Religion og videnskab

Sprogligt veloplagt debatbog med skarpe pointer, skrevet i fællesskab af den forhenværende og nuværende formand for Ateistisk Selskab. De er nok de to personer i Danmark, der seneste år har været mest aktive i debatten om ateisme og religion. Her er et par af deres pointer: De fleste danskere er ateister. Nogle ved det bare ikke - og selv om andre inderst inde har erkendt det, er de ikke parat til at ”springe ud”. Religiøse ideer bremser vores udvikling og står både i vejen for at løse de store problemer, vi står over for på verdensplan. Milliarder af mennesker hindres i at leve et godt liv, fordi overtro tvinger dem til at følge absurde dogmer og forbud. Samfundet har historisk set har haft brug for religion, men i dag er der i højere grad brug for, at vi tager nogle aktive skridt væk fra religionerne.De to forfattere belyser både de mange negative følger af religionerne og viser, at man ikke behøver guder for at leve et godt, etisk og meningsfyldt liv. Emne for emne gennemgår de, hvilken betydning religion har for samfundet og for den enkelte. Fra de mest dogmatiske og fundamentalistiske varianter til den bløde, danske kulturkristendom. Deres konklusion er klar: verden ville være et bedre sted uden religionerne.

Allahs fængsel er en dramatisk selvbiografi om en ung muslims vej væk fra islam til at blive ateist – og den høje pris, han måtte betale. Det er den første bog på dansk om emnet, og en af de første i det hele taget. 26-årige palæstinensiske Waleed al-Husseini er i dag en fri mand. Men friheden har kostet ham dyrt. I 2010 blev han fængslet af det palæstinensiske selvstyre på Vestbredden, anklaget for at forlade islam og blive ateist. Han sad fængslet i over 7 måneder og blev tortureret. Som blogger havde al-Husseini siden teenageårene skrevet religionskritiske tekster med fordømmelser af, hvad han ser som tilbagestående, voldelige og kvindefjendske måder at praktisere islam på. Men i de palæstinensiske selvstyreområder kan man ikke bare forlade Islam. al-Husseini blev dæmoniseret og fremstillet som "Offentlighedens Værste Fjende". I Allahs fængsel fortæller han om sin vej væk fra islam, om at blive udstødt af familie og venner og om sit langvarige, smertefulde ophold i palæstinensiske fængsler, hvor han blev udsat for både fysisk og psykisk tortur, før han efter internationalt pres fik asyl i Frankrig. Allahs fængsel, der længe lå på de franske bestsellerlister, er et stærkt og reflekteret personligt vidnesbyrd fra en trodsig og uforfærdet rebel. Waleed al-Husseini fortæller levende om livet i et samfund, der er paralyseret af indre og ydre konflikter, et korrupt magtapparat og en religion, der spiller en altdominerende rolle i hverdagen. Bogen er samtidig et flammende forsvar for oplysningstidens idealer fra en ung mand, der trods omgivelsernes overvældende modstand insisterer på at være fritænker og på at fastholde sin kamp for retten til ytringsfrihed og religionskritik.

Den danske åndsforsker Martinus (1890-1981) formidler principperne for en ny verdensmoral, der danner grundlag for skabelsen af en fredens og kærlighedens kultur på jorden. Udvikling af en ny tilgivelseskultur og sundere levevis, skabelse af én retfærdig verdensstat, indførelse af verdenssproget esperanto, vegetarisme, udfoldelse af større kærlighed til planter, dyr og mennesker – til alt levende, såvel i mikro-, mellem- og makrokosmos – indgår som vigtige elementer i Martinus Kosmologi, der kan betegnes som et helstøbt verdensbillede, hvor alt er indbyrdes forbundet. Det er både lærerig og underholdende læsning under overskrifter som f.eks.: Martinus får kosmisk bevidsthed, Krishnamurti som verdenslærer, Profetier om den danske verdenslærer, Pyramidens hemmelighed, Jordkloden – et levende væsen, Verdensstaten, Verdenssproget esperanto, Kærlighed til dyrene, Sygdom og helbredelse, Kristusmoralen, Kan evigheden forstås? og Kristi genkomst. Bogen viser konturerne af en ny kultur baseret på en ny verdensmoral og henvender sig til alle, der interesserer sig for politik, videnskab, filosofi, miljø, sundhed og fred. Bogen kan også læses som introduktion til hele Martinus’ livsværk Det Tredje Testamente.

