Why Gods Persist

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Why Gods Persist

Author : Robert A. Hinde
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135252793
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (352 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Gods Persist by : Robert A. Hinde

Download or read book Why Gods Persist written by Robert A. Hinde and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-10-30 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is it about religion that appeals to people? Why do religions and religious beliefs persist in the face of increasing secularisation, harsh criticism and even political persecution? Robert Hinde argues that it is not enough simply to criticize religion, we must understand it - not only how it causes so much conflict, but also how it brings comfort to many. Hinde, a distinguished scientist, draws on a wide range of psychological, developmental and evolutionary research to explore this fascinating question. This second edition of Why Gods Persist is designed for everyone interested in the subject, either as a student of psychology and anthropology of religion or as a follower of the current controversies over the value of religious belief.

Why Gods Persist

Author : Robert A. Hinde
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 0415497612
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (154 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Gods Persist by : Robert A. Hinde

Download or read book Why Gods Persist written by Robert A. Hinde and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2009 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2010. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Why Gods Persist

Author : Robert A. Hinde
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134619618
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (346 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Gods Persist by : Robert A. Hinde

Download or read book Why Gods Persist written by Robert A. Hinde and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-01-04 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Illusion of God's Presence

Author : John C. Wathey
Publisher : Prometheus Books
ISBN 13 : 1633880745
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (338 download)

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Book Synopsis The Illusion of God's Presence by : John C. Wathey

Download or read book The Illusion of God's Presence written by John C. Wathey and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2016 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An essential feature of religious experience across many cultures is the intuitive feeling of God's presence. More than any rituals or doctrines, it is this experience that anchors religious faith, yet it has been largely ignored in the scientific literature on religion.Starting with a vivid narrative account of the life-threatening hike that triggered his own mystical experience, biologist John Wathey takes the reader on a scientific journey to find the sources of religious feeling and the illusion of God's presence. His book delves into the biological origins of this compelling feeling, attributing it to innate neural circuitry that evolved to promote the mother-child bond. Dr. Wathey argues that evolution has programmed the infant brain to expect the presence of a loving being who responds to the child's needs. As the infant grows into adulthood, this innate feeling is eventually transferred to the realm of religion, where it is reactivated through the symbols, imagery, and rituals of worship. The author interprets our various conceptions of God in biological terms as illusory supernormal stimuli that fill an emotional and cognitive vacuum left over from infancy. These insights shed new light on some of the most vexing puzzles of religion, like the popular belief in a god who is judgmental and punishing, yet also unconditionally loving; the extraordinary tenacity of faith; the greater religiosity of women relative to men; religious obsessions with sex; the mysterious compulsion to pray; the seemingly irrepressible feminine attributes of God, even in traditionally patriarchal religions; and the strange allure of cults. Finally, Dr. Wathey considers the hypothesis that religion evolved to foster reproductive success, arguing that, in an age of potentially ruinous overpopulation, magical thinking has become a luxury we can no longer afford, one that distracts us from urgent threats to our planet.Deeply researched yet elegantly written in a jargon-free and accessible style, this book presents a compelling interpretation of the evolutionary origins of spirituality and religion.

Religion as Communication

Author : Enzo Pace
Publisher : Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN 13 : 1409435237
Total Pages : 168 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion as Communication by : Enzo Pace

Download or read book Religion as Communication written by Enzo Pace and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2011 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do gods persist in contemporary society? This book provides an insight on a new approach to religious studies, drawn from systems theory to consider religion as a means of communication, and offers a critical alternative to the secularization theory to explain why religion persists in modernity.

Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith

Author : Andrew Wommack
Publisher : Destiny Image Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1680313967
Total Pages : 196 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (83 download)

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Book Synopsis Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith by : Andrew Wommack

Download or read book Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith written by Andrew Wommack and published by Destiny Image Publishers. This book was released on 2011-06-24 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular Bible teacher and host of the Gospel Truth broadcast, Andrew Wommack takes on one of the biggest controversies of the church, the freedom of God's grace verses the faith of the believer. Wommack reveals that God's power is not released from only grace or only faith. God's blessings come through a balance of both grace and...

Minds and Gods

Author : Todd Tremlin
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019988546X
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (998 download)

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Book Synopsis Minds and Gods by : Todd Tremlin

Download or read book Minds and Gods written by Todd Tremlin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-03-02 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Around the world and throughout history, in cultures as diverse as ancient Mesopotamia and modern America, human beings have been compelled by belief in gods and developed complex religions around them. But why? What makes belief in supernatural beings so widespread? And why are the gods of so many different people so similar in nature? This provocative book explains the origins and persistence of religious ideas by looking through the lens of science at the common structures and functions of human thought. The first general introduction to the "cognitive science of religion," Minds and Gods presents the major themes, theories, and thinkers involved in this revolutionary new approach to human religiosity. Arguing that we cannot understand what we think until we first understand how we think, the book sets out to study the evolutionary forces that modeled the modern human mind and continue to shape our ideas and actions today. Todd Tremlin details many of the adapted features of the brain -- illustrating their operation with examples of everyday human behavior -- and shows how mental endowments inherited from our ancestral past lead many people to naturally entertain religious ideas. In short, belief in gods and the social formation of religion have their genesis in biology, in powerful cognitive processes that all humans share. In the course of illuminating the nature of religion, this book also sheds light on human nature: why we think we do the things we do and how the reasons for these things are so often hidden from view. This discussion ranges broadly across recent scientific findings in areas such as paleoanthropology, primate studies, evolutionary psychology, early brain development, and cultural transmission. While these subjects are complex, the story is told here in a conversational style that is engaging, jargon free, and accessible to all readers. With Minds and Gods , Tremlin offers a roadmap to a fascinating and growing field of study, one that is sure to generate interest and debate and provide readers with a better understanding of themselves and their beliefs.

