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 : 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

God's Purpose Demands Persistence

Author : Carmelo Alicea
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781542593786
Total Pages : 122 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (937 download)

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Book Synopsis God's Purpose Demands Persistence by : Carmelo Alicea

Download or read book God's Purpose Demands Persistence written by Carmelo Alicea and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-01-20 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Difficulties are not an option in my life." I begin this introduction with a statement that should be a daily declaration in everyone's life. For as long as we live, difficult times will always show up but making them a "normal" standard in my day to day life to deceive us and make us doubt God's promises is not an option for a child of God. There is a saying "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about dancing in the rain." While you dance in the midst of the storm, God will see your heart conform to His. We can't let life dictate our pace and blessings, we have to do something about it. Sitting at the side of the road and waiting for someone to give us what we need is not an option. When you have a clear identity of who you are in Christ, God will reveal to you that everything you need is already inside of you. All you will ever need in this life comes from God. The same God who lives and dwells in you. When all hell breaks loose, God releases His power in you to prevail in all of your doings. But, it will take someone who is committed to insisting and resisting at all cost during times of discouragements. You have all that is needed for you to persist and to manifest the movement of God in your favor. It's customary to invoke God who seems to be outside of our realm, every time we need Him. We appeal to God to come to us even though He is already in us. "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). You want His divine power to come to you when all you have to do is release His power that is already inside of you. Remember that in all of our doings, "God's purpose demands resistance." In other words, you have to fight against opposition for that purpose to be fulfilled. It is the only way that you'll see the promises become a reality. Understanding what your purpose is and what it represents in your life will help you unleash God's power. It is critical to know how to position yourself, regardless of the situation you are encountering and to push forward until something happens. Push forward at all times and pray until God's heavens are opened in your favor. Until the much-needed response becomes a reality in the natural realm. Let's not worry about our circumstances, but rather, persist in pushing forward while God orchestrates the outcome of our victory Victory is something that comes disguised as a full game of discouragements and weaknesses that will try to keep you out of focus. But knowing how to unwrap what seems to be packages full of discouragements will take a persistent person to reveal God's favor in you. While the opposition increases, your strength will be growing and pushing forward until God's favor is released with His anointing to obtain the victory that has been always in you. Why? Because victory is a place that dwells in you. Jesus obtained it on the cross, and Jesus the Victor lives in you.

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.

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.

One True God

Author : Rodney Stark
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780691115009
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis One True God by : Rodney Stark

Download or read book One True God written by Rodney Stark and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2003-04-13 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western history would be unrecognizable had it not been for people who believed in One True God. There would have been wars, but no religious wars. There would have been moral codes, but no Commandments. Had the Jews been polytheists, they would today be only another barely remembered people, less important, but just as extinct as the Babylonians. Had Christians presented Jesus to the Greco-Roman world as ''another'' God, their faith would long since have gone the way of Mithraism. And surely Islam would never have made it out of the desert had Muhammad not removed Allah from the context of Arab paganism and proclaimed him as the only God. The three great monotheisms changed everything. With his customary clarity and vigor, Rodney Stark explains how and why monotheism has such immense power both to unite and to divide. Why and how did Jews, Christians, and Muslims missionize, and when and why did their efforts falter? Why did both Christianity and Islam suddenly become less tolerant of Jews late in the eleventh century, prompting outbursts of mass murder? Why were the Jewish massacres by Christians concentrated in the cities along the Rhine River, and why did the pogroms by Muslims take place mainly in Granada? How could the Jews persist so long as a minority faith, able to withstand intense pressures to convert? Why did they sometimes assimilate? In the final chapter, Stark also examines the American experience to show that it is possible for committed monotheists to sustain norms of civility toward one another. A sweeping social history of religion, One True God shows how the great monotheisms shaped the past and created the modern world.

