A History of God: Last Post

"Human beings cannot endure emptiness and desolation; they will fill the vacuum by creating a new focus of meaning. The idols of fundamentalism are not good substitutes for God; if we are to create a vibrant new faith for the twenty-first century, we should, perhaps, ponder the history of God for some lessons and warnings."

This was the last passage of the book. The remainder of the book was about how religious differs and transcends all rational things, and it is impossible to use it within a religious argument.("Rationalism, they decided, had its uses, especially in such empirical studies as science, medicine and mathematics, but it was not entirely appropriate in the discussion of a God which lay beyond concepts." ) It wasn't written in a way that shows god to be absolute, but it does show that God, if he does exist, cannot be close to anything we can feel through the five senses you are given. The last passage is a great way of wrapping up the book by answering the why does it matter? question, stating that religious beliefs have been around because human beings must find a cause for everything; knowledge, feelings, just any question that we can think of. The book, though very lengthy in terms of history behind each religion, opened my eyes to just how long these beliefs go back to, how they were developed, and why it can be so prevalent even in the technologically advanced society we live in today. I have also grew a profound interest, though I won't put my viewpoint out there, in rationalism vs creationism. (rationalism would be scientific, creationism would be religous) Overall, it was a great book to read, answered many questions that I had about religious beliefs, as well as create new questions that I look for answers through more research. The author wrote clearly and built up to the ending by outlining the history and standards of each religion through the use of religious and historical sources.