God: The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World

by Patrick Glynn

Book Overview

In the modern age science has been winning its centuries--old battle with religion for the mind of man. The evidence has long seemed incontrovertible: Life was merely a product of blind chance--a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761519645
• ISBN13: 9780761519645
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Forum
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Pushes the Hot Button

This is a very good and swift read. Patrick Glynn takes the reader on a fast-paced voyage through five areas where secular research has unintentionally stumbled into nagging questions on the existence of God. He begins with the anthropic principle in the physical science realm, which points out the coincidental universe in not likely to be coincidental. (Stephen Hawking made a career out of fighting the anthropic principle. Unfortunately, his solution is mathematically brilliant but founded upon a reverse leap of faith that is equally as fantastic and dogmatic as the idea of God.) Patrick moves swiftly on to statistical data from mental health practice which shows that the spritually connected wind up better off in the mental health arena. Patrick follows this up with news from the more concrete world of medicine, where several studies published in medical journals have conluded that meditative states and prayer directed toward God positively correlate with faster recoveries from injury and illness and better general health. He then goes back in time and sumarizes the core findings on the Near Death Experience made by the original research teams in the early 1970s prior to the entry of the subject into the popular arena. Finally, Patrick goes through an overview of how secular philosophy is turning itself reluctantly back from the "God is Dead" world of the early 20th Century to the conlusion that God is making come-back in the 21st. This is a wide field, and Patrick's purpose seems to be to get you thinking along one or more of these lines and let you follow up. It will definitely punch the "hot button", as evidenced by the angry reviews on this page. Contrary to some assertions, the book is well researched and documented. And it does not "prove" that God is there. It simply shows the proverbial smoking gun and asks you if you think it fired itself... or did someone or something pull the trigger?

A Good Introduction

This book is a good introduction to the severals areas of human science, experience and mystical experience that continue to raise the issue of God. While no book can claim to prove God it can help to make people aware of recent discoveries and discussions that are currently taking place in science, theology, psychology and other human sciences that point to the reality of the Spirit in the World. The great value of this book is its accessible writing style. For those not familiar with the technical jargon of the different scientific,academic, and spiritual disciplines this book will be welcome. This book should find wide readership if for no other reason than to stimulate discussion of the great and enduring question of the reality and love of God in the world.

God The Evidence: A Nice View From 10,000 ft

Glynn's easy to read book will allow individuals to gain a sense of openness about questioning the existence of god. While he clearly does not reconcile "Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World" (as purposed by the kicker on the cover), he does provide an excellent overview of five areas that deserve the every man's consideration.For those of us that have grown up in a world where science proved that god is no longer necessary and therefore dead, Glynn offers words of doubt. However, these words of doubt are now attacking the hypothesis that science could ever hope to prove that there is no creator. Glynn starts the book with the most compelling of the five areas: A Not So Random Universe. While some will fault his casual handling of the anthropic principle, with no clear background on strong or weak anthropic rationales, he does do an adequate job of describing the difficult underpinnings of physics in today's world. Particularly powerful is his crisp description of Hawkings, et al, who tries to hang onto a godless universe by creating theorems that might continue to lock out the concept of an intelligent creator. Unfortunately, these desperate theorists place faith in concepts that can not be proven.The other areas of the book start to probe on softer areas, but these areas are still worth examining. However, most of these areas are soft not because of Glynn's poor treatment of these areas, but because much of science behind near death experience and/or psychology has been weak.While Glynn does close with an appeal to live a life with deistic driven principles, he does leave a void. If there is a god, why can't you call him on a telephone? Why is the act of faith necessary? Why can't you prove god?And the problem of evil remains. So Glynn should have concluded his book, not with a pat encouragemenet to believe in god, but an encouragement to try and find out the answers to these questions.

An Excellent Initial Evangelistic Gift

Dr. Glynn is a philosopher who has been active as a politician, journalist and TV commentator. He is currently associate director and scholar at a political institute in Washington. Like many other young Christians, Glynn lost his faith during his university studies, and even became a staunch atheist and postmodern thinker. However, after many years of atheism and nihilism, Glynn found some scientific evidence that brought him back to the Faith. Glynn's evolution is strikingly similar to C. S. Lewis's, who was raised a Christian, became atheist at the university and uncovered at a later stage in his life some evidence that lead to his conversion. In this breath-taking book, Glynn recount his spiritual journey. With philosophical, scientific and historical insights, he shares the evidence that convinced him. He covers different fields: the design of the universe, the correlation between traditional religion and psychic and physical health, the near-death experiences and the moral bankruptcy of atheism. His book has received praise of Sir John M. Templeton, who is well known to ASA members, and also of personalities such as Michael Novak, Hans Küng and George Weigel. I highly recommend it to those interested in apologetics, or in matters of faith and reason. This book may also be a formidable weapon for those interested in spiritual warfare: I cannot think of a better initial evangelistic gift for agnostics, atheists, nihilists or for those who are indifferent to religious questions. This book is not however a systematic presentation of arguments and counter-arguments, but is rather an excellent "mind- opener" that should be followed by the systematic apologetics works of Norman Geisler, Richard Swinburne, J. P. Moreland and William Craig.

Excellent discussion in intelligent design of the universe.

Glynn gives us an overview of the emerging scientific evidence of intelligent design in the universe. This book is aimed at intellectuals and those that style themselves as such. Glynn does not try to prove that there is a God, his major point is that there is no longer any compelling reason to believe that science and reason stand in the way of belief in God. Few if any of Glynn's ideas are original, but he provides a highly readable and inspirational synthesis. He says certain things well that it's time for somebody to say well. The sterile, quirky, spiritually dead philosophies that so oppressed me in college require only a gentle shove by Glynn to smash their dry, brittle, bones. Glynn does not provide enough documentation for some, but I have read enough of the background material to know that Glynn has mastered the main thrust. I'm not sure if I buy the near-death material, and Glynn has left out important new evidence in micro-biology that would buttress his case, but in the main, BRAVO! This book will no doubt come under intense attack by the last of the "science is all" high priests, as the fading flame of their power and influence flickers out.