The Evolution Of Gods : The Scientific Origin Of Divinity And Religion

The Evolution Of Gods : The Scientific Origin Of Divinity And Religion PDF

Author: Ajay Kansal

Publisher: Epicurus Books

Published: 2012-04-23

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 9350294389

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Did gods create mankind, or did mankind create gods? Why, when and how did mankind begin to worship gods? Religious scriptures the world over claim that one or the other god made man, but science has not yet identified any supernatural power that created and governed human beings. Was it man who came up with the idea of gods to help him cope with his own fears? Could it be that ancient people attributed natural phenomena-unfathomable and frightening to them-to the working of invisible gods? What kind of sufferings or bewilderments made people bow before unseen powers or gods as we call them? When were these gods created? Who invented morals and methods of worship? Who wrote the ancient scriptures such as the Bible and the Vedas? Most crucially, have gods and the scriptures shaped our responses to the world around us? The Evolution of Gods seeks to answer these questions, and explains scientifically how, when and why religions and gods came into being. Ajay Kansal marshals anthropological and historical facts about the development of religions in a simple and straightforward manner to assert that it was mankind that created gods, and not the other way around.

Evolution of God

Evolution of God PDF

Author: Leonardo Wolfe

Publisher: WestBow Press

Published: 2021-02-24

Total Pages: 584

ISBN-13: 1664220607

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This debut book boldly seeks to argue competitively in the same intellectual field as famous atheists such as RICHARD DAWKINS, CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS, and BERTRAND RUSSELL, and to do so in the spirit and style of such famous Christian apologists as C.S. Lewis and RAVI ZACHARIAS, drawing heavily on basic science, history, physics, psychology, paleontology, anthropology, archeology, neurology, child development and even science fiction. It describes the evolution of the human brain in ancient hominids allowing humans to eventually conceive a non-physical realm (the spirit world), and as the mind evolved intellectually from primitive animism to Christology, God revealed himself gradually as the developing hominid brain became able to comprehend new ideas. For Believers, the author presents a new, intellectually satisfying way to understand and defend the Bible. For both Skeptics and Believers, a worldview is offered that is spiritually meaningful and scientifically sound.

God

God PDF

Author: Reza Aslan

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2017-11-07

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0553394738

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of Zealot and host of Believer explores humanity’s quest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of God. In Zealot, Reza Aslan replaced the staid, well-worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. In his new book, Aslan takes on a subject even more immense: God, writ large. In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. As Aslan writes, “Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless of whether we’re believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves.” But this projection is not without consequences. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature—our compassion, our thirst for justice—but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. All these qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments. More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, God: A Human History will challenge the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives. Praise for God “Timely, riveting, enlightening and necessary.”—HuffPost “Tantalizing . . . Driven by [Reza] Aslan’s grace and curiosity, God . . . helps us pan out from our troubled times, while asking us to consider a more expansive view of the divine in contemporary life.”—The Seattle Times “A fascinating exploration of the interaction of our humanity and God.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “[Aslan’s] slim, yet ambitious book [is] the story of how humans have created God with a capital G, and it’s thoroughly mind-blowing.”—Los Angeles Review of Books “Aslan is a born storyteller, and there is much to enjoy in this intelligent survey.”—San Francisco Chronicle

God and the Folly of Faith

God and the Folly of Faith PDF

Author: Victor J. Stenger

Publisher: Prometheus Books

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 1616145994

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Looking at both historical and contemporary contexts, the author argues that religion has played a major role in suppressing scientific pursuit.