A groundbreaking, authoritative explorationrich with powerful personal stories and convincing researchof the many ways the living can and do accompany the dying on their journey into the afterlife.In 2000, end-of-life therapist William Peters was volunteering at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco when he had an extraordinary experience as he was reading aloud to a patient: he suddenly felt himself floating in midair, completely out of his body. The patient, who was also aloft, looked at him and smiled. The next moment, Peters felt himself return to his bodybut the patient never regained consciousness and died. Perplexed and stunned by what had happened, Peters began searching for other people who'd shared similar experiences. He would spend the next twenty years gathering and meticulously categorizing their stories to identify key patterns and features of what is now known as the ';shared crossing' experience. The similarities, which cut across continents and cultures and include awe-inspiring visual and sensory effects, and powerful emotional after-effects, were impossible to ignore. Long whispered about in the hospice and medical communities, these extraordinary moments of final passage are openly discussed and explained in At Heaven's Door. The book is filled with powerful tales of spouses on departing this earth after decades together and bereaved parents who share their children's entry into the afterlife. Applying rigorous research, Peters digs into the effect these shared crossing experiences impartliberation at the sight of a loved one finding joy, a sense of reconciliation if the relationship was fraughtand explores questions like: What can explain these shared death experiences? How can we increase our likelihood of having one? What do these experiences tell us about what lies beyond? And, most importantly, how can they help take away the sting of death and better prepare us for our own final moments? How can we have both a better life and a better death?

Controversy of the Ages carefully analyzes the debate by giving it perspective. Rather than offering arguments for or against a particular viewpoint on the age of the earth, the authors take a step back in order to put the debate in historical and theological context. The authors of this book demonstrate from the history of theology and science controversy that believers are entitled to differ over this issue, while still taking a stand against theistic evolution. But by carefully and constructively breaking down the controversy bit by bit, they show why the age issue is the wrong place to draw a line in the sand.

"This work is a hybrid of a scholarly edition and an academic monograph that focuses on the relation between science and religion in early twentieth century America"--

Faith is under assault today in the media and on college campuses. Numerous recent surveys show that college professors and contemporary scientists have lower religiosity compared to the general population. Parents are concerned that their children's faith is not as strong as it should be. Unfortunately, scientific advances can lead people to think that faith is passe, supplanted by science, and no longer necessary. The average person is in awe of the accomplishments of science but overwhelmed by their complexity. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate what one can learn from modern science that leads to the conclusion that God created our universe. This book demonstrates how cosmology, physics, astronomy, and evolution do not conflict with faith but actually strongly support faith in God. The title of this book, God the Geometer, describes an image which appeared in a thirteenth-century codex. The image conveys the message that God created the universe using geometric and harmonic principles.

Science has been misused and kicked around by the university, postmodernists and atheists for a century or two. It is time for science to be allowed to tell its own story. The overall purpose of this book is to help people better understand what science really is and what it can and cannot do. It is about the road from opinion and conjecture to fact and truth. It is about the discovery, definition, history, and defense of science.

How can Christians believe in an all-powerful and loving God when there is so much suffering and evil in the world? Good God sets out to answer this question.

"Since the beginning of time, humankind has looked upon nature and seen the divine. In the writings of the great thinkers across religions, the natural world inspires everything from fear, to awe, to tranquil contemplation; God, or however one defined the sublime, was present in everything. Yet today, even as we admire a tree or take in a striking landscape, we rarely see nature as sacred. In this short but deeply powerful book, the best-selling historian of religion Karen Armstrong re-sacralizes nature for modern times. Drawing on her vast knowledge of the world's religious traditions, she vividly describes nature's central place in spirituality across the centuries. In bringing this age-old wisdom to life, Armstrong shows modern readers how to rediscover nature's potency and form a connection to something greater than ourselves." --Publisher's website.

