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The
Return of the GOD Hypothesis:
Three Scientific Discoveries
Revealing the Mind Behind the Universe
By Stephen C. Meyer
Philosopher of Science, Stephen C. Meyer, Director of the Center for Science & Culture at the Discovery Institute and New York Times bestselling author of Darwin's Doubt, has written a masterful work revealing evidence on the ultimate mystery of the universe: The Return of the GOD Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe - presenting groundbreaking scientific evidence of the existence of God, based on breakthroughs in physics, cosmology, and biology.
Beginning in the late 19th century, many intellectuals began to insist that scientific knowledge conflicts with traditional theistic belief - that science and belief in God are "at war." Philosopher of science Stephen Meyer challenges this view by examining three scientific discoveries with decidedly theistic implications. Building on the case for the intelligent design of life that he developed in Signature in the Cell and Darwin's Doubt, Meyer demonstrates how discoveries in cosmology and physics coupled with those in biology help to establish the identity of the designing intelligence behind life and the universe.
Meyer argues that theism - with its affirmation of a transcendent, intelligent and active creator - best explains the evidence we have concerning biological and cosmological origins. Previously, Meyer refrained from attempting to answer questions about "who" might have designed life. Now he provides an evidence-based answer to perhaps the ultimate mystery of the universe. In so doing, he reveals a stunning conclusion: the data support not just the existence of an intelligent designer of some kind - but the existence of a personal God.
In The Return of the GOD Hypothesis, you'll learn:
· Why Meyer disputes the claims that the new
atheists have argued that science, properly understood, undermines belief in
God and that science and religion have always been at war.
· That Meyer appreciates British evolutionary
biologist and author Richard Dawkins's perspective that "The universe we
observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom,
no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless
indifference."
· There are three discoveries that
reveal the mind behind the universe.
· How the discovery that the universe had a
beginning supports the God hypothesis - and how Albert Einstein figures into
the story about the discovery of the beginning.
· Whether positing God as an explanation for
scientific phenomena is a science stopper.
· Why it is important to think about things like the origin of the universe, the design of living things, and the existence of God.
Key points in The Return of the GOD Hypothesis:
· SCIENCE AND THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION: Judeo-Christian ideas provided the
inspiration for science during the period of the scientific revolution.
Devoutly religious scientists such as Johannes Kepler, Robert Boyle, and Sir
Isaac Newton show that science and religion (or Christianity) have not always
been at war, contrary to the claims of new atheist writers such as Richard
Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, and others.
· COSMOS and CREATOR: Recent discoveries in cosmology showing the
universe had a beginning have decidedly theistic implications; namely, they
point to a transcendent creator as the cause of the origin of the universe.
· TACKLING THE MULTIVERSE: The book shows why positing one God is a
better explanation than the many universes or "multiverse" hypothesis
for the fine-tuning of the physical parameters that have made life possible.
· MASTER PROGRAMMER: The book shows that recent discoveries about
DNA point to an intelligent designer or master programmer or designer for life.
· A UNIVERSE FROM SOMETHING: Physicists such as Stephen Hawking and Lawrence Krauss, who claim to have explained the origin of the universe from nothing but the laws of physics, inadvertently advance ideas that actually support the God hypothesis.
The scientific rediscovery of God provides hope of recovering a sense of ultimate purpose and meaning to human existence, contrary to the claims of new atheists who assert that human life beings are a cosmic accident who lack any ultimate significance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University in the philosophy of science. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs the Center for Science & Culture at the Discovery Institute in Seattle. He has authored The New York Times bestseller Darwin's Doubt and Signature in the Cell, a (London) Times Literary Supplement "Book of the Year."