Why God?

Author : Rodney Stark
Publisher : Templeton Foundation Press
ISBN 13 : 1599475219
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (994 download)

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Book Synopsis Why God? by : Rodney Stark

Download or read book Why God? written by Rodney Stark and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2017-03-30 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why is it that the majority of people, from all socio-economic, education, and ethnic backgrounds, ascribe to some sort of faith? What draws us to religion? What pushes us away? And what exactly is religion anyway? Defining religion over the past century has, ironically, led to theories that exclude belief in God, proposing that all systems of thought concerning the meaning of life are religions. Of course, this makes it impossible to distinguish the village priest from the village atheist, or Communism from Catholicism. Worse yet, it makes all religious behavior irrational, presuming that, for example, people knowingly pray to an empty sky. Renowned sociologist of religion Rodney Stark offers a comprehensive, decisive, God-centered theory of religion in his book, Why God: Explaining Religious Phenomena. While his intent is not to insist that God exists, Stark limits religions to systems of thought based on belief in supernatural beings—to Gods. With this God-focused theory, Stark explores the entire range of religious topics, including the rise of monotheism, the discovery of sin, causes of religious hostility and conflict, and the role of revelations. Each chapter of Why God? builds a comprehensive framework, starting with the foundations of human motivations and ending with an explanation of why most people are religious. Stark ultimately settles what religion is, what it does, and why it is a universal feature of human societies. Why God? is a much needed guide for anyone who wants a thorough understanding of religion and our relationship to it, as well as a firm refutation to those who think religion can exist without the divine.

A Stranger in the House of God

Author : John Koessler
Publisher : Zondervan
ISBN 13 : 0310864216
Total Pages : 227 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis A Stranger in the House of God by : John Koessler

Download or read book A Stranger in the House of God written by John Koessler and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-08-30 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing up the son of agnostics, John Koessler saw a Catholic church on one end of the street and a Baptist on the other. In the no-man’s land between the two, this curious outside wondered about the God they worshipped—and began a lifelong search to comprehend the grace and mystery of God. A Stranger in the House of God addresses fundamental questions and struggles faced by spiritual seekers and mature believers. Like a contemporary Pilgrim’s Progress, it traces the author’s journey and explores his experiences with both charismatic and evangelical Christianity. It also describes his transformation from religious outsider to ordained pastor. John Koessler provides a poignant and often humorous window into the interior of the soul as he describes his journey from doubt and struggle with the church to personal faith

Earth Psalms

Author : Francine Rivers
Publisher : NavPress
ISBN 13 : 149641831X
Total Pages : 225 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (964 download)

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Book Synopsis Earth Psalms by : Francine Rivers

Download or read book Earth Psalms written by Francine Rivers and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of readers have been transformed and inspired by Francine Rivers’ bestselling novels Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind. Now, in this weekly devotional, the beloved author invites you to join her in seeking the Creator through the marvelous natural world we live in. Francine shares observations she’s gathered over a lifetime of exploring—abroad and in her own backyard—and reflects on how they might apply to your daily life. What do the majestic redwoods, the persistent woodpecker, or a glorious sunrise reveal about our artistic and generous God? How could that change your outlook or the way you handle adversity? Stunning photography, Scripture excerpts, applications, and prayers accompany Francine’s reflections, inspiring you to be encouraged. Be challenged. Be comforted. God’s power is immense; His attention to detail is precise; His love for you is vast and unfailing. The proof is all around you.

Why We Believe in God(s)

Author : J. Anderson Thomson
Publisher : Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)
ISBN 13 : 0984493239
Total Pages : 89 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (844 download)

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Book Synopsis Why We Believe in God(s) by : J. Anderson Thomson

Download or read book Why We Believe in God(s) written by J. Anderson Thomson and published by Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA). This book was released on 2014-07-01 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this groundbreaking volume, J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., MD, with Clare Aukofer, offers a succinct yet comprehensive study of how and why the human mind generates religious belief. Dr. Thomson, a highly respected practicing psychiatrist with credentials in forensic psychiatry and evolutionary psychology, methodically investigates the components and causes of religious belief in the same way any scientist would investigate the movement of astronomical bodies or the evolution of life over time—that is, as a purely natural phenomenon. Providing compelling evidence from psychology, the cognitive neurosciences, and related fields, he, with Ms. Aukofer, presents an easily accessible and exceptionally convincing case that god(s) were created by man—not vice versa. With this slim volume, Dr. Thomson establishes himself as a must-read thinker and leading voice on the primacy of reason and science over superstition and religion.

