This is part of an ongoing series of reviews here at GPS. These will be (to the best of my ability) spoiler-free, so as not to ruin the fiction ones I do, as well as relatively brief. If you’re interested, I’ve actually been tracking exactly what I’ve read (book and GN-wise, anyway) for over the past four years on LibraryThing.
GPS Review: “Everybody is Wrong about God” by James A. Lindsay
Full disclosure: I was sent a pre-publication electronic copy of this book from the author, and provided a blurb for the book.
James A. Lindsay, Ph.D. is a physicist, mathematician, blogger, and author of two prior books, most recently Dot, Dot, Dot: Infinity Plus God Equals Folly
The basic takeaway from this book is that theology is dead, God is real, atheism doesn’t make sense, and society needs to become post-theistic. While these statements initially seem at odds with each other, Lindsay expertly demonstrates how all are true, in a writing style that can best be described as writing mathematically about philosophy. For instance, drawing from large amount of the psychological and philosophical literature, he convincingly argues that “God” is indeed real, but not as operationally defined by most people. Instead, he shows “God” to be a moral and psychological construct developed to fit specific kinds of human needs.
This is not a book for the intellectually faint of heart, as Lindsay convincingly challenges both believers and non-believers to change the way they think and talk about the concept of “God.” I would highly recommended this book for those who have tired of reading the same “God isn’t real” arguments for the past few decades and want to instead understand, at least in part, why so many believers could care less about the scientific case against God.
Buy Everybody Is Wrong About God
