required evidence. The result is that Christianity is not a sufficiently evidenced religion.
In his New York Times bestseller, God: The Failed Hypothesis, physicist Victor Stenger argued that claims of religion should be subject to the same standards of scientific rigor as any other truth claim. Taking this approach, the contributors argue that Christianity fails every known scientific test for truth. Stenger himself wrote a chapter for this volume before he died. In it he presents a brief history of ideas about cosmology, showing that Christianity’s premodern understanding of the cosmos is incompatible with current scientific evidence regarding the origin and structure of the cosmos.
Other contributors examine a wide variety of topics, including biblical archaeology, Intelligent Design, the Shroud of Turin, free will, the existence of the soul, the efficacy of petitionary prayer, and more.
This challenging work is indispensable reading for both skeptical readers and open-minded people of faith.
- Sales Rank: #129762 in Books
- Published on: 2016-07-26
- Released on: 2016-07-26
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.10" h x 1.00" w x 6.00" l, .81 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 380 pages
Review
“In this fascinating collection of essays by noted scholars from a wide range of fields, Loftus promises to expose the dog and pony show that is Christianity in a scientifically advanced world—and this series of cohesive and compelling treatises delivers on that promise. This absorbing book is a must-read for minds open to critical thought about who we are, what we know, and where we came from as human beings.”
—Dr. Elicka Peterson Sparks, author of The Devil You Know: The Surprising Link Between Conservative Christianity and Crime
"In this indispensable volume, John Loftus and his colleagues demonstrate all the different ways in which science undermines and threatens religious belief. The only way you can rescue God from this book is if you force him to retreat so far that you might as well stop believing in him. I defy you to read this volume and still believe that religion and science shall ever meet. John Loftus will never receive the Templeton Prize, but he should. This collection alone will further our understanding of science and religion more than all the previous winners combined."
—Dr. Maarten Boudry, philosopher, Ghent University
“This is the best compilation John Loftus has done to date, and I have enjoyed reading his others. I truly couldn’t put it down. He has assembled leading authors to write essays in an easy–to-read, well-annotated manner. If you find a particular subject of interest in a couple of authors or more, check out their larger body of work. I highly recommend this book for those who want to delve deeper into why religion persists in our world and why it shouldn’t.”
—Karen L. Garst, PhD, editor of Women Beyond Belief and blogger at www.faithlessfeminist.com
“In this anthology, Loftus gathers a broad scholarly team that tests the claims of Christianity against the evidence. Within these pages is a rigorous challenge for everyone still in the faith.”
—Brandon G. Withrow, PhD, author of Consider No Evil
PRAISE FOR PREVIOUS WORKS BY JOHN W. LOFTUS:
"John Loftus knows from the inside what's wrong with Christianity. Few people are better qualified to explain to those still in its clutches why they'd do well to leave, and he has assembled a fine team of colleagues to assist him in doing so. This book should convert a high proportion of those with the courage to read it."
--RICHARD DAWKINS (reviewing Christianity Is Not Great)
"Loftus's book is admirable for its bluntness and single-minded drive toward the belief that science--itself a human construct and thus as subject to flaws as religion--is mankind's saving grace...Provocative."
- Kirkus Reviews (on The End of Christianity)
"Without doubt one of the best books I've ever read on faith. A masterpiece."
- PETER BOGHOSSIAN, author of A Manual for Creating Atheists (on The Outsider Test for Faith)
"A must-read for believers and any atheists who want to debate them. Superbly argued, airtight, and endlessly useful, this should be everyone's first stop in the god debate."
- RICHARD CARRIER, author of Proving History (on The Outsider Test for Faith)
"[T]he reader seeking a comprehensive disproof of Christianity as contemporary evangelicals defend it can do little better than to consult this volume."
- Free Inquiry (on Why I Became an Atheist)
About the Author
John W. Loftus earned M.A. and M.Div. degrees in theology and philosophy from Lincoln Christian Seminary. He then attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and received a Th.M. degree in philosophy of religion. Before leaving the church, he had ministries in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, and taught at several Christian and secular colleges. The author of Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity and The Outsider Test for Faith: How to Know Which Religion Is True, Loftus is also the editor of The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails; The End of Christianity; and Christianity Is Not Great: How Faith Fails.