Activating the Power of God's Word

Author : Kyle Winkler
Publisher : Charisma Media
ISBN 13 : 1629989711
Total Pages : 244 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Activating the Power of God's Word by : Kyle Winkler

Download or read book Activating the Power of God's Word written by Kyle Winkler and published by Charisma Media. This book was released on 2017 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The confidence, courage, and resolve in many of the greatest Bible heroes and world-changers are the result of a single, powerful, biblical principle. It's a principle woven into the very foundation of creation that, when applied, has the power to calm chaos, overcome obstacles, and win every battle. The secret? Activating the power of God's spoken Word.

Religion Explained

Author : Pascal Boyer
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 046500461X
Total Pages : 406 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion Explained by : Pascal Boyer

Download or read book Religion Explained written by Pascal Boyer and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2007-03-21 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of our questions about religion, says the internationally renowned anthropologist Pascal Boyer, were once mysteries, but they no longer are: we are beginning to know how to answer questions such as "Why do people have religion?" and "Why is religion the way it is?" Using findings from anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, and evolutionary biology, Boyer shows how one of the most fascinating aspects of human consciousness is increasingly admissible to coherent, naturalistic explanation. And Man Creates God tells readers, for the first time, what religious feeling is really about, what it consists of, and how it originates. It is a beautifully written, very accessible book by an anthropologist who is highly respected on both sides of the Atlantic. As a scientific explanation for religious feeling, it is sure to arouse controversy.

Conceiving God: The Cognitive Origin and Evolution of Religion

Author : David Lewis-Williams
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
ISBN 13 : 0500770433
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Conceiving God: The Cognitive Origin and Evolution of Religion by : David Lewis-Williams

Download or read book Conceiving God: The Cognitive Origin and Evolution of Religion written by David Lewis-Williams and published by Thames & Hudson. This book was released on 2010-03-01 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A controversial exploration of the origin of religion in the neurology of the human brain. In this book the noted cognitive archaeologist David Lewis-Williams confronts a question that troubles many people in the world today: Is there a supernatural realm that intervenes in the material world of daily life and leads to the evolution of religions? Professor Lewis-Williams first describes how science developed within the cocoon of religion and then shows how the natural functioning of the human brain creates experiences that can lead to belief in a supernatural realm, beings, and interventions. Once people have these experiences, they formulate beliefs about them, and thus creeds are born. Forty thousand years ago, people were leaving traces in the archaeological record of activities that we can label religious, and Lewis-Williams discusses in detail the evidence preserved in the Volp Caves in France. He also shows that mental imagery produced by the functioning of the human brain can be detected in widely separated religious communities such as Hildegard of Bingen’s in medieval Europe or the San hunters of southern Africa.

Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods

Author : E. Fuller Torrey
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231544863
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods by : E. Fuller Torrey

Download or read book Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods written by E. Fuller Torrey and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In this book, E. Fuller Torrey draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. However, it also led to comprehension of mortality, spurring belief in an alternative to death. Torrey details the neurobiological sequence that explains why the gods appeared when they did, connecting archaeological findings including clothing, art, farming, and urbanization to cognitive developments. This book does not dismiss belief but rather presents religious belief as an inevitable outcome of brain evolution. Providing clear and accessible explanations of evolutionary neuroscience, Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods will shed new light on the mechanics of our deepest mysteries.

Kingdom Prayer

Author : Tony Evans
Publisher : Moody Publishers
ISBN 13 : 0802494773
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis Kingdom Prayer by : Tony Evans

Download or read book Kingdom Prayer written by Tony Evans and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2016-09-16 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you want to know the temperature of your spiritual life, look at the thermostat setting on your prayer life. Prayer is the most misunderstood and neglected aspect of the Christian life. It has been estimated that most Christians pray three to five minutes a day. Compare that to the time many spend complaining, and you’ll gain insight into the spiritual and emotional condition of our day. Yet God has constructed the world in such a way that there is much He won’t do in a Christian’s life apart from prayer. Prayer, when combined with faith, can accomplish great things. In this practical and comprehensive overview of prayer, Tony Evans covers a variety of topics, including: Principles of productive prayer The power of prayer and praise Fasting and prayer Prayer and God's purposes Tony’s expositions of various passages on prayer will help you realize its critical importance and encourage you to make it a dominant mark of your life.

Adieu to God

Author : Mick Power
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119979951
Total Pages : 215 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (199 download)

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Book Synopsis Adieu to God by : Mick Power

Download or read book Adieu to God written by Mick Power and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-01-06 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adieu to God examines atheism from a psychological perspective and reveals how religious phenomena and beliefs are psychological rather than supernatural in origin. Answers the psychological question of why, in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary, do religions continue to prosper? Looks at atheism and religion using a fair and balanced approach based on the latest work in psychology, sociology, anthropology, psychiatry and medicine Acknowledges the many psychological benefits of religion while still questioning the validity of its supernatural belief systems and providing atheist alternatives to a fulfilling life