Customer Reviews

Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality

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yet, I don't know that this book really adds anything particuularly new to the debate of the existence of God vs. Science.

This book will give you lots to think about- whether you are religious, spiritual, agnostic or atheist. The author does conclude that "brokenness is the best predictor of spiritual experience", meaning that a large portion of those who have a spiritually enlightening experience, or are 'touched by God', arrive there via a process. One is broken down and then at some low point is 'touched' and the author states that people of all belief systems perceive 'otherness' in a similar way(having to do with darkness, distance and then a light and ensuing peace). She uses former addicts and alcoholics or those ill with serious and sometimes fatal diseases as examples.

What I liked about this book, aside from the fact it is very welll written and organized(I imagine quite tricky given the breadth of the subject matter and the anecdotal nature of many of the references), is that the author was very open minded in looking at the question. She considers the scientific evidence both for and against the existence of some greater force at work in the universe, as well as anecdotal evidence, opinions of doctors, scientists, philosophers- even such famous atheists as Dawkins, and religious clergy of all sorts. She crosses all lines of faith and religion.

The author hails from a Christian Science background but as an individual who fell away from her faith and then regained a new faith through her individual spiritual experience. The facts she presents are interwoven with her own personal journey.

An interesting point are the numerous stories she recounts of individuals seemingly changed overnight by their encounter with God, however they perceive God to be: alcoholics and addicts alleviated of their addictions, those who have staved off degenerative illness, or those lifted from a chaotic and depressing life, changed.

Is it God? Or merely the power of the mind or a certain personal decisiveness? The placebo effect of true belief in something greater than oneself? The author admits freely that this cannot be proved scientifically.

She says it all: "I have concluded that science cannot prove God- but science is entirely consistent with God." She presents God as biologist, chemist, physicist and touches on the brain as the seat of consciousness, out of body experiences, near-death experiences and ultimately that spirituality is a choice to seek, to ask the question.

If you are looking for a definitive proof of the existence of God, this isn't it- and in fact, the author states that won't be coming because if there is a God, he/she/it operates outside of nature, outside of science, beyond our understanding. If you are looking for proof of the benefit a spiritual life or belief in God can provide, there is a great deal of good material here.

My opinion? It will always come down to one thing: those with faith and those without. What and where we find the beliefs we can embrace and hold onto may differ for every person, but there is certainly something in us that begs us to seek our truth.

Barbara Bradley Hagerty was raised as a Christian Scientist, a view she disavowed as a twenty-something. Now a religion correspondent for NPR, this book chronicles her year long quest to answer a question: is there any real scientific evidence for God?

In Fingerprints of God, we witness Hagerty's numerous interviews with those who claim to have had mystical, out-of-body, and near death experiences. We also interview the many scientists who have studied "neurotheology" - the biological and neurological underpinnings of religion and religious experience. During all of this, Hagerty lets us hear her own thoughts as she encounters these religious believers and scientists. Hagerty writes very conversationally and honestly about her beliefs, doubts, and misgivings.

But in all honestly, the thing I liked least about the book was that Hagerty was simply not very balanced. She struck me as someone who very much wanted to find evidence for God in science and set out to find it regardless of what the evidence actually is. (To her credit, she admits that she is biased in favor of belief in a deity, but it does take the investigativeness out of the investigation.) At least twenty times in the book, she writes paragraph upon paragraph about a scientist who sees evidence of god in biology/neurology, only to dismiss in a paragraph the skeptical scientist by saying something like: "...but there HAS to be more to it than just biology/neurology."

The book was an interesting read, and Hagerty is a very good writer, capable of expressing very deep thoughts in simple terms. My only objection about her writing is that it is a tad formulaic in organizaiton; each chapter is organized very much the same as the others. (Starts with an non-scientist anecdote, goes to another, forays into a discusison of the science behend the anecdotes, discusses the skeptics viewpoint, dismisses it, concludes.) Still, as formuulaic as her chapters could sometimes be, I kept reading; Hagerty had a way of making it all quite interesting.

Despite its flaws, this is a good book about an interesting and timely subject.

If you could ask 1 question of National Public Radio's religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty, what would it be?

Well, recently Barbara switched sides in the studio and let NPR's Diane Rehm interview her about her unusual new book, "Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality." When Diane opened up the telephone lines to listeners coast to coast, the essence of what they asked Barbara was: So, do you think prayer works? (People want to know if there's any serious scientific basis for taking spiritual experiences seriously--after all, half of all Americans report having had a transformative spiritual experience at some point in life.)

