* Focuses primarily on charges leveled by recent critics that belief in God is irrational and that its nature ferments violence * Balances philosophical rigor and scholarly care with an engaging, accessible style * Offers a direct response to the crop of recent anti-religion bestsellers currently generating considerable public discussion.
The last few years have seen an escalation in angry attacks against religion and belief in God. Recent bestsellers such as Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion are just the most visible manifestation of a broader and more disturbing trend that views religion and theism as irrational--and even inherently evil. Responding with their own brand of vitriol, religious conservatives have been quick to strike back. But might there be a more balanced view between these extreme voices--a brand of theistic religion that respects science yet recognizes its limits; one that says "yes" to both reason and the deeper yearnings of the human soul?
In a wide-ranging discussion incorporating profound philosophical insights, Is God a Delusion? argues that today's vocal religious critics have fixated on religion in its narrowest form. And in doing so they have failed to consider a religion whose essence is found not in inflexible doctrines, "infallible" holy books, or calcified institutions, but in a distinctive type of consciousness that points the way to a transcendent good beyond the world. With a philosophical nod to the revolutionary 19th-century theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, the text defends those who find in religion the fulfillment of an ancient and profoundly human desire: the hope that somewhere beyond the universe that science can observe lies a deeper reality, one characterized by love and wisdom. A reality we call God.
