Science, Religion, and the Meaning of Life [Paperback]

Have evolution, science and the trappings of the modern world killed off God irrevocably? And what do we lose if we choose not to believe in him? From Newton and Descartes to Darwin and the discovery of the genome, religion has been pushed back further and further while science has gained ground. But what fills the void that religion leaves behind? This book is an attempt to look at these questions and to suggest a third way between the easy consolations of religion and the persuasive force of science that the everyday modern reader can engage with.Acknowledgements Introduction Socrates' Quest: The Beginning of Wisdom Cosmologists and Darwinists: The Limits of Science Visions of Reality: Science and Wonder Bad Faith: Religion as Certainty Christian Agnosticism: Learned Ignorance Following Socrates: A Philosophical Way of Life How to be an Agnostic Further Reading and References Index

'At last, a well-written and well-reasoned defense of agnosticism that one can sign on to regardless of prior religious or non-religious commitments...I recommend this work be read by skeptics and believers alike.' - Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of How We Believe

'For twenty years I have been waiting for a book that exposes the empty certainties of religious fundamentalism and its secular twin: scientific triumphalism. Mark Vernon has delivered that and much, much more. Mystery and doubt are elevated to where they should be: at the very heart of what it is to be human. Savour this as a wonderful gift.' - Mark Dowd, broadcaster and film-maker

'Encouraging us to widen our imagination and to open our lives to a sense of wonder, Mark Vernon is convinced, in the tradition of Socrates, that we achieve this by avoiding the certainties of faith and the rigidities of atheism. Believers and non-believers will find this a richly rewarding read' - John Gladwin, Bishop of Chelmsford

'Philosophically erudite, yls(