Many of us want to know how Barbara answers such a question. After all, this is a hard-headed, nationally respected NPR journalist--a balanced, skeptical reporter who covers religion in the classic approach of the now-endangered profession called religion news writing. If Barbara Bradley Hagerty thinks prayer works--that's inspirational news!

On the air, she answered the question mainly in the affirmative.

Some callers described dramatic scenarios in which they believe God answered prayers and they challenged Barbara to agree or disagree with them.

Wisely, Barbara told the radio audience: "When it comes to spirituality, all you can say is: It's possible." If I had to sum up her new 300-page book in one sentence--well, you just read it from Barbara's own broadcast.

The cover and the title may make her new book seem like yet another volume in the roaring, roundabout debate between atheists, scientists and defenders of faith. So, let me be clear: It's not.

In fact, the roots of this book go back more than a century to William James, the pioneering scientist, psychologist and all-around philosopher who launched a historic inquiry into the scientific basis of religion from his offices at Harvard. His classic "The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature" still makes great reading.

What I like best about this new response to the classic question James posed is that Hagerty's journalistic training shapes her book as a compelling narrative. She takes us along with her on her various stops along her inquiry, like a radio documentary in print form.

It's great for individual readers to enjoy, but I suspect you'll want to talk about this one with a friend. I know small groups would enjoy discussing the wide range of topics between these covers.

As a person continually seeking answers to the big questions, I really enjoyed Barbara Hagerty's book Fingerprints of God.

As with Losing my Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America-and Found Unexpected Peace I was impressed by the courage of the author to freely discuss the parts of her life that most people keep under a basket. For a book of this genre, absolute truth is essential but also rare.

I also appreciated the excellent writing. Her years of award-winning journalism was quite evident in her sharp writing and ability to distill the complex into simplicity with analogy and metaphor.

Of the 12 chapters, my favorites were chapter 6 - Isn't God a Trip and chapter 11 - A New Name for God. In 2008, I published a book which dealt with the subject in chapter 6 although I did not provide the rich detail that Barbara gives us. While some may find this to be a `flaky' science, it is not. Even the top scientists admit they do not understand the mechanics or the ramifications.

Another aspect of this wonderful book was the clear sense that the author was not always adhering to a rigid outline. That is,it is apparent that at times her mind would pick up new, fresh ideas and thoughts as she actually wrote the book. For me, this is the mark of a true author. Anyone can `paint by numbers'. This is not one of those books. The evidence suggests the ideas flowed from the mind to the fingers as the work was being produced.

I would also recommend, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief and The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World. Older works for sure, but still highly compelling.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that seeks a link between our spirit and modern science. It is thought provoking and in this age of atheism, very relevant.

I hope you enjoyed this review.

Michael L. Gooch

I follow a lot of research in the field of neurotheology - science as it relates to spiritual experience - and overall I think this is the most informative, enjoyable, and balanced read out there on it. The author covers dozens of areas of research, and this could quickly become mind-numbing, but she intersperses it with her own personal spiritual journey, with interviews with the subjects of this research - many of whom tell of their own powerful mystic experiences - and with interviews with the scientists themselves, who are equally fascinating. So the book reads as more of a narrative, and the research is effectively 'broken up' with moving personal accounts. And I think the author gives both materialist/reductionist scientists and devout religious 'believers' equal credence and time, which is very rare.
I didn't see an overview of the research she covers in the other reviews, so for those interested here it is:

- Psychological research into individuals who have literally transformed their lives after a spontaneous mystic experience - particularly those who have recovered from addictions, or other self-destructive behaviors.

- Research into the efficacy of prayer, particularly mass intercessory prayer, and theories about the vastly different results various studies on this appear to have yielded.

- Genetic research into what genetic differences might be present in those drawn to spiritual practice or prone to spiritual experience, i.e. whether there is an inherited predisposition for spirituality.

- Research into how psychedelic drugs work on the brain, what chemicals are triggered during spiritual experiences brought on by these drugs, and possible chemical similarities to individuals who have similar experiences without the use of drugs.

- Studies of methods designed to methodically trigger spiritual experience by stimulating different parts of the brain.

- Research into epileptic seizures, and how and why the resulting brain changes often trigger spiritual experience (in fact, as the author reviews, an amazing number of history's mystics have been written off by scientists as having been epileptic, a theory she explores in depth.)

