ePub A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God Is Good and Faith Isn't Evil download

by David G. Myers

Author:

David G. Myers

ISBN13:

978-0470290279

ISBN:

0470290277

Language:

English

Publisher:

Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (September 2, 2008)

Category:

Other

Subcategory:

Humanities

ePub file:

1824 kb

Fb2 file:

1107 kb

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Rating:

4.7

Votes:

815

David G. Myers Humanities English

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I had read a couple of David Myers books in the last few years. Myers works to treat the controversial subject fairly.

Vii, 152 p. : 22 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-149)

Vii, 152 p. 137-149)

A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God is Good and Faith Isn't Evil.

A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God is Good and Faith Isn't Evil. Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2008. With humility, erudition, and a profound commitment to scientific truth, Myers has given us the book we must all read before we jump to conclusions about the nature and value of religion. Jonathan Haidt, University of Virginia psychologist and author of The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God Is Good and Faith Isn't Evil.

Start by marking A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings .

Start by marking A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God Is Good and Faith Isn't Evil as Want to Read: Want to Read savin. ant to Read. This book is intended as an answer to Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Hithins (God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything), but it really is just a lightweight re-hash of some of the same old objections.

His seventeen books include best-selling texts and general audience books on happiness, intuition, and hearing loss.

David G. Myers is a communicator of psychological science to college students and the general public. His seventeen books include best-selling texts and general audience books on happiness, intuition, and hearing loss. Библиографические данные. His writings, supported by National Science Foundation fellowships and grants and recognized by the Gordon Allport Prize, have appeared in three dozen scientific periodicals, from Science to Psychological Science, and in dozens of magazines and newspapers. Request permission to reuse content from this site.

David Guy Myers (born 20 September 1942) is a professor of psychology at Hope College in Michigan . A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God is Good and Faith isn't Evil (2008) 978-0470290279.

David Guy Myers (born 20 September 1942) is a professor of psychology at Hope College in Michigan, United States, and the author of 17 books, including popular textbooks entitled Psychology, Exploring Psychology, Social Psychology and general-audience books dealing with issues related to Christian faith as well as scientific psychology.

As a respected behavioral scientist and a person of faith, Myers shows how an educated and engaged faith is associated with happiness, health, tolerance, generosity, and volunteerism, and does not imply gay bashing, magical ideas about prayer, or a division of body and soul.

Myers, David G. A friendly letter to skeptics and atheists : musings on why God is good and faith isn’t. a friendly letter to skeptics and atheists. evil, David G. Myers. 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. In checking our personal opinions against reality, we emulate the empiricism of Moses: If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and what he says does not come true, then it is not the Lord’s message. The same empirical spirit was exemplified in the New Testament by the wise Gamaliel when religious leaders wanted to kill the apostle Peter and his compatriots for refusing to submit to their authority.

A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists helpsreaders—both secular and religious—appreciate theircommon ground. For those whose thinking has moved from thereligious thesis to the skeptical antithesis (or vice versa), Myersoffers pointers to a science-respecting Christian synthesis. Heshows how skeptics and people of faith can share a commitment toreason, evidence, and critical thinking, while also embracing afaith that supports human flourishing—by making sense of theuniverse, giving meaning to life, connecting us in supportivecommunities, mandating altruism, and offering hope in the face ofadversity and death.

Dddasuk

The book is quite short and takes a "breadth over depth" approach, flitting from one suggestive observation or factoid to another, rather than engaging in vigorous, sustained argumentation. It should appeal to educated, metropolitan progressive Christians, and it may also appeal to some mild skeptics ("swing voters," we might call them). For everyone further to the left or right or whatever (convinced atheists, hardnosed skeptics, conservatives, fundamentalists, orthodox), I'm not sure what this book will mean or accomplish.

Where the book succeeds:
-Articulating a version of Christianity that is compatible with reason, empiricism, liberalism, and the 21st century consciousness
-Facing hot-button issues like evolution and gay marriage head on
-Marshaling some significant evidence that active religious commitment can foster personal well-being, as we all as philanthropy and service
-Doing this all in a relatively winsome, conciliatory fashion

Where the book struggles:
-Myers offers little in the way of robust, positive argument for God's existence. His primary line of argument is indirect and pragmatic: believing in God gives life meaning and confers adaptive value. The only other non-utilitarian, quasi-argument for the existence of God is a superficial treatment of the "fine-tuning" argument.
-Myers's brand of Christianity looks suspiciously tailored to the ethos and sensibilities of the modern, metropolitan educated liberal--namely, he embraces evolution, supports gay marriage, and seems to view God as a deistic presence that doesn't meddle in everyday affairs (e.g., healing the sick in response to prayer). This certainly builds a bridge for moderate skeptics to walk across, but Myers tends to obscure the fact that his positions on some of these key issues are at odds with the teachings of traditional orthodoxy or the outlook and practices of, e.g., rank and file evangelicals.

Morlunn

I had read a couple of David Myers books in the last few years. He wrote a widely used Psychology 101 textbook that I read in college, and I later read one of his books on happiness. I was later surprised to learn that he wrote this book in defense of religion, which is titled in contrast to Sam Harris’s “Letter to a Christian Nation”, a book very critical of religion that I also read.

For years, I’ve learned to be skeptical or religion and the many harmful effects it has inspired on the world (wars, bigotry, willful ignorance of science, etc.). When I hear people defend or promote religion, their arguments often seems shallow or anti-intellectual. Myers’s book doesn’t fall into this category. His writing is fair and thoughtful. It’s not a one-sided polemic.

He’s a social psychologist that is a strong supporter of science, and embraces, rather than shuns, evidence that other religious people find threatening. He believes and argues that religion (Christianity being his main focus) and scientific principles like evolution can be consistent. He writes that empirical evidence and the scientific method help inform how he interprets and others the bible.

Myers works to treat the controversial subject fairly. He empathizes in his first few chapters of his book with skeptics such as myself that far too many religious followers have been guilty of willful ignorance, prejudice, and making religion political.

But he also writes that it’s unfair for skeptics to judge all religious people based on the failings of this set of people. Of course, he’s right. The last few chapters of his book provide evidence that suggests religious people are, on average, happier, physically healthier, and more likely to volunteer and donate to charity.

This book isn’t necessarily an argument to have faith or to be religious, but that’s probably beyond the scope of this short book. It did, however, soften my own perspective and give me a more balanced view of religion in general.

Xurad

David Myers addresses contentious issues with a heart of reconciliation, bridge-building, openness, and universal friendliness. He is cogent, thoughtful, smart, and gracious.

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