The Science of Religion: A Defence PDF Download

Author: Donald Wiebe
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004385061
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
The Science of Religion: A Defence offers a brilliant overview of Donald Wiebe’s contributions on methodology in the academic study of religion, of the development of his thinking over time, and of his intellectual commitment to 'a science of religion'.

Author: Philip Clayton
Publisher: Oxford Handbooks Online
ISBN: 0199279276
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 1041

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Book Description
The field of `science and religion' is exploding in popularity among both academics and the reading public. This is a comprehensive and authoritative introduction to the debate, written by the leading experts yet accessible to the general reader.

Author: Steve Fuller
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 074565455X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
For centuries, science and religion have been portrayed as diametrically opposed. In this provocative new book, Steve Fuller examines the apparent clash between science and religion by focusing on the heated debates about evolution and intelligent design theory. In so doing, he claims that science vs. religion is in fact a false dichotomy. For Fuller, supposedly intellectual disputes, such as those between creationist and evolutionist accounts of life, often disguise other institutionally driven conflicts, such as the struggle between State and Church to be the source of legitimate authority in society. Nowadays many conservative anti-science groups support intelligent design theory, but Fuller argues that the theory's theological roots are much more radical, based on the idea that humans were created to fathom the divine plan, perhaps even complete it. He goes on to examine the unique political circumstances in the United States that make the emergence of intelligent design theory so controversial, yet so persistent. Finally, he considers the long-term prognosis, arguing that the future remains very much undecided as society reopens the question of what it means to be human. This book will appeal to all readers intrigued by the debates about creationism, intelligent design and evolution, especially those looking for an intellectually exciting confrontation with the politics and promise of intelligent design theory.

Author: Robert Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Apologetics
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Author: Herman Philipse
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199697531
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Herman Philipse puts forward a powerful new critique of belief in God. He examines the strategies that have been used for the philosophical defence of religious belief, and by careful reasoning casts doubt on the legitimacy of relying on faith instead of evidence, and on probabilistic arguments for the existence of God.

Author: David Brog
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1459610318
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 598

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Book Description
Religious faith is under assault. In books, movies, and on television, secular critics are attacking religion and the religious with ever-increasing intensity. These ''new atheists'' typically repeat a two-part mantra: They claim that only an idiot could believe in God, and that idiots who do so have been responsible for most of the hate and violence that have plagued humanity. Abandon religion, they urge, and the world will finally know peace. Surprisingly few books have emerged to defend faith from this onslaught. Yet when it comes to this second argument - the behavior of religious people in the world - abstract claims can be tested by reference to objective facts. In Defense of Faith examines the historical record and demonstrates that far from encouraging hate and aggression, the Judeo-Christian tradition has been the West, s most effective curb on these dangerous defects of human nature. In Defense of Faith asserts that the belief in the sanctity and equality of all humans at the core of both Judaism and Christianity - what Brog calls the ''Judeo-Christian idea'' - has been our most effective tool in the struggle for humanity. The Judeo-Christian idea, Brog argues, has provided the intellectual foundation for human rights. Even more importantly, he maintains, the Judeo-Christian idea has repeatedly inspired the faithful to devote their lives to, and often risk their lives in, the fulfillment of these high ideals. In Defense of Faith also convincingly demonstrates that when we abandon religion as the critics urge, peace does not break out. Instead, we quickly revert to the most base instincts of our selfish genes. Written by a Jewish author who works closely with the Christian faith community, In Defense of Faith will appeal to secular and religious readers alike. This book will challenge the secular to reconsider the role of religion in Western civilization. It will inspire the religious to embrace a proud legacy of faith in action for the sake of humanity.

Author: Donald Wiebe
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780987693419
Category : Religion and science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"This book, in essence, is an argument in support of a strictly scientific study of religions and religion without the incorporation of non- or extra-scientific agendas - religious/theological, political, or cultural. The argument is structured by analysis and critiques of decisions taken by the International Association for the History of Religions to supplement its original (and still constitutional) commitment to a science of religion with such extra-scientific agendas mentioned above."--

Author: William Egginton
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023114878X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
William Egginton laments the current debate over religion in America, in which religious fundamentalists have set the tone of political discourse--no one can get elected without advertising a personal relation to God, for example--and prominent atheists treat religious belief as the root of all evil. Neither of these positions, Egginton argues, adequately represents the attitudes of a majority of Americans who, while identifying as Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, do not find fault with those who support different faiths and philosophies. In fact, Egginton goes so far as to question whether fundamentalists and atheists truly oppose each other, united as they are in their commitment to a "code of codes." Fundamentalists--and stringent atheists--unconsciously believe that the methods we use to understand the world are all versions of an underlying master code. This code of codes represents an ultimate truth, explaining everything. The moderately religious, with their inherent skepticism toward a master code, are best suited to protect science, politics, and other diverse strains of knowledge from fundamentalist attack and to promote a worldview based on the compatibility between religious faith and scientific method.

Author: Idinopulos
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004378847
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
This volume on Religion and Reductionism grew out of a conference convened in November, 1990, where the participants were asked to respond to the conceptual and methodological problem of reductionism in the academic study of religion. The conference focused on the writings of Robert A. Segal and his defence of reductionism and criticism of Mircea Eliade's non-reductive interpretation of religion. At the Miami conference some of the most important and enduring questions were raised: (1) What is religion? (2) What is religion and/or religious meaning? (3) How should religion be studied and taught? (4) What are the possibilities and limits of social scientific analyses of religious phenomena? (5) What is reductionism? (6) What is anti-reductionism? These and other questions on religion and reductionism are widespread and invite serious consideration; they help to illuminate the basic issues that are at the core of any study of the world's major religions.

Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Schocken
ISBN: 0805212507
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Impassioned, erudite, thoroughly researched, and beautifully reasoned, The Great Partnership argues not only that science and religion are compatible, but that they complement each other—and that the world needs both. “Atheism deserves better than the new atheists,” states Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “whose methodology consists of criticizing religion without understanding it, quoting texts without contexts, taking exceptions as the rule, confusing folk belief with reflective theology, abusing, ridiculing, and demonizing religious faith and holding it responsible for the great crimes against humanity. Religion has done harm; I acknowledge that. But the cure for bad religion is good religion, not no religion, just as the cure for bad science is good science, not the abandonment of science.” Rabbi Sacks’s counterargument is that religion and science are the two essential perspectives that allow us to see the universe in its three-dimensional depth. Science teaches us where we come from. Religion explains to us why we are here. Science is the search for explanation. Religion is the search for meaning. There have been times when religion tried to dominate science. And there have been times, including our own, when it is believed that we can learn all we need to know about meaning and relationships through biochemistry, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology. In this fascinating look at the interdependence of religion and science, Rabbi Sacks explains why both views are tragically wrong. ***National Jewish Book Awards 2012, Finalist*** Dorot Foundation Award for Modern Jewish Thought and Experience