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Apologetics is dragged from the dark corners of the mind and out to the light of reason!
By David Cortright
Once again John W. Loftus does not disappoint! With his latest anthology he and the rest of the collaborators to this work have put to rest the so called science vs. religion debate. You cannot simply call pseudoscience scientific and expect it not to be critically reviewed and scrutinized by those of us that value logic and reason. Every aspect of the argument is covered in detail here and is worth reading both for believers and nonbelievers alike. Guy P. Harrison, David Eller, and Sharon Nichols deal with the psychology of religion in part one. In part two the late Victor J. Stenger, Phil Halper and Ali Nayeri, and Abby Hafer deal with the many flaws and misinterpretations of science inherent in creationism/id. In part three Robert M. Price and Edwin A. Suominen, Julien Musolino, and Jonathan Pearce deal with the fallacies behind the concepts of sin/salvation, soul beliefs, and free will. In part four Robert R. Cargill, Rebecca Bradley, and Rene Salm expose the lies and misinterpretations behind biblical archeaology, the Exodus myth, and finally the myth of Nazareth. Finally, in part five Aaron Adair, Valerie Tarico, and paranormal investigator Joe Nickel take a look at the myth of the Bethlehem star, the uselesness of prayer, and the turin fraud.
Overall this book lays out the may reasons why religion and in particular Christianity does not stand up to scientific scrutiny and the Bible itself does not stand up to the light of reason. The only way that one could justify their beliefs after reading this book is if they continue to accept the misinterpretations of science by biased clergy and their clever uses of apologetics in favor or reason.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Overall Quite Good
By Book Fanatic
I waffled between a 4 star and a 5 star rating of this book. Like all anthologies you get a mixed bag of writers and writing. Overall however I think there are more 5 star than 4 star essays in this collection so I gave it 5 stars with a bit of a qualification. For me the book was really good for the essays in part 3 and part 4. The best essay in the whole book is Jonathan Pearce's on Free Will, but all of the essays in these two secctions are very good - sin, the soul, free will, and archaeology.
Here is the thing. I didn't find myself disagreeing with any of the authors in this anthology and by themselves there was nothing wrong with any of the essays. However, I felt some of them didn't really fit. For example there is an essay on cosmology by Hapler and Nayeri. I felt the essay was too dense and too technical for this kind of book. I think I followed it well, but it was too much for this kind of book. There were some other essays the kind of made me think "big deal". There is a very concise and well written essay on ID and why it isn't science. Okay but I'm not sure of the point. There are a great many people we would call Christians and who call themselves Christians that don't subscribe to ID. Same with the Bethlehem Star. These articles are good in and of themselves but I don't see how they are central to Christianity.
However all of the essays have a point to make and as stand alone essays do that quite well. So for that reason as well I didn't really feel justified in taking off a star rating. Overall this is a very good collection and well worth reading.
If you are reading this review and haven't read The Outsider Test for Faith: How to Know Which Religion Is True by John Loftus I would highly recommend it. It is very, very good.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Solid Anthology
By Book Shark
Christianity in the Light of Science: Critically Examining the World’s Largest Religion by John Loftus
“Christianity in the Light of Science" is a solid anthology of critical essays that examines the scientific evidence that have convinced most atheists to walk away from Christianity. Accomplished author and former preacher John W. Loftus, assemble a group of scholars who focus on the scientific evidence lacking in Christianity. This persuasive 380-page book includes fifteen essays broken out by the following five parts: 1. Science and Religion, 2. Science and Creationism, 3. Science and Salvation, 4. Science and the Bible, and 5. Science and the Christ.
Positives:
1. A professionally written and edited book. Loftus has an excellent track record of quality work.
2. Fifteen solid essays from scholars of various backgrounds covering a wide-range of topics with a focus on examining Christianity through scientific evidence.
3. An excellent list of contributors including prominent women.
4. Easy to follow format that allows readers to jump to topics of interest.
5. Always provocative. These anthologies are intended to provoke critical thought and examine the evidence for what it is. “The reason believers are not open-minded to science, in those areas where science conflicts with their faith, is because of confirmation bias.”