Einstein's God

Einstein's God PDF

Author: Krista Tippett

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2010-02-23

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1101195835

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A New York Times bestseller "An exhilirating exploration of the meaning of it all." --Robert Wright, author of The Evolution of God Drawn from Krista Tippett's Peabody Award-winning public radio program, the conversations in this profoundly illuminating book reach for a place too rarely explored in our ongoing exchange of ideas--the nexus of science and spirituality. In fascinating interviews with such luminaries as Freeman Dyson, Janna Levin, Parker Palmer, and John Polkinghorne, Krista Tippett draws out the connections between the two realms, showing how even those most wedded to hard truths find spiritual enlightenment in the life of experiment and, in turn, raise questions that are richly, theologically evocative. Whether she is speaking with celebrated surgeon and author Sherwin Nuland about the biology of the human spirit or questioning Drawin biographer James Moore about his subject's religious beliefs, Tippett offers a rare look at the way our best minds grapple with the questions for which we all seek answers.

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution (Great Discoveries)

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution (Great Discoveries) PDF

Author: David Quammen

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2007-07-17

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0393076342

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"Quammen brilliantly and powerfully re-creates the 19th century naturalist's intellectual and spiritual journey."--Los Angeles Times Book Review Twenty-one years passed between Charles Darwin's epiphany that "natural selection" formed the basis of evolution and the scientist's publication of On the Origin of Species. Why did Darwin delay, and what happened during the course of those two decades? The human drama and scientific basis of these years constitute a fascinating, tangled tale that elucidates the character of a cautious naturalist who initiated an intellectual revolution.

The Evolution of the Idea of God

The Evolution of the Idea of God PDF

Author: Grant Allen

Publisher:

Published: 2018-07-27

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 9781724395511

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"This book, the outcome of twenty years of thought and ten years of writing, is certainly one of the most important contributions to the history of the human mind which the last decade has given us....We have no space to trace further the unfolding of these suggestive ideas, which are developed and illustrated with a brightness uncommon in books of serious purpose." -The World "The sympathetic spirit in which Mr. Allen treats a delicate and complex subject should have kindly consideration from those to whom the story of man's beliefs and guesses about the unseen makes appeal....A book which is the outcome of careful scholarly research." -The Daily Chronicle "One of the most ambitious and not the least successful of Mr. Allen's works....It is needless to say that the book is clever, showing marks of wide reading, ingenuity, and a certain verve - one might say dash - and that it attracts by the very reason that the writer is cumbered with few doubts or misgivings as to the soundness of his theories....The true student will profit much by Mr. Allen's erudition and his criticisms of the work of his predecessors." -The Times of London "A work of extraordinary interest and suggestion....It is on the whole a worthy treatment of an immensely interesting subject, a book for the intelligent general reader; one of the books that bristle with the always plausible, and frequently convincing, reason why." -H. G. Wells "It will be understood by every one that the subject Mr. Allen has chosen would be handled by him in a thoroughly scientific manner, and in absolute independence of all theological theories....The writer has collected an immense number of facts bearing on the development of religion, and has put them together in a most interesting way. The more educated part of the world is prepared for a work like this, and we have no doubt it will be read by many with the deepest interest." -The Scotsman CONTENTS PREFACE THE EVOLUTION OF THE IDEA OF GOD. CHAPTER I.--CHRISTIANITY AS A RELIGIOUS STANDARD. CHAPTER II.--RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY. CHAPTER III.--THE LIFE OF THE DEAD. CHAPTER IV.--THE ORIGIN OF GODS. CHAPTER V.--SACRED STONES. CHAPTER VI.--SACRED STAKES. CHAPTER VIL--SACRED TREES. CHAPTER VIII.--THE GODS OF EGYPT. CHAPTER IX.--THE GODS OF ISRAEL. CHAPTER X.--THE RISE OF MONOTHEISM. CHAPTER XI.--HUMAN GODS. CHAPTER XII.--THE MANUFACTURE OF GODS. CHAPTER XIII.--GODS OF CULTIVATION. CHAPTER XIV.--CORN- AND WINE-GODS. CHAPTER XV.--SACRIFICE AND SACRAMENT. CHAPTER XVI.--THE DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT. CHAPTER XVII.--THE WORLD BEFORE CHRIST. CHAPTER XVIII.--THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY. CHAPTER XIX.--SURVIVALS IN CHRISTENDOM. CHAPTER XX.--CONCLUSION.