Bøger af Gerard M. Verschuuren

In this book, we speak about these first Christians mainly through the people who gave them a voice and a compass: the Church Fathers. They were their leaders and their teachers, heirs to the apostles. They were also the ones to tell us, present-day Christians, about the deep Faith of the first Christians. They told us how these Christians could keep the Faith in times of trouble-even in very tumultuous times, when they were constantly besieged from two sides: by prosecution from without and by heresies from within. The Church Fathers kept their flock together and kept them on the right path. We can only understand the Church Fathers if we understand them as fathers who deeply cared about the newborn Church as if it were their own family. They are Fathers with a "pedigree." Verschuuren has tried to let the Church Fathers speak for themselves, as much as possible. To do so, he used a translation of their words that is easily accessible on the Internet, so readers can check the accuracy and the context in which these words were spoken and written. This translation may not always be smooth, and the way the Church Fathers expressed themselves may not always be clear to modern ears, but their words deserve serious attention, for they are the pillars on which the Church has built what Catholics believe-now and then. They are a vital part of our history and tradition, dating back to Jesus Christ himself.

This book was specifically written for all those who feel lost in a world dominated by ideologies that obscure God. It is hard to pinpoint one particular cause of how we feel in such Godforsaken times and places, but science is likely one of the main perpetrators, as some scientists use their scientific "authority" to churn out, with the speed of light, books that promote opinions and views that go far beyond their scientific expertise, and that rob people of any religious beliefs they might have. These prolific writers are inundating the book market, magazines, and the internet with their message that a state of conflict exists between science and religion, and that science is on the winning hand.They loudly broadcast through the megaphones of our society their anti-religious propaganda: (1) Since there was a Big Bang, there is no creation. (2) Because there is only matter, there can be no spirit. (3) There is no purpose in life, for randomness is all there is. (4) There is no God, only a god-gene. (5) Neurons are in complete charge, so the mind is an illusion. (6) Everything is relative, for objective truth just does not exist. (7) Morality is only a matter of personal opinions and preferences. (8) All in all, God is dead. If you wonder how you and your religious faith could ever survive in such an environment, this is the right book for you.

Of course, it's a travesty, but a very widely held one. We all have heard how some people caricature religious believers. On weekdays, they are critical, want proofs, look for arguments, and believe something only if there is no further doubt. Then, on Sundays, they turn a switch, set their understanding to zero and their gaze on infinity. The contrast painted in this parody is clear: Religious believers live a schizophrenic life. It is the life of reason on weekdays and the life of faith on Sundays. This perceived contrast cannot be true, though. It is based on distorted and shallow concepts of faith, reason, and the differences between the two, as we will see in this book.

There is hardly any university, college, or even high school left where they do not teach Darwinismand rightly so. Yet, most of these places do more preaching than teaching. They teach more than they should, and at the same time, they teach less than they should. Most books on Darwinism are either oriented on biology or philosophy, but this book tries to combine both approaches, so it explains the biological aspects for (future) philosophers as well as the philosophical aspects for (future) biologists. It leaves Darwinism intact, but removes the ';sting' that many of its opponents dislike. In what Verschuuren calls ';The Good' parts of Darwin's legacy, the author explores what Darwin's great contributions are to the study and theory of evolution. At the same time, the book will also delve into the areas where Darwin's thoughts were not so perfect or even wrong, especially in a philosophical sense ';The Not So Good' parts of his legacy. Almost all books on the philosophy of biology, and neo-Darwinism in particular, were born in the cradle of logical positivism or linguistic analysis. This book, on the other hand, tries to cross the border between the physical and the meta-physical.