Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Modern Science and ... (ISBN 0801083869)

Right on the mark!:
Some of the reviewers have stated remarks like "Sproul doesn't know what he is talking about!" I beg to differ. If chance is our causation, how can we even make such an assertion? Wouldn't even such a statement assume that there is a correct path, given that his is incorrect? What would we compare error to to ensure that it is indeed incorrect if all is chance and randomness? This smacks of a logical contradiction with no end in sight! Dr. Sproul's works are excellent, cogent and verifiable. This book should be purchased and read. In case you are wondering...the premise of this book is the refutation of chance as causation in and of itself. For anyone to consider random chance as a progenitor of life is a travesty...as this book so accurately dismantles. Chance as a creator simply does not pass the smell test and Dr. Sproul drives this point home with impeccable logic and evidence. Assuming that chance is the ultimate causation of all that there is and randomness rules...how can we know anything for certainty? Doesn't this fly in the face of reality? Not only would/should we question everything...even the notion that chance exists as causation...would be questionable! Dr. Sproul takes on this mind-dizzying concept and shows that it is totally illogical in all of its ramifications.

Quality - This book will make your head spin:
A friend of mine in the church who works for NASA gave this book to me one day as we discussed violations of scientific laws by means of naturalistic causes (not chances) of the origin of the universe. As soon as I said the words "law of causality" he got this huge smile and his face lit up and he ran to his bookshelf, handed me this book and simply said "You can have this." LoL. Thank you, Bill. =) No offense to the people who gave the book a negative view and then spewed nonsense about the book AND science, but the arguments agaisnt it are pitiful. Sproul uses logic throughout the book. It is basically a book of logic and common sense. (See chapter called "The Policeman of Science".) He even puts logic to it's own test. Please get a copy for yourself and for your friends who are into learning science via common sense. It is common sense that chance does not exist. Every single effect has an adequate cause . This is known as the law of causality. Causes have at LEAST one effect, maybe sometimes more than one, but at least one. Every effect has a cause, or is in line somewhere in a chain of causes and effects. A cause may also be an effect and visa versa, but not at the same time and in the same relationship. A cause is not a cause without an effect. An effect is not an effect without a cause. NEVER is the effect of a cause a "chance" effect. NEVER is the cause of an effect a "chance" cause. Chance doesn't exist. Chance is the word we give to causes and effects, but that does not mean we accept chance as a legitimate cause or effect. Chance means there is no cause, that it just happened that way. Whatever that means. Chance is probability, not causal power. It is inactive. If given as cause, chance means nothing, because it doesn't act, it predicts. Therefore chance IS nothing. The probability of nothing is nothing. And nothing doesn't exist. Example: I am typing letters into the text box here. The words here are not appearing by chance nor are they intellible by chance. My mind is cause of the finger movement, the finger movement is the cause of the keys being pressed, the keys being pressed is the cause of the text appearing where it is now. (I hope you already knew this but some people have a hard time with it... the negative reviewers.) Sproul gives a hearty serving of exmaples of this even into probabilities of coin flips. Every outcome would be determined by variations of the flip: How much pressure is used. If it is caught, if it is allowed to fall. When it is caught, how far it falls. Gravity, wind, weight of the coin, etc. We call it chance because it has 2 different outcomes in an uncontrolled environment. But it isn't really chance because the outcome (effect) of the flip is determined by a number of causes. You see, probabilities only take into account all of the causal powers, but probability is never factored in as a probable cause - only active forces. Nobody flips the coin and says probability did it, we say something somewhere did it. Knowing the outcome, we can trace back to the flip why the effect was the effect it was by, you guessed it, calculating the various causes. You work your way backwards to reveal every cause. Probabilities need causes and effects. Probability will ALWAYS be zero without them. Sproul's point is also well made about how absurd self-creation is. (Nevermind the laws of thermodynamics.) Using the law of non-contradiction, it is obvious to see that to create one's self, that self must both exist AND not exist at the same time. This is a contradiction. (Duh.) He unravels Neils Bohr's "great truth" statement by examining it with the same law. "Bohr retreated into an epistemology of contradiction. Had he stopped at the level of paradox, a lot of linguistic confusion could have been avoided." I could spoil it all for you but you can pay $3 and add it to your collection of keepers.

Modern Science's Leap Of Fatih:
Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Modern Science and Cosmology by R. C Sproul is the author's response to Modern Science's Leap Of Faith. It is a well thought out philosophical and theological response to the idea that "chance" plays a part in physics and ultimately creation. The author, a well known and much published Reformed Theologian dissects modern science's desire to plug in the idea of chance in place of a creator. This is not a science book per se, but a critique of how science, by its choice of terminology, mostly centering on the word and idea of chance, abandons the scientific method and embraces its own man based faith system to explain the unexplainable. Dr. Sproul does a great job of showing how this type of science abandons reason and logic when it refuses to even consider or allow for an intelligent creator. This is a great book and a gives the reader a good background on how philosophy and theology can shed light on the unknown. A good read and worthy of anyone interested in how a belief in a creator God does not mean one must abandon science or reason.

A must read for christians.:
This book does not deal with the typical young earth v. old earth arguments taking place in the christian community so people with both views will likely benefit from this book. One thing to consider, Sproul is not a scientist nor does he claim to be, he's a theologian/philosopher so he uses logical arguments to prove why chance had nothing to do with the origins of the universe. People looking for scientic evidence for intelligent design will be disapointed, but anyone who does not have a background in science or philosophy and is looking to expand their knowledge should find this book very enjoyable.

Theologically Sound:
To some extent, I agree with the reviewer who claimed Sproul set up a "straw man" in that many scientists, like Richard Dawkins, ardently decry the idea that "chance" caused anything. Rather, they lay the burden of creative power on "natural selection," which Sproul could have addressed here as well, but chose to avoid. Nevertheless, there are also many scientists who DO misunderstand the concept of "chance" enough to ascribe creative power to it, and it is to those individuals that Sproul addresses his arguments. Sproul's writing is theologically sound and, as far as it goes, scientifically sound. I chose to give it only 4 stars because he could have gone further...