God, Science and Faith

This is your chance to be judge and juror of a controversial subject. I'm sure that most of us will have gazed up at the night sky and wondered how the moon, planets and stars actually got there, knowing that according to science, some of them are so far away that their light may have taken millions, if not billions, of years to reach us. Similarly, I'm sure that most of us have at sometime asked ourselves that most basic of questions as to why we are actually here. Are we the result of a freak accident of nature and that as individuals, we are no more than a complex combination of atoms and molecules which were created in the vast nuclear furnaces of the stars? Perhaps we were created by a loving God to live our lives here on Earth before spending eternity with Him in heaven? Maybe the concept of God is just a myth which has been passed down through successive generations right up to and including the present day. If you search the shelves of your local bookshop or peruse the myriad of e-books on Amazon, you will find many books on the subject of whether or not God exists but most of them will adopt a firm position from which they put forward their arguments to support their case. Many such books will totally concentrate on attempting to prove that God really does exist but equally, there are just as many books attempting to prove the opposite. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of those books attempting to debate God's existence are written by academics and are not necessarily all that easy to understand. This is a book specifically written for a non-academic audience. It presents well reasoned arguments for all sides of the debate in a clear and concise manner while avoiding much of the negative and frequently offensive rhetoric so evident in many other such books in this genre. If God does exist, what would he be like? Would he be a God who created the universe and then stood back to see what happened or would he be a religious or personal God who not only created the universe but continues to take an interest in everything that we think and do? Some of the historical, sociological and psychological reasons why people may be drawn towards a belief in God are examined. The origins and development of religion are investigated and some of the more important philosophical arguments put forward for God's existence are considered and discussed in the context of Christianity. Similarly, some of the arguments put forward as to why others disbelieve in God are also explored. The scientific arguments for the origin of the universe and for the creation and evolution of life are examined and compared with the arguments from a Biblical perspective. Some of the more contentious issues surrounding Christianity are also examined. Many religious apologists take the view that since the universe appears to be so finely tuned for our existence, this must surely prove that there is a God. This argument is carefully analysed and alternative explanations are tentatively suggested. Finally, all the arguments previously raised are discussed and re-examined before the author arrives at some conclusions. This is a book for both the believer and non-believer alike as both will derive huge benefit from reading it. If you are religious, you may find some of the arguments I put forward rather contentious and you may disagree with many of them but if your faith is strong, then it should not be a problem for you.