Are there really laws governing the universe? Or is the order we see a mere artifact of the way evolution wired the brain? And is what we call science only a set of myths in which quarks, DNA, and information fill the role once occupied by gods? These questions lie at the heart of George Johnson's audacious exploration of the border between science and religion, cosmic accident and timeless law. Northern New Mexico is home both to the most provocative new enterprises in quantum physics, information science, and the evolution of complexity and to the cosmologies of the Tewa Indians and the Catholic Penitentes. As it draws the reader into this landscape, juxtaposing the systems of belief that have taken root there, Fire in the Mind into a gripping intellectual adventure story that compels us to ask where science ends and religion begins."A must for all those seriously interested in the key ideas at the frontier of scientific discourse."--Paul Davies

Many of the seven billion people who live on the earth look to either science or religion as the ultimate source of authority in their lives. But why must there be a conflict between the two? Why can't science and religion support each other?The Unity of Truth shows why and how it makes perfect sense for science and religion to be mutually supportive. Beginning with the accepted truths of modern science and the beliefs of traditional Christianity, authors Allen A. Sweet, C. Frances Sweet, and Fritz Jaensch use their diverse expertise to deliver a deeper level of understanding of the ways in which science and religion can coexist.Relying on a thorough knowledge of physics, theology, and mathematics, this study addresses the paradox of how God communicates with our material world without violating any of the laws of science. Individual chapters discuss some of the most popular quandaries associated with combining science and religion. In addition, it considers the beginning and end of our universe, the evolution of life, and the meaning of human emotions from the scientific and theological perspectives, thus pushing understanding to a higher plateau of wisdom.Rational and devoid of rhetoric, The Unity of Truth seeks to help resolve the ongoing battle between religion and science, delivering a thoughtful narrative designed to open minds and hearts.

Today's religions find themselves in conflict with modern science. If the laws of physics always hold as science claims, how could the miracles have occurred that are reported in sacred texts? How could God intervene in the world today to answer someone's prayer? This book looks for evidence that there is a spiritual reality in addition to a material reality and finds ample evidence that both realities are part of the universe in which we live. It is the rapid development of science over the past three hundred years, and the much slower evolution of religious thought that is the source of today's conflicts. A satisfactory understanding of our universe requires a partnership between science and religion in which these major areas of thought and knowledge each learn from the other. This understanding must begin with mutual agreement as to what the major components of the universe are. The existence of material reality is not disputed. This book provides a survey of what else exists. For each nonmaterial entity considered, the evidence is examined for consistency with the findings of science. Many inanimate entities are investigated, including mathematical objects, laws of nature, love, and justice. Animate nonmaterial entities investigated include a supreme spiritual being and human souls. A supreme spiritual being need not be a personal god, and reaching that conclusion requires careful analysis of additional data from a variety of sources. Special attention is given to the relationship between Jesus and this personal God. Following the survey of nonmaterial reality, this book investigates some of the additional implications of science for religious belief and for religious practice. Topics covered here include implications of science as they relate to the effectiveness of prayer, revelation, religious ritual, the focus of religious life, and the afterlife.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Kate Townsend knew she would lob an incendiary device into the contemporary culture if she wrote and published her series, Corrupting America's Children: Creating Chemical Eunuchs. But because of what she'd witnessed in her son's pre-kindergarten, she felt obligated to do it. In a remarkable convergence of events, Lindsey McCall is also drawn into the explosive world of transgender politics. For the second time in four years, Lindsey is facing indictment for unintentional murder. The US Department of Justice has indicted both McCall and Townsend in a conspiracy of mammoth proportions. In this fifth novel of Wilder's award-winning Lindsey McCall medical mystery series, her readers will find the innovative medical research loved by her fans, combined with a dramatic courtroom scenario guaranteed to provoke and challenge. In her Foreward, Wilder writes:We fiction writers have a responsibility when creating a character; he or she must sit beside us as we read the story. If she isn't, we haven't done our job. Therefore, writing Dr. T's character forced a plunge into places I had no interest in going. A person like Adam Turner would not have come into this beautiful world looking for a kid to control, manipulate, or wreck. There had to be a reason- that created massive psychic wounds.