Product Description

From the tiniest microchip to infection-fighting antibiotics to the information superhighway, the modern world relies upon technology and scientific understanding. Where once we might have consulted a mystic shaman to explain and cure an illness, we now turn to scientists, whose findings are based upon empirical study. But, faith has not withered away. This modern age, so dominated by and dependent upon science, is also the age in which 98 per cent of Americans profess a belief in God. It's an age in which the Prime Minister and the Queen of England both believe openly in an afterlife. Church attendance figures are in a state of decline, yet popular beliefs in various aspects of the supernatural - ghosts and spirits, fortune-telling, and healing - are more vigorous than ever. Whilst Christianity struggles to win new converts, Islam acts as a unifying, energising force for many of the world's most dispossessed people. The "Story Of God" is a ground-breaking book - supported by a prime-time BBC1 television series - that examines this relationship across time, beginning with the primitive worship of our early ancestors, and concluding with a vivid portrait of faith in the modern world. Robert Winston provides a unique perspective; he writes as a respected scientist who is also committed to Judaism and offers a challenging, sometimes startling personal discourse between science and religion. Grand in scope, adventurous in tone, the book will trace a line across continents, cultures, and eras.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115688 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

From the Inside Flap
From the tiniest microchip to infection-fighting antibiotics to the information superhighway, the modern world relies upon technology and scientific understanding. Where once we might have consulted a mystic shaman to explain and cure an illness, we now turn to scientists, whose findings are based upon empirical study. But faith has not withered away.

This modern age, so dominated by and dependent upon science, is also the age in which 98 per cent of Americans profess a belief in God. It’s an age in which the Prime Minister and the Queen of England both believe openly in an afterlife. Church attendance figures are in a state of decline, yet popular beliefs in various aspects of the supernatural – ghosts and spirits, fortune-telling, faith healing – are more vigorous than ever. Whilst Christianity struggles to win new converts, Islam acts as a unifying, energizing force for many of the world’s most dispossessed people.

The Story of God is a ground-breaking book that examines the relationship between science and religion across time, beginning with the primitive worship of our early ancestors and concluding with a vivid portrait of faith in the modern world. Robert Winston provides a unique perspective: he writes as a respected scientist who is also committed to Judaism, and offers a challenging, sometimes startling personal discourse to the debate. Grand in scope, adventurous in tone, the book traces a line across continents, cultures and eras.

From the Back Cover
From the tiniest microchip to the information superhighway, the modern world is dominated by and dependent upon science. Yet whether we realize it or not we live in an age where faith is still an important influence in our lives. The majority of Americans profess a belief in a Christian God and Islam acts as a unifying, energizing force for many of the world’s most dispossessed people. In the UK congregations may be shrinking, but popular belief in the supernatural – ghosts and spirits, fortune-telling, faith healing – is stronger than ever.

In The Story of God Robert Winston examines a relationship between science and religion across time, beginning with the primitive worship of early ancestors and concluding with a vivid portrait of faith in the modern world.

Grand in scope, adventurous in tone – and written from the perspective of a respected scientist who is also committed to Judaism – this groundbreaking work traces a line across continents, cultures and eras.

‘Lively and accessible. An enthusiastic starting point for the study of a fascinating area of human philosophy and psychology’Waterstone’s Books Quarterly

Published with the permission of the BBC

About the Author
Robert Winston is one of the country's best-known scientists. As Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College, University of London, and Director of NHS Research and Development and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Hammersmith Hospital, he has made advances in fertility medicine and been a leading voice in the debate on genetic engineering. His television series, including Your Life in Their Hands, Making Babies, The Human Body and The Human Mind and have made him a household name across Britain. He became a life peer in 1995.

Customer Reviews

The Story of God-Believers
As a scientist Winston gives us an historical examination of what he knows to be real, the fact that humans have had a concept of what he calls the Divine Idea from pre-historic times and that persists into the scientific present.

He describes how human perception and psychology have lead to particular forms of believing and religious behaviour in various cultural contexts. However, despite having provided such rational explanations for why a religion may have adopted its particular idea of The Divine, he manages to resist making a generalised leap into reasoning about the existence of a God. He prefers to see science and religion as two totally separate ways of understanding the natural world.

There is agreement with fellow scientist Richard Dawkins on the examinable facts of what religion is and what science can tell us. Avoiding Dawkins’ anti-religious stance he seems quite deliberate in his intention to provide moderate ground. He suggests that neither science nor religion should be judged on their failures, seeing value in acknowledging good in religion; accepting it as a self-evident and inescapable part of human nature. In the same way he sees the abuse of the outcomes of science and technology as something that should not cause them to be rejected in the cause of mumbo jumbo thinking.

Had he not deliberately avoided the question of whether God exists we could have had the makings of a new genre of ‘Popular Theology’. We may do anyway. This is advocacy for science and religion that leaves it up to the reader to work the god/God bit out for themselves.

Definitely worth it
A good place to start if you are interested in the history of religion and especially of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The book is written in a comprehensible fashion, rarely boring and at times even gripping. Unfortunately the style isn't always immaculate, and some more editing certainly would have done no harm (too many repetitions of phrases or entire paragraphs). Also, although by and large the author is careful to explain the most important points at great length, the reader is sometimes left alone when he least expects it (e.g. in the story about the schism between sunni and shi'ite muslims). Nevertheless, a must-read unless you are already well-versed in your own religion and at least one or two others.

The best book to read on the history of religions
We are in front of a book which brings together all human history religions under a single umbrella of the seek for truth and the reason for all through a journey in the unknown. A journey which takes us from the search of the supernatural element in the Neanderthal caves to the starting point of the "western religions" through the astonishing religion of the Persian Zaratushtra.
In this book you find many amazing cross references to a variety of semiotic factors which the author traces down in all these ancient and modern religions.