When God Was Real-The Case Against Belief
PAUL GIBSON
- We
- live
- in
- a
- world
- dominated
- by
- belief;
- We
- hear,
- are
- taught,
- convinced
- and
- converted;
- We
- affirm,
- worship,
- praise
- and
- preach;
- We
- argue,
- persecute
- and
- kill
- for
- our
- beliefs.
- All
- of
- this
- happens
- without
- a
- hint
- of
- faith
- in
- sight.
- Mainstream
- religion
- is
- in
- decline
- while
- religious
- extremism
- grows.
- We
- shout
- about
- Christ
- or
- Muhammad
- while
- remaining
- silent
- about
- God
- ...
- or
- use
- the
- term
- for
- our
- own
- purposes.
- Yet
- parallels
- between
- reality
- and
- ancient
- words
- about
- God
- suggest
- that
- religious
- "myths"
- began
- as
- lessons
- in
- reality
- realism.
- We
- find
- that
- realism
- can
- mitigate
- the
- blindness
- of
- our
- beliefs.
- Our
- problems
- with
- belief,
- however,
- reach
- far
- beyond
- religion.
- Belief
- drives
- our
- psychology
- as
- well
- as
- our
- social
- and
- political
- interactions.This
- book
- is
- about
- perspective;
- what
- we
- see
- and
- what
- we
- don't;
- how
- we
- see
- and
- why
- we
- won't.
- You
- and
- I
- can
- stand
- back
- to
- back
- and
- understand
- that
- what
- you
- and
- I
- describe
- to
- each
- other
- are
- simply
- different
- views
- rather
- than
- being
- right
- or
- wrong.
- But
- when
- it
- comes
- to
- our
- thoughts,
- we
- have
- no
- problem
- branding
- each
- other's
- perspectives
- as
- wrongheaded.
- We
- may
- decide
- to
- agree
- to
- disagree,
- yet
- all
- the
- while
- I
- know
- I
- am
- right
- while
- you
- are
- obviously
- wrong.
- Soon
- our
- community
- divides
- along
- relatively
- natural
- points
- of
- view,
- or
- more
- accurately,
- we
- divide
- in
- accord
- with
- different
- ways
- to
- view.
- Sometimes
- there
- is
- war.
- We
- fight
- over
- color
- lines,
- gender
- lines,
- border
- lines,
- party
- lines,
- lines
- of
- thought,
- guidelines
- for
- our
- courts,
- congress,
- presidency,
- religion,
- civil
- liberties.
- But
- where
- are
- these
- lines?
- Why
- these
- lines?
- Rather
- than
- your
- average
- book
- about
- where
- to
- draw
- the
- line,
- this
- bold
- book
- is
- about
- how
- to
- read
- between
- the
- lines
- and
- how
- to
- look
- far
- beyond
- the
- lines.This
- book
- crosses
- the line!
