The Age of Doubt: Tracing the Roots of Our Religious Uncertainty
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.58 (897 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0300188072 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 248 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-12-14 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Froude, Alfred Tennyson, George Eliot, Herbert Spencer, and Leslie Stephen In each case Lane finds something insightful to say about the nature of belief and 'what it felt like to lose one's religious faith--as an individual and, more broadly, as a people and society'”--Mark Knight, Victorian Studies. A. Highly recommended, without hesitation."--Karel D'huyvetters, Kroniek"'Lane asks the right questions of the doubting pundits, past and present. While many people believe that human history is the story of 2,000 years of blanket Christianity followed by a recent emergence of atheism, the book stresses the very important fact that theological and philosophical squabbles over these subjects are nothing new (and indeed, far more fierce than some of our debates today) The Age of Doubt is a call for others to examine this material."--Christopher Holden, PopMatters"As Christopher Lane argues in The Age of Doubt
Huxley, Lane demonstrates how they and other Victorians succeeded in turning doubt from a religious sin into an ethical necessity.The dramatic adjustment of Victorian society has echoes today as technology, science, and religion grapple with moral issues that seemed unimaginable even a decade ago. The Victorian era was the first great "Age of Doubt" and a critical moment in the history of Western ideas. By contrast, a look at today's extremes--from the biblical literalists behind the Creation Museum to the rigidity of Richard Dawkins's atheism--highlights our modern-day inability to embrace doubt.. Yet the Victorians' crisis of faith generated a far more se
"Page Turner" according to Carrie J.. I'm about two-thirds through Lane's book, having read it so far in two sittings, and it's a compelling book about doubt and faith. Much of the history was new to me, but it's presented in a dynamic way that brings the conflict alive. I love what he has to say about Richard Dawkins and "The God Delusion." Hard to put down. Five stars.. "Good reminder that this is not a "black and white" debate" according to bookclubber. Lane has given today's public conversation a much needed intellectual history of theology. Recently, for some reason, the most publicized and influential American thinkers have felt the need (unnecessarily) to polarize this debate. Believers, atheists and agnostics will all learn from this well-researched and stylistically engaging book.. The importance of Doubt Taking readers from the freethinkers of eighteenth century Britain to the recent American play and movie Doubt, The Age of Doubt is a fast-paced, absorbing history of agnosticism. I was especially interested in Darwin's struggle with religious doubt and how it impacted his thinking. The focus on lesser known writers and thinkers like Anne Bronte and Robert Chambers was also helpful and informative. The book ends by detailing tensions between agnostics and "new" atheists and why Richard Dawkins, in particular, has been