How "God" Works: A Logical Inquiry on Faith Hardcover – January 6, 2015

As an atheist, I find Marshall Brain’s logic solid. However, it’s a little weird that a book supposedly aimed at Christians does not appear to have had any Christian involvement. I think it would have been a better book if some knowledgeable Christian had read a draft and been given a chance to respond. I think one of the problems with most books on atheism by atheists is that they have a hint of an atheist echo chamber about them. Do Christians think “How ‘God’ Works” is logical? Do they think it addresses a Christian straw man? I really don’t know.Of course, the same is true of books by Christian authors. Even when a book is supposedly aimed at convincing atheists, it seems Christian authors rarely bring in an atheist to look over a draft. As a result, Christian authors often seem completely out of touch with what actual atheists think. (I would consider C.S. Lewis’ book “Mere Christianity” and Turek’s book “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist” as examples of this problem.) Then these Christian authors wonder why only other Christians like their books and atheists are unimpressed. Well, what else would you expect? It sets up a strange dynamic.That said, there's some great stuff in "How 'God' Works." Chapter 18 on "Do People Hear God's Voice?" discusses the problem of authenticating messages from God. As an ex-Mormon myself, I think Brain makes some great points here. If God has an important message for humanity, it would seem to be essential that God make sure the correct message gets across, without being tampered with or modified. It's also important to make sure the recipient receives the message, and that a false message can't be forged by an impostor. The Christian God seems to have a lot of trouble with this, which is not at all what would be expected from the Almighty.I also really like the table of indicators in Chapter 19 "What Would our World Look Like If there were No God?". This is basically a list of 20 things we would expect to see if God were real. For example: "if God were real we would expect all religions and denominations to align on the one true God. If God were imaginary, we would expect humans to invent a thousand completely different gods." This comparison matches up fairly well with my own thought process at the time I became an atheist. If God exists and loves us, how is it possible for honest, well-meaning people to disagree about what God is like or what God wants from us?

My five star rating is mostly because I want people to read this book. Brain does a good job of laying out a logical argument for doubting the existence of God based on the fact that there is no statistical evidence that prayer affects the physical world at all, according to double-blind experiments. I especially liked his chapter about how nobody ever prays for an amputee to grow a limb back. When you eliminate all chances for coincidence, and you are left with only the impossible, prayer is ineffectual every time. The worthlessness of prayer to affect changes in the physical world is really the basis for his entire argument throughout the book. He discusses the problem of evil a bit, and rails against the violent acts of God in the Old Testament, but he continually comes back to prayer. I wonder if he originally wrote the book titled as "How Prayer Works".That said, there were several things that annoyed me. First, Brain continually defines even the most basic of words throughout the entire book - words like "absurd", "blessing", "evil", "love", "miracle", "prayer", and many more. These definitions appear indented in the text and are quoted from dictionaries or Wikipedia. A new definition appears every few pages. I'm not sure what the intention was, but it evoked two conflicting impressions for me. On the one hand it feels as if he is writing to a less educated audience, and it's almost insulting; on the other hand, I get the impression he is trying to be objective in his usage of the words, which is good, but distracting at times, breaking the flow of the text a little too much. My second complaint is that he takes too much time developing his arguments. The book could easily be compressed into something 1/3 its size, if he didn't spend so much time developing things like what a double-blind experiment is. Third, the cloud-like vertical border on every page is something I would expect to see in an emotional book like "Chicken Soup for the Soul", not an intellectual book on why God does not exist. It seems like Brain is targeting the kind of audience who also reads Guideposts Magazine, Max Lucado, and Rick Warren.A final complaint I have is that Brain's logic is sometimes not rigorous enough, which leads him to make claims that are not well substantiated. For example, on page 219 "If God were real, we would expect all Christians to strive at all times to live flawless sinless lives of goodness in accordance with the Bible." But that kind of logic would likewise conclude that global warming is not real just because Al Gore's Nashville mansion uses more than 20 times the national household average (which may or may not be true). Just because Al Gore does not perfectly practice what he preaches, that does not mean what he preaches is false. There are other subtle logical fallacies in the book like this one, and I wish Brain had been as ardent in analyzing his own arguments as he was in analyzing those of others.Stil, I think Brain does an excellent job in challenging believers of all religions to apply critical thinking to the outrageous claims they believe.Suggestion: If you are a believer, I suggest you read the book twice. During the first reading, pretend Brain is targeting every other religion but your own, and you will readily agree with the wisdom of his arguments. During the second reading, consider the fact that these same arguments apply to your own religion as well.

I have a few books on the subject of religion, but this is probably the most useful in that it teaches the reader to have a critical mind, and not to get caught up in superstition & irrational behaviour.

Marshall Brain talks of "god" in inverted commas to depict what many believers carry in their heads. In fact there is no god.,he goes on to say. god is a myth and exists only in the minds of believers. Atheists are also wrong about god and need to stop using this term to describe themselves. The argument for god was lost long ago, and so non-believers should call themselves post-theists.. We can be good without "god"

excellent examples of how to think critically and examine our cognitive biases.

Simply the best book on religion I’ve ever read. It points out the logical holes, and shows how critical thinking can free us from mythology.

Very well written book!!