6. Many great quotes immersed throughout anthology. “A man who prays is one who thinks God has arranged matters all wrong but who also thinks he can instruct God on how to put them right.” —Christopher Hitchens
7. Harrison kicks it off with an excellent essay on thinking critically. “Christianity's overarching opposition to Good Thinking is the crucial challenge, and there is only so much time in a day. This is where the most damage is done, and it should be the focus.”
8. Eller’s essay focuses on the cognitive science of religion. “The first thing to note about neurological and cognitive evolution (and this point will figure prominently below) is that the human brain developed from pre-human brains and retained many of the components and functions of those reptilian and mammalian brains.”
9. So what accounts for the deep entrenchment of religion as a human universal? Nichols sheds light. “There are three trends playing out on the world stage today: anti-intellectualism, anti-science, and anti-modernity.”
10. The late great Victor Stenger leaves us with his final essay on cosmology. “Copernicus's supporters had a hard time reconciling the Copernican model with the Bible, particularly the Joshua story (Joshua 10:12–13), as well as Psalms 93:1, 96:10, 104:5, and 1 Chronicles 16:30, which declare that the foundation of Earth remain forever unmoved.”
11. Hafer destroys “Intelligent Design” with her cogent essay that cleverly showcases the scientific approach. “The results presented here are strong evidence that ID cannot be considered a scientific discipline because it does not follow the basic requirements for scientific research.”
12. A look at the failure of original sin.
13. One of my favorite essays debunks the soul. “In spite of well-publicized claims to the contrary, there is in fact no credible evidence for the existence of the soul.”
14. Pearce tackles the illusion of free will. “We are left with a concept of free will, this contra-causal, libertarian notion, which makes no sense in philosophical and theological context, and which is not supported by any evidence.”
15. A look at the historic/scientific claims of the Bible. “Outside of a small circle of believers, there existed no actual proof of the man, Jesus, whom early Christians claimed changed history.” “The awkward fact is there is a mismatch between the Exodus narrative in the Bible and associated sources and the narrative based on the archeological record.”
16. Was there a Nazareth Village Farm (VFM)? Find out.
17. Adair takes a comprehensive look at the Star of Bethlehem. “Putting this all together, the weight of the evidence strongly favors the idea that the tale of the Star of Bethlehem was deliberate theological fiction.”
18. Tarico goes over the research on the power of petitionary prayer and why it’s far from harmless. “Petitionary prayer suppresses critical thought.”
19. Nickell dissects the Turin Shroud.
20. Provides a brief biography of each contributor.
Negatives:
1. This anthology does not stack up to Loftus’s “Christianity is not Great: How Faith Fails”. Mr. Loftus has set the bar very high so it’s hard to live up to such expectations. That stated, don’t misconstrue such a statement as suggesting this book is not worth reading. I’m a big fan of all Loftus’ work, this book included.
2. I can’t quite put my fingers on it but there is something missing in this anthology. A big scientific “revelation” or something headline worthy.
3. Some essays are easier to follow than others. As an example, though quite simplified the essay on Before the Big Bang will still go over the heads of laypersons.
4. Requires an investment of your time.
5. No formal bibliography.
In summary, this is a solid anthology with excellent contributions. It’s not the groundbreaking book as previous works but it’s another solid contribution to a movement that focuses on critical thinking and progress. A solid anthology, I recommend it!
Further suggestions: “How to Defend the Christian Faith” and “The Christian Delusion” by John Loftus, “God: The Failed Hypothesis” by Victor Stenger, “Natural Atheism” and “Atheism Advanced” by David Eller, “Soul Fallacy” by Julien Musolino, “Free Will? By Jonathan M.S. Pearce, “A Manual for Creating Atheists” by Peter Boghosian, “God Is Not Great” by Christopher Hitchens, “The Not-So-Intelligent Designer” by Abby Hafer, “NazarethGate” by Rene Salm, “The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View” by Aaron Adair, “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “The Believing Brain” by Michael Shermer, “Faith vs. Fact” and “Why Evolution Is True” by Jerry A. Coyne, “Nonbeliever Nation” by David Niose, “Trusting Doubt” by Valerie Tarico, “Freethinkers” by Susan Jacoby, “Nailed” by David Fitzgerald, “Think” by Guy P. Harrison, and “The Science of Miracles” by Joe Nickell.
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