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 revolutionised 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 behaviour 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.
Victor J. Stenger (1935 - 2014) was an adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado and emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii. He was the author of the New York Times bestseller God: The Failed Hypothesis, God and the Atom, God and the Folly of Faith, The Comprehensible Cosmos, and many other books.
Models and Methods; The Illusion of Design; Searching For a World Beyond Matter; Cosmic evidence; The Uncongenial Universe; The Failures of Revelation; Do Our Values Come From God?; The Argument From Evil; Possible and Impossible Gods; Living in the Godless Universe; Index.
"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 setup, 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." -- Richard Dawkins, Author of the New York Times best seller The God Delusion. "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. "I strongly recommend this book to all readers, including those on the fence and those firmly positioned either side of it. To the scientist Stenger provides a comprehensive review of the evidence and arguments in a balanced and accessible manner. To the theist, Stenger shows why intelligent design fails and as such, hints at what sort of evidence would be required to avoid the pitfalls of previous arguments. If theists want to take a matter of faith, and turn it into a matter of fact, then they will need to satisfy the arguments against their position put forward so cogently by Stenger. As such, it is a resource that should not be ignored by anyone interested in this field. I recommend it highly." -- Dr Jason Braithwaite, Behavioural Brain Sciences Centre, University of Birmingham, UK.
