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Why Science Does Not Disprove God

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

The renowned science writer, mathematician, and bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem masterfully refutes the overreaching claims the "New Atheists," providing millions of educated believers with a clear, engaging explanation of what science really says, how there's still much space for the Divine in the universe, and why faith in both God and empirical science are not mutually exclusive.

A highly publicized coterie of scientists and thinkers, including Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens, and Lawrence Krauss, have vehemently contended that breakthroughs in modern science have disproven the existence of God, asserting that we must accept that the creation of the universe came out of nothing, that religion is evil, that evolution fully explains the dazzling complexity of life, and more. In this much-needed book, science journalist Amir Aczel profoundly disagrees and conclusively demonstrates that science has not, as yet, provided any definitive proof refuting the existence of God.

Why Science Does Not Disprove God is his brilliant and incisive analyses of the theories and findings of such titans as Albert Einstein, Roger Penrose, Alan Guth, and Charles Darwin, all of whose major breakthroughs leave open the possibility— and even the strong likelihood—of a Creator. Bolstering his argument, Aczel lucidly discourses on arcane aspects of physics to reveal how quantum theory, the anthropic principle, the fine-tuned dance of protons and quarks, the existence of anti-matter and the theory of parallel universes, also fail to disprove God.

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  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      April 15, 2014
      Aczel's ("Fermat's Last Theorem") latest book challenges the notion recently articulated by New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins ("The God Delusion") that science has proved the nonexistence of God. The author's focus is on the science and what it might have to say about a creator, with a few detours such as a chapter on archaeology, which is more about the Bible's authenticity than theistic ontology, and a futile discussion on who owns "Einstein's God"--atheists or theists. Overall, the better chapters reflect Aczel's strengths in mathematics and physics; in those, he discusses subjects such as quantum theory, the multiverse, and mathematical probability. Aczel asks an important question about science, but with a primarily scientific explanation he doesn't tread new ground. His material will instead inflame more misunderstandings, essentially providing a "God of the gaps" dismissal for his critics. VERDICT The author's discussion of theoretical physics and mathematics demonstrates the philosophical nature of his question, which is hinged upon clear definitions of God and a deep, complicated philosophical history; strangely, however, all this is missing from the book. Dawkins, at least, whether you agree or not, defines the God he is disproving, whereas Aczel's remains a mystery.--Scott Vieira, Sam Houston State Univ. Lib., Huntsville, TX

      Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      March 15, 2014
      Mathematician Aczel (A Strange Wilderness: The Lives of the Great Mathematicians, 2011, etc.) debated atheist Richard Dawkins in 2010. Here, he presents his arguments, and prominent atheists, Dawkins above all, do not come out well. Aczel wins the rematch by the infallible technique of misstating his opponent. Science cannot "disprove" anything; only mathematicians do that. Scientists gather evidence and weigh it. While evidence (i.e., arguments) favoring God's absence exists, in the end, disbelief is a matter of opinion. However, there's no denying that the "new atheists," like other pugnacious militants from the tea party to Islamic activists, favor vivid arguments that stretch the truth. Aczel sets them right in a series of earnest essays stressing that both science and religion are laudable institutions that deserve respect. One chapter summarizes archaeological evidence for many biblical events. In another, the author emphasizes that scientists understand the universe's evolution but not its origin, so they cannot rule out a Creator. Throughout the book, Aczel quotes many experts in a variety of fields, including Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, French mathematician Pierre Simon de Laplace and American physicist Hugh Everett. Few show much concern over the question of God's existence, but most have no objection to it. Having been burned too often, theologians rarely invoke the 19th-century argument that whatever science can't explain provides evidence for God, but Aczel relies on it. His prime example is the mind. "[T]he emergence of consciousness and symbolic thinking remain one of the most formidable hurdles in the path of atheism," he writes. "We have no good explanation of how [they] came about. These may well be divine gifts." Aczel dislikes atheists and often descends to their derisive debating points (e.g., religions sponsor charities; atheists don't), but he skillfully combines his specialty and good science to support, without actually proving, the existence of a Creator.

      COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from April 1, 2014
      In Aczel, Richard Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists face a formidable opponent. As a mathematician with a Berkeley-Harvard r'sum', Aczel wields impressive intellectual weapons in demolishing the New Atheists' claims that science has disproven the existence of God. With compelling reasoning, Aczel demonstrates that whenever Dawkins and his allies turn their attacks against anything but naively literal readings of the Bible, they distort or misrepresent the methods and findings of science. Darwinism has provided no godless explanation of how human consciousness emerged. The attempt to reduce the astounding fine-tuning of the big bang to quantum physics likewise leaves huge questions unanswered. Disproofs of God's existence based on probability theory similarly fail under scrutiny. When the New Atheists buttress their flawed science by appealing to the authority of Einstein, Aczel catches them cherry-picking quotations, so hiding complexities in the great physicist's metaphysical thinking. Those who truly grapple with modern science, Aczel finally avers, discover not a disproof of God but rather perplexing mysteries, such as the stunning vistas of infinity that the intensely religious theorist Georg Cantor glimpsed behind his revolutionary continuum hypothesis. Such mysteries may not signify the presence of the divine, but they will surely stir deep wonderings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

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