- Neuroscientific research into the brains of `accomplished' spiritual practitioners - specifically Tibetan Buddhist monks and Franciscan nuns, and the permanent changes in their brain that their spiritual practice has caused.

- Studies on individuals who have had near death experiences (NDEs) and the resulting implications for how science views consciousness.

Thorough, that's for sure! Towards the end she also discusses various descriptions/perceptions of God, and the paradigm shift science is undergoing at the moment in this field. If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend this book.

I regret buying the book. It starts out pretty promising. The author sets out the plan of visiting people who have "spiritual experiences" (e.g. mystics, near-death experiencers, etc.) and interviewing various scientists. Ostensibly she is being objective, attempting to see whether there is any "evidence" that prayers work, that "near-death experience" proves that we have a soul, etc.

It was initially quite harmless, but she keeps screening out data that she does not like. I am a medical specialist and I am also a Christian who also believes in prayers. However, there is just no scientific data to "prove" that prayers work. The author just refuses to give up in spite of being given the results of the experiments on prayers (pg 55-61).

There are also obvious factual errors as well. E.g. pain from shingles is NOT due to viral replication (pg 113). This may seem trivial, but this error leads her to suspect some religious/spiritual healing works on a physical level (pg 106-113).

Towards the end of the book (from pg 246), it just becomes too painful to read. She brings up "quantum entanglement", "non-local mind", even "dark matter" to explain how prayers and premonition work. This demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of basic knowledge in physics.

While it is always good to have an open mind, misuse of science and disregard of disagreeable data are not the way to find out the truth, they just obstruct the path to enlightenment.

A disppointment. 2 stars.

Finally someone, namely Barbara Bradley Hagerty, has written a readable book that reports on various research projects that touch on the edges of body-mind-spirit. I use the term "reports" carefully - Hagerty carefully walks the line of giving the studies the studies credit for what they show. She neither attempts to explain the results away, although she speaks with those who do, nor does she overstate what the studies have proved.

She makes the whole interesting reading by providing the biographies of herself and some of the test subjects and researchers.

The effect is an interesting, non-technical read which forces the reader to face some of the questions regarding the true nature of humanity and the universe but does not force any specific answers. It has my approval.

Please be advised that this is not a "scientific" book. It's the report of one woman's rigorous, heart-felt search for the divine in a world of scientific objectivism. I found this to be very interesting, and while I don't subscribe fully to where the author ends up, I think her quest, with the excellent reporting of the interesting scientific angles, is an important look at this emerging field of study. I've been following these studies of god and the brain for sometime, and was still surprised by some of the material the author brought to light, and was happy to have the material illuminated from the perspective of a Christian/Christian Scientist.

There is so much to like about this book. For starters, the objectivity with which Bradley writes despite her own plainly communicated faith lends a refreshing air of credibility so often lacking on this subject and those related to it. All sides get a fair chance here. The book reads like a fantastically engrossing journalistic work and that's because it is. The sources are incredible, every angle is reviewed, and the conclusions are left to the reader. For me, the insights were too many to count. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

The 'science' of spirituality. Who'd have thunk it? Certainly not moi--at least, not until I delved into NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty's thought-provoking FINGERPRINTS OF GOD: THE SEARCH FOR THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUALITY. This 'science' is predicated on the premise that scientific examination of the physical brain can prove the existence of another plane--or dimension--of reality beyond the materialistic world. Unbeknownst to me until I picked up this book, there are a substantial number of scientists/neurologists/psychiatrists pursuing this very notion; Hagerty reveals their research and their results in minute detail.

Yet there is also a very human component to FINGERPRINTS OF GOD, beginning with the author herself. Hagerty is a self-admitted believer in God, a former Christian Scientist who very much believes in the spiritual dimension. And she tells us the stories of numerous other people--people whose lives have been fundamentally changed by mysticism, illness, addiction, and near-death experiences. Today's technology can actually measure physical components in the brain during altered states (a mystic experience, for example); do these changes indicate the existence of a spiritual realm--authored by a higher intelligence--or, as the materialistic establishment argues, can all of these alterations be explained in terms of physiology and chemistry? Hagerty gives the reader both sides, which leads to slight frustration as the book winds down to its "maybe" conclusion.

Thus FINGERPRINTS OF GOD is an insightful examination of the science of spirituality, gracefully and beautifully written by an author who merely confirms her own beliefs as she journeys through the writing experience (although, she admits, her definition of God did change). But for those looking for conclusive evidence there is something more "out there" than atoms and molecules, the search continues.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning