[.ca] The Probability of God: A Simple Calculation That Proves ... (ISBN 1400054788)

Witty, delightfully humorous, and thought provoking:
Would I recommend this book? -- most certainly! In fact I have purchased additional copies for my church library and for a few "no nonsense friends." Given the nature of the subject, the book is a relatively quick read: 6-8 hours more or less, depending on a reader's interest in performing a personalized assessment in parallel with the author's. The value of the book is not in its theology, but rather in the questions posed, and the structural and analytical tools provided to the reader. I especially appreciate that the author focuses on equipping inquisitive readers with a methodology for identifying, structuring, and assessing their own beliefs, and not on defending a particular position or belief. The pluralism allowed by the author's approach is indeed a welcome relief to dogmatic positions so often manned in matters of religion. Posturing and "Is" and "Is not" positioning are absent from this book. Readers are free to select and evaluate their own beliefs. The author's perspective encourages contemplation, not fortification. Thankfully, the writing is witty and at tiimes delightfully humorous. The author skillfully balances the sophisitcated logic that underlies Bayesian analytical technique (more nearly the subject of the book), with light-hearted and sometimes penetrating examples. The author's discussion implies truths imbedded in probability and decision analysis methodology. 1.) Statment of the premise has a direct effect on the analytical result: i.e., careful the question, lest the indication provided by the analysis point east rather than north. 2.) In order to be meaningful Bayesian analysis must be rigorously structured and consistently applied; there-in resides the strength of a mathematical approach. 3.) Once "premise" and "structure" are established, results of alternate determinants can be calculated with minimal effort. 4.) And finally, results of iterative analyses give rise to insights as to which determinants drive results and therefore the direction of the decision. An unexpected side benefit of the book is the interest it sparks for gaining additional understanding of the development of probabilistic thinkiing and methodology. Unwin's THE PROBABILITY OF GOD are shelved alongside Bernstein's AGAINST THE GODS, and Hacking's THE TAMING OF CHANCE: good reading all.

Nice approach, flawed theology:
This book should have been a 50-page monograph. Instead, through repetition and at times forced humor, it swelled to 240 pages. It is fun at times, but the theology is really poor. The author thinks that earthquakes and floods are more likely to occur in a "godless" universe, discounting the whole idea of a fallen nature. In other words, Original Sin did not just corrupt man, but all of nature (after the fall God created thorns, thistles and weeds and allowed earthquakes and floods too). What most people, including this author, really mean when they say that God doesn't exist (or that there's an X percent chance of God existing) is that God isn't like them (or God is about X percent like them.) Just look at the arguments, for example - "Well, if God is good then why do children die? Children dying doesn't seem good to me, so God isn't good." If you use the author's method, you're more likely to get an indication of how much God is like you, not whether He exists.

Interesting, at times funny, but too long winded:
Don't expect to find out about the ultimate truth in this book. It is a guide to do your own calculation as to what for you is the probablilty of God. The title should have been "A probability of God", not "The". I found it rather long winded and it could have been written as a book with a quarter of the number of pages it has now. There were for me some highlights in the book which helped me structure my own thoughts on the subject. As an unbeliever I didn't agree with the outcome and the maths allows you to make your own individual calculation. Hence a loyal churchgoer will calculate a much higher probability than an unbeliever. The last few chapters try to address that point by introducing Believe and Faith, but I found them superfluous.

Boring:
Seldom does a book come along that I just cannot finish. "The Probability of God" is one of those books. What can I say? The book is boring to me.

An original book on religion - what were the odds?:
Probability of God is a wonderful book. I am a person of faith and a scientist (chemist). As such I tend to struggle with some of the beliefs held by my fellow faithful, particularly beliefs that my education has made unavailable to me. The reason I love this book is that it provides a very eloquent and powerful basis for faith that doesn't intrude on the magnificent achievements of science. The thought process that Unwin goes through is very original - and originality is not a word I often associate with books on religious themes, which tend to be stale and repetitive. The probability numbers are fun, but that's not where I see the value of this book. The idea that uncertainty about religious ideas has a positive benefit is the most intruiging to me, i.e., faith needs uncertainty. I noticed an earlier reviewer said this book is not for the certain on either side of the debate. I agree completely. This book is a very quick read given the weight of the subject matter. I found it fun, edifying, and very uplifting.