God's Image and Global Cultures

Author : Kenneth Nehrbass
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1498239099
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (982 download)

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Book Synopsis God's Image and Global Cultures by : Kenneth Nehrbass

Download or read book God's Image and Global Cultures written by Kenneth Nehrbass and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2016-08-26 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globalization has raised numerous questions about theology and culture for Christians. How should we respond to outsourcing and immigration? How does anti-Western sentiment affect the proclamation of the gospel? What is the role of the church in society? This book argues that Christians will be most fulfilled and most effective if they embrace their cultural activity rather than feel ambivalent about it. The central question of this book is, how does bearing God's image relate to cultural activity? Nehrbass explains that "spheres of culture," such as political, technological, and social structures, are systems that God has instilled in humans as his image bearers, so that they can glorify and enjoy him forever. Therefore, a theology of culture involves recognizing that the kingdom of God encompasses heaven and Earth, rather than pitting heaven against Earth. The text surveys anthropological explanations for humanity's dependence on culture, and shows that each explanation provides only partial explanatory scope. The most satisfying explanation is that a major functional aspect of bearing God's image is engaging in culture, since the Trinity has been eternally engaged in cultural functions like ruling, communicating, and creating. Each chapter contains a summary and questions about what it means to be a world-changer in the twenty-first century.

Salvation in the World

Author : Stephan van Erp
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0567678172
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (676 download)

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Book Synopsis Salvation in the World by : Stephan van Erp

Download or read book Salvation in the World written by Stephan van Erp and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-09-07 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when Edward Schillebeeckx's theology crosses paths with contemporary public theology? This volume examines the theological heritage that Schillebeeckx has left behind, as well as it critically assesses its relevance for temporary theological scene. In tracing the way(s) in which Schillebeeckx observed and examined his own context's increasing secularization and concomitant development toward atheism, the contributors to this volume indicate the potential directions for a contemporary public theology that pursues the path which Schillebeeckx has trodden. The essays in the first part of this volume indicate a different theological self-critique undertaken in response to developments in the public sphere. This is followed by a thorough examination of the degree to which Schillebeeckx succeeded in leading Christian theology ahead without merely accommodating the Christian tradition to current societal trends. The third part of the volume discusses the issues of climate change, social conceptions of progress, as well as the evolutionary understandings of the origins and purpose of religions. The final part examines Schillebeeckx's soteriology to contemporary discussions about wholeness.

God's Rivals

Author : Gerald R. McDermott
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830875360
Total Pages : 181 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis God's Rivals by : Gerald R. McDermott

Download or read book God's Rivals written by Gerald R. McDermott and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2009-08-20 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gerald R. McDermott explores the question, "Why are there other religions?" He looks at teaching from the Old and New Testaments and from a number of key teachers from the early church to suggest an answer to this perplexing but intriguing question.

The Crucifixion of the Warrior God

Author : Gregory A. Boyd
Publisher : Fortress Press
ISBN 13 : 1506420761
Total Pages : 1487 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (64 download)

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Book Synopsis The Crucifixion of the Warrior God by : Gregory A. Boyd

Download or read book The Crucifixion of the Warrior God written by Gregory A. Boyd and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2017-04-17 with total page 1487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A dramatic tension confronts every Christian believer and interpreter of Scripture: on the one hand, we encounter images of God commanding and engaging in horrendous violence: one the other hand, we encounter the non-violent teachings and example of Jesus, whose loving, self-sacrificial death and resurrection is held up as the supreme revelation of God’s character in the New Testament. How do we reconcile the tension between these seemingly disparate depictions? Are they even capable of reconciliation? Throughout Christian history, many different answers have been proposed, ranging from the long-rejected explanation that these contrasting depictions are of two entirely different ‘gods’ to recent social and cultural theories of metaphor and narrative representation. The Crucifixion of the Warrior God takes up this dramatic tension and the range of proposed answers in an epic constructive investigation. Over two volumes, renowned theologian and biblical scholar Gregory A. Boyd argues that we must take seriously the full range of Scripture as inspired, including its violent depictions of God. At the same time, we must take just as seriously the absolute centrality of the crucified and risen Christ as the supreme revelation of God. Developing a theological interpretation of Scripture that he labels a “cruciform hermeneutic,” Boyd demonstrates how Scripture’s violent images of God are completely reframed and their violence subverted when they are interpreted through the lens of the cross and resurrection. Indeed, when read through this lens, Boyd argues that these violent depictions can be shown to bear witness to the same self-sacrificial character of God that was supremely revealed on the cross.