The only atheist book you should bother with

books:


	• The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God Carl Sagan Penguin (Non-Classics), 2007 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent Reading.

Let me first say that it is very sad that amazon is practically giving this book away, such is its demand.

In it, Dr. Sagan talks about everything from the possibility of life on other planets, to the existence of god(s). He discusses how life arose on this planet, its likely hood on other planets. He compares ideas scientists had in the past to what we know today about this process. He also discusses what UFO sightings really are and also ideas about god, gods, religion, and belief. Very mind-opening and ponderous, I might add.
This book would be great reading for philosophy students, college students, and people looking to expand their critical thinking skills generally.
This book is basically a transcript of the Gifford lectures that Carl Sagan gave in the University of Glasgow in 1985. Since it is basically a transcript of the lectures, reading it is almost like being in the lecture hall and hearing them yourself.

from wikipedia:
"The Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford (d. 1887). They were established to 'promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term -- in other words, the knowledge of God.' The term natural theology as used by Gifford means theology supported by science and not dependent on the miraculous. The lectures are given at the Scottish universities: University of St Andrews, University of Glasgow, University of Aberdeen and University of Edinburgh.
A Gifford lectures appointment is one of the most prestigious honors in academia. They are normally presented as a series over an academic year and given with the intent that the edited content be published in book form. A number of these works have become classics in the fields of theology or philosophy and their relationship to science."

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Carl Sagan Knows How To Reason Effectively

I became aware of Carl Sagan when I first watched his TV series, COSMOS, many years ago. Not only was he a fine communicator, but it was clear that he was also a sound thinker.

I was attracted to this latest work, a compilation of his 1985 presentation of the Gifford Lectures on Natural Theology at the University of Glasgow by the books subtitle: A Personal View of the Search for God.

I attended a small Jesuit College almost 50 years ago in part to search for God. I did not find what I was looking for. My search continues and Sagan adds a grand perspective to the search by offering his thoughts regarding his search, in this interesting and very readable effort, The Varieties of Scientific Experience. The book is edited by Sagan's wife, Ann Druyan and she adds an introduction that sets the reader off on a proper path of expectations.

I am a physician and a writer and reading this work offered some ten years after Sagan's death was enriching to my on-going search for answers that are neither revelation nor dogma, regarding where we humans are from and where we may be going.

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The only atheist book you should bother with

Wonderfully entertaining and educational. (These lectures were first given in the 80s; footnotes update most outdated information.) I'm usually as irritated by atheist dogma as I am by religious, but Sagan manages to not be annoying. In fact, this is the only atheist book I've ever read (and I've read many) that I found worthwhile.

(In the interest of perspective: I am an atheist. I generally find writing about it unnecessary.)

The Varieties of Sagan's Experience

Here is a great gateway into Carl Sagan, a preeminent scientist and thinker of the 20th Century. I don't find it quite as accessible as his PBS series "The Cosmos" or his book/film "Contact." But I really enjoyed it.

This book is actually a series of lectures Carl gave, all relating to science and the search for God. Especially fascinating is the final chapter, transcribed excerpts from Carl's Q&A sessions following each lecture. The give and take between Carl and audience members of different attitudes is a great top off to the lectures themselves.

If you are a Carl Sagan fan, this book is a must read. It's a great contribution to the debate between religion and science. The early chapters are really heavy on scientific terminology. But Sagan does a good job of couching complicated astronomical theory in everyday analogies.

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read it

This isn't necessarily an attack on religion like some knee-jerk responses might indicate. Instead, it is for me an attack on the idea that science is itself an attack on religion. Dr. Sagan attempts to impart upon us a sense of awe and wonder at the counterintuitive (and therefore "magical") reality uncovered by the last 4,000 years or so of science. If you are religious then I hope you will come away with a new appreciation for how clever your Creator has been, and how long an arduous a task we scientists have ahead of us in understanding this creation. If you are not religious, you will appreciate that simply being here is improbable enough as to be enjoyed in precisely the same way as a miracle.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Carl Sagan?s prophetic vision of the tragic resurgence of fundamentalism and the hope-filled potential of the next great development in human spirituality

The late great astronomer and astrophysicist describes his personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos. Exhibiting a breadth of intellect nothing short of astounding, Sagan presents his views on a wide range of topics, including the likelihood of intelligent life on other planets, creationism and so-called intelligent design, and a new concept of science as ?informed worship.? Originally presented at the centennial celebration of the famous Gifford Lectures in Scotland in 1985 but never published, this book offers a unique encounter with one of the most remarkable minds of the twentieth century.

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