God: The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World [Hardcover]

Patrick Glynn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1997

In the modern age science has been winning its centuries—old battle with religion for the mind of man. The evidence has long seemed incontrovertible: Life was merely a product of blind chance—a cosmic roll of an infinite number of dice across an eternity of time. Slowly, methodically, scientists supplied answers to mysteries insufficiently explained by theologians. Reason pushed faith off into the shadows of mythology and superstition, while atheism became a badge of wisdom. Our culture, freed from moral obligation, explored the frontiers of secularism. God was dead.

"Glynn's arguments for the existence of God put the burden of disproof on those intellectuals who think that the question has long since been settled." — Andrew M. Greeley

But now, in the twilight of the twentieth century, a startling transformation is taking place in Western scientific and intellectual thought. At its heart is the dawning realization that the universe, far from being a sea of chaos, appears instead to be an intricately tuned mechanism whose every molecule, whose every physical law, seems to have been design from the very first nanosecond of the big bang toward a single end—the creation of life. This intellectually and spiritually riveting book asks a provocative question: Is science, the long-time nemesis of the Deity, uncovering the face of God?

Patrick Glynn lays out the astonishing new evidence that caused him to turn away from the atheism he acquired as a student at Harvard and Cambridge. The facts are fascinating: Physicists are discovering an unexplainable order to the cosmos; medical researchers are reporting the extraordinary healing powers of prayer and are documenting credible accounts of near-death experiences; psychologists, who once considered belief in God to be a sign of neurosis, are finding instead that religious faith is a powerful elixir for mental health; and sociologists are now acknowledging the destructive consequences of a value-free society.

God: The Evidence argues that faith today is not grounded in ignorance. It is where reason has been leading us all along.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Glynn (Inst. for Communitarian Policy Studies, George Washington Univ.; Closing Pandora's Box, LJ 5/15/92) considers the recent trend away from the atheism that tends to characterize most scientists (as revealed by surveys) to what he calls a post-secularist perspective, an openness to the role of the divine. In clear, crisp prose, he examines the work of physicists who again see purpose in the design of the universe (the anthropic principle), the role of religion in the work of some contemporary psychologists (most notably M. Scott Peck), the relation between religious faith and bodily health, and out-of-body or near-death experiences (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Raymond Moody), and the disastrous effects of value-free sociology. Writing from a Christian perspective, Glynn provides an excellent summary of the current status of the relationship between religion and science that will appeal to a variety of readers. Recommended for all collections. [For more on the relation between religion and science, see Connie Barlow's Green Space, Green Time, reviewed on p. 110, and Marcelo Gleiser's The Dancing Universe, reviewed on p. 111.?Ed.]?Augustine J. Curley, O.S.B., Newark Abbey, N.J.
-?Augustine J. Curley, O.S.B., Newark Abbey, N.J.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

An unconvincing attempt to prove the existence of God in a postmodern culture. It's always refreshing when intellectuals admit their mistakes, and to hear this Harvard-educated philosopher gracefully concede that his atheism was ``so dead wrong'' is nearly enough to melt a reader's heart. But only nearly, because the journey that brought him to faith is almost impossible to translate as ``evidence'' to prove God's existence to others. Glynn's own watershed moments were based in science and psychology, and he examines recent developments in these fields that he sees as unmistakable proof of a higher being. Contemporary physics, for example, has moved toward a ``triumph of mechanism over teleology'' and shows that the chance of life's appearance in our universe is so slight that if any one of the many factors involved had been a tad different, we wouldn't be here arguing the point today. Fair enough, but it is still a long jump from this apparent randomness to Glynn's conclusion--that life evolved in this manner to make way for God's ultimate creation, humankind. The second part of this book is even more problematic; Glynn employs psychological findings and near-death experiences as evidence for God. He rightly criticizes Freudian psychology for its hostility to religion and then goes on to argue that religious people are more likely to report happier, less traumatic lives than the nonreligious. That may be so, but how does this functionalist exploration of religious faith prove the existence of God? And finally, his insufficiently skeptical chapter on near-death experiences damages the credibility of the whole book. Although there are some intriguing arguments here, Glynn's is an entirely one-sided approach, and the connections between the ``evidence'' and his conclusion require too far a leap of faith. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles (October 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761509410
• ISBN-13: 978-0761509417
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,194,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Proves no barrier between science and religion, June 9, 2002

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God: The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World (Hardcover)

This is the story of Patrick Glynn's journey from a believer to an agnostic and then back to a believer. From the time of Copernicus to Galileo to Darwin and beyond, science has continuously raised questions about ideas of belief and then answered the questions in a manner that does not require religious belief. Religion has taken a beating more and more at the anvil of science. The problem is that science and religion have always treated each other as being mutually exclusive. You believe in one or the other.

