Product 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12796 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-25
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 287 pages

Richard Dawkins, Author of the New York Times best-seller The God Delusion
"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."

Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation
"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
"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."

Customer Reviews

before he dies he'll believe in God or a god

Who cares? Hitchens makes no sense in this book or anything he says since 9/11. He writes books about God for the sake of being controversial and to sell books!!
The answer is nobody has an answer. The fact is that nobody can deny that there is a supreme being who is behind our universe. Let scientifics observe
our reality but don't come and deny the existence of a God.
When Hitchens will find himself on his bed sick and lonely he will believe in God. God will give him the comfort he needs.
Not the neoconservatives and other warmongers he cherishes so much these days.

provocative evidence against a popular God
Stenger's summary of evidence is not intended to disprove the existence of some sort of god, somewhere, at some time.
It ably showcases the absurdities one must accept or ignore in order to profess belief in one very popular concept of god, the God of the Book. (Any of three books, take your pick.)
The observable world is wholly incompatible with the attributes with which God is typically endowed - omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence.
How do I reject Thee? Stenger counts the ways!

The failed Stenger
Stenger is a retired physicist and should be a retired writer too.
The example of this is this book.

Chapter 4 is a game of hide and seek whith the readers. Why doesn't he say we don't have the least idea how matter appeared and the big bang happened? He just says that god left no imprint in the universe.

Why doesn't he talk about the origins of the first living cell? Of course he's a physicist, but those matters are commom knowlege of every atheist.
We just don't know.

Just two points: universe and life. I'll skip the part of chapter 6 the failure of revelation, where he writes based on the book Unearthed Bible.

I'm an atheist and don't need a god of gaps.

But this book is easy, too much easy. Does Stenger think that other atheist are stupid, or is he convinced that like this he will convert some catholic girls?