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God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist | 
 enlarge | Author: Victor J. Stenger
Creator: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Category: Book
List Price: $18.98
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Rating:  148 reviews
Sales Rank: 7451
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 310
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 1591026520
Dewey Decimal Number: 212.1
EAN: 9781591026525
ASIN: 1591026520
Publication Date: April 8, 2008
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Product Description
This title features a new foreword by best-selling author Christopher Hitchens. 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 143 more reviews...
 I'ts all absurd December 1, 2008
It's all abusrd.
We fear death, we're arrogant enough to think that we will survive our own death. All basic religious doctrine is flawed, absurd, ignorant. And this books shows that.
Even if GOD existed, how can someone (a priest, a rabine, anyone) affirm that God's talking through him? Even if God existe, how can someone can calim that he is basiccaly good and benevolent? How can he permit the atrocities mankind make?
If God is pereftc, how he created a morality-flawed all-powerful animal like the human being? And why did he not make it at once, instead of waiting millions and millions of years of evolution? and why...
Weel, I'm gonna stop here. Religion (mainly organized religion) is almost a crime in my opinion. We're all gonna die and the Universe will not miss us at all (and we will not miss it too, because that's oblivion). The differences between us and a fly or a whale is that we can wreck havoc on Earth and, also, we are able to leave behind souvenirs of our existence to those who are atill alive, by means of books, photos, movies, letters, art, constructions, etc, etc, etc.
 The best of the One True Theisms November 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I only got twenty pages into this epic and realized that I didn't have to read it at all. A waste of my money. You don't need "science" to prove God doesn't exist--it's painfully clear that only uneducated bumpkins would believe in such a fairytale rubbish. Thank God I'm not an uneducated bumpkin but instead a tenured college professor! The Pope has nothing on me when it comes to infallibility.
The book then is clearly meant for superstitious types, possibly even illiterates (One hopes it is available as a book-on-tape!). Why would any intelligent grown-up who is (of course) already an atheist bother to examine and consider any proof of what they already know to be true? That's the sort of circular thinking one finds among the silly Bible-beaters.
Anyway, even with only twenty pages under my belt, it was apparent that the author had the issue 99.99% cinched. The concluding cap on this particular jar of raspberry preserves would be the very nearly almost completed (and yet strangely allusive) Theory of Everything, AKA (near 50 or 60 years ago) the Unified Field Theory (there was another name for it 100 years ago but I've forgotten what it was). Thankfully, that ultimate final answer to all questions about the universe is (as always) just around the next corner. Have you heard about Quantum Chromo-Superdooperstring Theory yet? All we have to do is find something called a Thisbe Boson and it is GAME OVER!
 Forget about God, Victor Stenger doesn't exist .... November 18, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
...well at least in a few more years he won't. I'm an agnostic and nothing riles me more than a rabid theist, except maybe a rabid atheist.
Nobody knows - or will ever know - how and why we are here. Stenger proves nothing. In fact he offers this take on Leibnitz' questions, "Why is there something, rather than nothing"? Stenger's answer is that "Nothing is unstable". Since physical science is basically inductive and relies on observation and experiment, this is NOTHING more than a guess since it can never be verified. How is this any better than, "God did it".
Stenger also quotes physicist Steven Weinberg,
" With or without religion people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion."
How about my quote,
"With or without physics people can not blow things up or bad people can blow things up; but if you really want to blow up all of Hiroshima - that takes a physicst."
Now here is my cyclic Big Bang theory. First, there is this very old, giant, green monkey with a gastrointestinal problem. Then there is this eruption of a hot,gas cloud. Then the galaxies form ... after awhile critters form ... then another giant green monkey is born and the whole thing starts over again. I'm sure this is right, except the part about the color of the monkeys.
Relief October 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Believers will not be swayed by this book of rational arguments, of course, because they are not interested in separating history from mythology when it comes to their beliefs. Their faith is blind faith and most will defend it to the death, usually someone else'. So this book is not for them. But the few rest of us will find great comfort in this book. You are not crazy to disbelieve in the unprovable despite the enormous pressure to do so. You are rational, sane and the only real hope for the future.
Best of its kind October 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although it is rather presumptuous of me to say this, I believe that Stenger's book is THE BEST OF THE LOT of recent books poo-pooing God. I read the Stenger book in its entirety, and just loved it, even though I am something of a "lapsed atheist" or whatever. I found his discussions thorough, entertaining, and illuminating. I have read extensive excerpts from and reviews of the other books, and none of them tempted me. This one did. I'm glad I succumbed to the temptation. It's a great read.
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