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9780316067447

The Evolution of God

by
  • ISBN13:

    9780316067447

  • ISBN10:

    031606744X

  • Edition: Reprint
  • Format: Paperback
  • Copyright: 2010-05-03
  • Publisher: Back Bay Books

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Summary

In this sweeping, dazzling journey through history, Robert Wright unveils a discovery of crucial importance to the present moment: there is a pattern in the evolution Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and a "hidden code" in their scriptures.

Through the prisms of archeology, theology, anthropology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright repeatedly overturns conventional wisdom to show how and why religion can strengthen the social order-even in an age of globalization-and explains why modern science is not only compatible with religion, but actively affirms the validity of the religious quest.

Vast in scope and thrilling in ambition, The Evolution of God brilliantly alters our understanding of God and where He came from-and where He and we are going next. This is a judicious treatment that will surely provoke controversy. It's also enlightening.

"An original, accessible and thought-provoking view of history...full of rich detail, ingenious insight and bold argument."(The Economist)

" The Evolution of God gives me hope...The tone of the book is dry skepticism with a dash of humour; the content is supple, dense and layered...fresh and necessary."(The Times Andrew Sullivan)

Author Biography

Robert Wright is a contributing editor of The New Republic, a Slate.com columnist, and a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the cofounder of www.bloggingheads.tv, runs the web-based video project www.meaningoflife.tv, and lives in Princeton, NJ, with his wife and two daughters.

Table of Contents

Introductionp. 3
The Birth and Growth of Gods
The Primordial Faithp. 9
The Shamanp. 29
Religion in the Age of Chiefdomsp. 46
Gods of the Ancient Statesp. 70
The Emergence of Abrahamic Monotheism
Polytheism, the Religion of Ancient Israelp. 99
From Polytheism to Monolatryp. 131
From Monolatry to Monotheismp. 165
Philo Storyp. 188
Logos: The Divine Algorithmp. 216
The Invention of Christianity
What Did Jesus Do?p. 245
The Apostle of Lovep. 264
Survival of the Fittest Christianityp. 288
How Jesus Became Saviorp. 303
The Triumph of Islam
The Koranp. 329
Meccap. 344
Medinap. 355
Jihadp. 375
Muhammadp. 389
God Goes Global (Or Doesn't)
The Moral Imaginationp. 409
Well, Aren't We Special?p. 431
Afterword: By the Way, What Is God?p. 444
Appendix: How Human Nature Gave Birth to Religionp. 460
A Note on Translationsp. 484
Acknowledgmentsp. 486
Notesp. 489
Bibliographyp. 542
Indexp. 555
Reading Group Guidep. 569
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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