James Hamilton (4)

Not being a logician, I found this a very difficult book. Hamilton uses mathematical logic to disprove the existence/relevance of god. What I did understand was interesting, particularly finding the fact that there's an area of the brain that when stimulated provides one with an out of body experience. I also liked the casual way he described causes for near death experiences, cells dying, going into hibernation then recovering when oxygen was provided.
One of the things I found most show more pertinent was that, when discussing the difference between science and religion, Hamilton says that saying "god did it" ends the search for any other cause. Why does the sun rise in the east and set in the west? God did it. So much for astronomy. He tries to discover where this place is that dead people go, where god and satan live. Is it an alternate universe? Are there laws that apply to it. He can't see any laws of physics that would allow for such a universe. Is god able to exist beyond any laws of nature or physics? He says if this is so, then god is not only unknowable but irrelevant. I think trying to show believers why belief is wrong is a useless activity. But showing how the use of the god concept can halt scientific inquiry is absolutely pertinent.
He does end the book, however, with the invitation to anyone who thinks along these lines to further investigate atheism. So maybe this isn't atheistic evangelism, rather a welcome to the clan you already suspected you belong to.
If you're interested you can see the blog for James Hamilton (whoever he is) and download the whole little book here: http://www.godspacealien.com/ show less