God and the Folly of Faith · The Incompatibility of Science and Religion by Stenger, Victor J. -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Acknowledgments Foreword by Dan Barker Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Earliest Skirmishes

Origins of Religion Caveman Logic The First Scientists The Atomists Pythagoras Creation and Design Epicurus and Lucretius Aristotle Early Christian Philosophy

3. The Rebirth and Triumph of Science

Arabic Science Europe Awakens Science in Islam Today The First European Universities Science as the Handmaiden of Religion The Medieval Worldview Aquinas Rebuffed The New Science Galileo Newton's Laws Halley's Comet The Newtonian World Machine The Enlightenment Three Philosophical Views Did Christianity Beget Science?

4. Darwin, Design, and Deity

Natural Theology Natural Selection Dissent and Dispute Darwin and Design Evolutionary Politics Evolution Theology Social Evolution Religion as a Virus

5. Toward the New Physics

Putting Heat to Work Thermotheology The Wave Nature of Light Fields The Arrow of Time Special Relativity Cause and Effect General Relativity

6. Particles and Waves

The Dematerialization of Matter The History of Quantum Mechanics Quantum Fields Toward the Standard Model Quantum Spirituality Divine Actions without Miracles The End of Duality Quantum Reality Is Quantum Mechanics Complete?

7. Cosmos and Creator

Creation Myths Big Bang Theology Big Bang Science Natural Origins Quantum Tunneling Tunneling from (or through) Nothing The Grand Accident The Universe as a Quantum Computer The Cosmic Insignificance of Humanity

8. Purpose

Contingency or Convergence? Teilhard's Omega Point Tipler's Omega Point Reductionism versus Holism Weak Emergence Self-Organization Strong Emergence The Definition of Life The Origin of Life

9. Transcendence

The Afterlife Beyond Matter Religion and Health Spiritual Energy Religious Experiences Near-Death Experiences: Historical Data Veridical NDEs Maria and the Shoe The Blind Shall See Near-Death Experiences: Recent Data Problems with NDEs Reincarnation Investigating the Paranormal The Physics of Christianity The Rematerialization of Matter A Personal Remembrance Science and Eastern Mysticism

10. Beyond Evolution

Justice and Morality Did Morality Evolve? What Do the Data Say? Atheist Terror Slavery Does Morality Prove God Exists? The Postevolutionary Phase

11. Matter and Mind

Body and Soul The Material Brain Consciousness Free Will The Quantum Brain

12. Metaphor, Atheist Spirituality, and Immanence

A Metaphorical God Spiritual Atheism The Modernist View of Religion Science Works Better

13. From Conflict to Incompatibility

The State of Religion Today Is Religion Good for You? Summary of Conflicts Confrontation or Accommodation?

14. Why Does It Matter?

The American Anomaly The Ups and Downs of Science in the Public Mind The Cultural Divide Tobacco and Pollution Global Warming The Impending Crash A Final Conclusion

Notes Bibliography Index About the Author