Stenger writes as a scientist. Scientists are forever and always concerned with evidence; with data that can be tested and checked. Scientific data indicates God does not exist; that no gods exist. There is no evidence whatsoever to indicate the presence of a god; and in particular the God of Christians and Jews.
Here is a summary of Stenger's argument taken directly from the above-named book:
* "A God who is responsible for the complex structure of the world, especially living things, fails to agree with empirical fact that this structure can be understood to arise from simple natural processes and shows none of the expected signs of design. Indeed, the universe looks as it should look in the absence of design."
* There is no evidence to indicate a god has given humans immortal souls. "[ ] ...human memories and personalities are determined by physical processes ... no nonphysical or extraphysical powers of the mind can be found, and ... no evidence exists for an afterlife."
* There is no corroborating evidence that a god interacts with humans, or intervenes via miracles as reported in the Bible. In fact, "physical evidence now convincingly demonstrates that some of the most important biblical narratives, such as the Exodus, never took place."
* Many religious people continue to believe that a god "miraculously and supernaturally created the universe." But, says Stenger, this "fails to agree with the empirical fact that no violations of physical laws were required to produce the universe, its laws, or its existence rather than its nonexistence." Furthermore, empirical facts "indicate the universe began with maximum energy and so bears no imprint of a creator.
* Deists are convinced that a god arranged things to make life possible on earth. But, as Stenger points out, "the universe is not congenial to human life. [...] Such a notion "also fails to agree with the fact that the universe is mostly composed of particles in random motion, with complex structures such as galaxies forming less than 4 percent of the mass and less than one particle out of a billion."
* I remember being taught that the God of Christians and Jews was a god of revelation. We know of him because he has revealed himself to human beings down through history. This belief, however, "fails to agree with the fact that no claimed revelation has ever been confirmed empirically, while many have been falsified. No claimed revelation contains information that could not have already been in the head of the person making the claim."
* One can no longer claim that our morality and values come from God, "since the evidence shows that humans define morals and values for themselves. This is not 'relative morality.' Believers and nonbelievers alike agree on a common set of morals and values. Even the most devout decide for themselves what is good and what is bad. Nonbelievers behave no less morally than believers."
* Finally, the big one! The argument against which all belief in god fails. "The existence of evil, in particular, gratuitous suffering, is logically inconsistent with an omniscient, omnibenevolent, omnipotent God..."
Dr. Stenger shows clearly, not only is scientific evidence pointing to the existence of a god missing, but scientific evidence indicates there can be no such deity. "Life on earth looks just as it should look if it were not designed, and indeed, the universe looks and operates just as it should if it appeared spontaneously from nothing."
As I'm writing this I have been made aware of additional attempts in various state legislatures to dismiss the teaching of evolution in public schools in favor of "intelligent design." Such attempts are blatantly unconstitutional for intelligent design is nothing more than souped up "creationism" which is based, not on any science whatsoever, but upon biblical mythology!
One is thus able to see how stupidity and ignorance promotes further stupidity and ignorance. Our state legislatures and our U.S. Congress are packed with people who know nothing about science and care nothing about truth. They believe what they are taught in their churches by ignorant preachers and priests. When you hear someone talking about "intelligent design" you can be sure he or she has a huge gap in their education; or they were home-schooled. Millions of fundamentalist Christians have opted out of public schools in order, not to educate their children, but to propagandize their children. How many home-schooled kids are taught the reality and the beauty of the evolutionary theory?
Education may well be the most important issue on our plate today. And even though people in high places speak piously about the need to support our schools, they speak with forked tongue, for today schools are in desperate need of funds and decent teachers and to be left alone to do their work without interference by a bunch of politically and religiously motivated pious know-nothings in various legislatures around the country!
By the time I left education, the situation was already well on its way downhill! We were told to teach the tests! Don't worry about anything else. Every principal was terrified of finding their school on the list of "failed" or "failing" schools. The principal at the school where I taught suggested we get rid of all classes except for reading and math. It was all about the "test." Every subject had to incorporate reading and math in their lesson plans no matter what subject they taught!
And this, begun by a Republican governor in Florida, was the beginning of the dumbing down of education in the state. It has only gotten worse since. There's nothing wrong with teaching reading and math, of course. But to emphasize those two subjects at the expense of every other subject is short-sighted and stupid! It's no wonder people come out of our schools and head to political office without basic scientific knowledge, knowing nothing of history, art, literature, music, etc.
And these ignoramuses are the ones running our world! They disbelieve evolution and climate change, in spite of all the evidence, and think that our problems would be solved if only we would pray, pray, pray. Just ask Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Ricky Santorum, Willard Romney, New Gingrich...
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