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Edis, Taner. The Ghost in the Universe: God in
Light of Modern Science. Mar. 2002. 330p. Prometheus, $29
(1-57392-977-8). 211.
Bringing twentieth-century sophistication to Laplace's famous
eighteenth-century dismissal of God as an unnecessary
hypothesis, Edis deploys a rigorous scientific materialism to
explain all the marvels of religious faith. That means
exorcising spiritual forces from all the miracles of scriptural
tradition, from every transport of psychological ecstasy, from
every inspiring moral reflection. Edis effects this cosmic
exorcism by invoking astrophysics to explain the earth's
creation and evolutionary biology to account for the emergence
of the human mind. In his zeal to establish his godless credo,
Edis challenges not only the precepts of Judaism and
Christianity but also those of Islam and New Age mysticism. Of
course, religious readers will resist the attempt to compress
all truth within the scope of rational demonstration. Some of
the devout may even suspect that Edis is conceding more than he
realizes when in his conclusion he admits that -- despite all
of their scientific inadequacies -- scriptural poetry and sacred
myth still speak to deep human needs. A careful defense of
empirical reasoning. -- Bryce Christensen
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