Old Book Review by S Nagarajan
Post No:- 1810; Date 19th April 2015
Time uploaded in London: 6-36 am
50 reasons people give for believing in a God by Guy P.Harrison
Guy P.Harrison is a columnist and travel writer for a national newspaper. He has won several international awards for his writing.
The book under review has 50 chapters. There are about 50 reasons to believe God or not. All the views are put in a perspective manner by the author.
He has visited many countries and interviewed almost all great followers of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Scientology etc.
Why should one believe God? Fear was the first thing on Earth to make Gods. Whether He exists or not, play it safe. The author humorously points out that some gods are very jealous and they don’t condone any worshipping of rival gods!
Guy Harrison appreciates Hinduism very much. It is the only religion appears united to outsiders because it is one of the world’s most flexible, open and accommodating religions by far. Hindus are told that everybody on earth is born a Hindu. That is why they are not trying to convert anybody into their fold.
As a journalist Guy Harrison interviews famous soccer player Pele, Nobel Peace Prize winner and the father of the H-Bomb.
He once interviewed a man who was in the Berlin Bunker with Adolf Hitler during the final days of the Third Reich.
Picture of Guy Harrison
His vast experience made him to write this book on God!
He treats all religions equally and he has given a place for atheists also.
He has scrutinized miracle makers and caution us that these could be explained scientifically.
Believing in God does not hurt anyone. No one has ever disproved the existence of God. Without religion society would fall apart. Religion brings people together. Under these headings he is giving a number of anecdotes to prove his points.
We come across Michael Shermer who was a born Christian turned now as a non-believer.
An interesting investigation is ongoing about the possible natural roots of religion in the human mind and DNA. Some researchers think that we may be biologically “hardwired” for religion. They suggest that our brains are structured in a way that makes religious belief not only possible but virtually inevitable.
One chapter is devoted for intelligent design. The author points out that there are three primary problems with intelligent design. First, it has no evidence to support it. Second, intelligent design doesn’t say anything about how life was created. Third, intelligent design encourages us to give up on seeking answers because some mysteries of life are too complex to have a natural explanation.
Why god punishes innocent people? Take the case of tsunami, on December 26, 2004 which killed many thousand innocent people. 37 percent of the people killed were under the age of eighteen. Why they were punished?
The book makes an interesting reading. All about God packed in a single book!
But even though the author had extensively travelled throughout the world, he did not meet any great soul like Ramana or Sri Sathya Saibaba, Had he encountered some great souls, he could have got answers for all of his questions!
I wish that who are interested in knowing god from different perspectives, may go in for this book.
Summary
The book under review has 50 chapters. There are about 50 reasons to believe God or not. All the views are put in a perspective manner by the author. The author, Guy P.Harrison is a columnist and travel writer for a national newspaper. He has won several international awards for his writing.
Tamil and Vedas 
R Nanjappa
/ April 19, 2015I think this book bears a deceptive title. This is basically agnostic-athiestic in intention, not meant to reinforce faith in God!. He lists the reasons people usually give for believing in God, and then goes to show how they are wrong! Unlike other atheistic writers like Richard Dawkins who are polemical in their style, Harrison adopts a rather pleasant journalistic mode, which is no less atheistic in purpose and intended impact!
The field is very strage, and fertile. There have been evangelists like Charles Templeton who once was as popular as Billy Graham but went on to refute the Christian faith (See his book: “*Farewell to God”, 1995)*.Then there were others like G.K Chesterton and Rev.Knox who became orthodox followers! Development of science has destroyed Christian theology, but a true religion is more than theology or miracles.,popular faith or scholarly philosophy. A generation of doubters derived consolation from the writings of a Chesterton ( See his two books: ‘*Heretics’, and ‘Orthodoxy’) and C.S,Lewis, though they were not theologians.*
We Hindus are lucky- we are not bound by any particular theology, or philosophy, or deity! Our religion does not teach dogma(matam) but Truth (Tatvam) which has to be realised , not just believed in!
At the end of the day, we have to remember that there are many people who say they believe in God but behave like devils, while there are any number of agnostics or atheists who are plain good! One can be atheistic or agnostic without being nasty! As Alain de Botton has shown, a religion is useful even for atheists!