Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up

New York: Hill and Wang, 2009. 1st Printing. Trade Paperback. Very Good. 5x0x8. First printing. Pages lightly toned. 2009 Trade Paperback. xvii, 158 pp. A lifelong unbeliever finds no reason to change his mind. Are there any logical reasons to believe in God? Mathematician and best-selling author John Allen Paulos thinks not. In Irreligion he presents the case for his own worldview, organizing his book into 12 chapters that refute the 12 arguments most often put forward for believing in God's existence. The latter arguments, Paulos relates in his characteristically lighthearted style, "range from what might be called golden oldies to those with a more (truncated) contemporary beat. On the playlist are the first-cause argument, the argument from design, the ontological argument, arguments from faith and biblical codes, the argument from the anthropic principle, the moral universality argument, and others." Interspersed among his 12 counterarguments are remarks on a variety of irreligious themes, ranging from the nature of miracles and creationist probability to cognitive illusions and prudential wagers. Special attention is paid to topics, arguments, and questions that spring from his incredulity "not only about religion but also about others' credulity". (Inventory #: 2328123)