While this book does not prove God exists, it does a very good job of showing that science and religion do not have to be at opposite ends. Science has advanced over the last 25 years to the point where the best explanations for some things are that a guiding hand has been at work. The position that if you believe in science then you cannot believe in God is shown to be untenable. This does not prove that God exists, only that there is no real obstacle standing between science and belief in God. Not an argument for a particular religion or a particular God, it points out that belief in a guiding intellect that pervades the universe is a tenable position and also the position most consistent with the current state of science.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but you will want to read more, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: God: The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World (Hardcover)

Patrick Glynn's "God: The Evidence" is a well-written and balanced book overall. It should not bore the reader and its style quite readable and well-tempered (not too academic, lest less technical readers get lost, not too simplified, lest scientists and philosophers lose patience). It really has something for anyone interested in God, science, philosophy, etc.

Ultimately, I think his analysis is correct that unlike the 1970s, where it seemed to many that scientific discoveries precluded the existence of God, today (late 1990s and now early 2000), scientific discoveries tend to be more congenial to God's existence. As a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy, I affirm his view that the materialism/mechanism of the 19th century is failing to account for many phenomena. He also had some good points about the prejudice of some scientists, in just simply dismissing Aristotle's notion of final cause, page 54, (its like saying, "I just don't like it"). When one considers much of the evidence regarding the "anthropic principle" in cosmology, it does seem as if the universe is hot-wired for life (no accident). But of course you have to decide for yourself, and Glynn does give many opposing arguments, which is nice.

So should you buy this book to prove something to yourself?

As a teacher of philosophy, I have learned that in order to prove or disprove anything to anyone at least two criteria are necessary:

(1) He/she has an open mind about the issue (no predetermined conclusions, such as some atheists and believers have) (2) There must be a starting point for the knowledge to flow from (if someone is a pure skeptic and the two of you cannot agree on a single thing like "we both know trees exist, right?", then the whole idea of proof or refutation is hopeless).

Of course extremists on both sides (fanatical bible waving literalists, and hardcore atheists will not in the least be open to this book, since they have all the answers already how could a book do anything to them?)

Ultimately, Glynn says that he does not think reason/science can give you faith, and he is correct. But it can, to echo the words of Aquinas centuries ago, remove barriers to one embracing God.

So if this topic interests you and you have a desire to integrate science/philosophy/theology, etc., Glynn's book will generally not disappoint (though you will want to read much more . . .)

Hopefully, one day books like this will not be necessary, when humankind grows up spiritually. That is, when it sees all humans as spiritual brothers/sisters, ends the killing of each other over money, power, and religion, and realizes that God exists, loves us all, and is the one we seek in our hearts . . . but that will take time. Perhaps some believers will have to work as hard as the atheists to overcome their hard hearts; for some cling to an idolatrous god who damns people for not being Christian . . . others hate the idea of a creator and sacrifice/responsibility for others.).

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God The Evidence: A Nice View From 10,000 ft, November 25, 1999

By 

T. Deffenbaugh (Silicon Valley) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God: The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World (Hardcover)

Glynn's easy to read book will allow individuals to gain a sense of openness about questioning the existence of god. While he clearly does not reconcile "Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World" (as purposed by the kicker on the cover), he does provide an excellent overview of five areas that deserve the every man's consideration.

For those of us that have grown up in a world where science proved that god is no longer necessary and therefore dead, Glynn offers words of doubt. However, these words of doubt are now attacking the hypothesis that science could ever hope to prove that there is no creator.

Glynn starts the book with the most compelling of the five areas: A Not So Random Universe. While some will fault his casual handling of the anthropic principle, with no clear background on strong or weak anthropic rationales, he does do an adequate job of describing the difficult underpinnings of physics in today's world. Particularly powerful is his crisp description of Hawkings, et al, who tries to hang onto a godless universe by creating theorems that might continue to lock out the concept of an intelligent creator. Unfortunately, these desperate theorists place faith in concepts that can not be proven.

The other areas of the book start to probe on softer areas, but these areas are still worth examining. However, most of these areas are soft not because of Glynn's poor treatment of these areas, but because much of science behind near death experience and/or psychology has been weak.

While Glynn does close with an appeal to live a life with deistic driven principles, he does leave a void. If there is a god, why can't you call him on a telephone? Why is the act of faith necessary? Why can't you prove god?

And the problem of evil remains.

So Glynn should have concluded his book, not with a pat encouragemenet to believe in god, but an encouragement to try and find out the answers to these questions.