Book Review: God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?
Introduction
John Lennox, professor of mathematics and philosophy of science at Oxford University has written a book in reply to the New Atheists, which addresses the question of intelligent design in the universe. Lennox's background is readily seen in his writing, which primarily consists of philosophical arguments against many of the arguments by atheists such as Richard Dawkins. Lennox excels in destroying some the pitiful "logical" and philosophical arguments of Dawkins. Most of the book is spent giving an overview of intelligent design, including design in the universe, earth, biology, origin of life and the genetic code. Lennox covers the basics of the science behind intelligent design quite well in a concise manner (the book is less than 180 pages long). He doesn't get bogged down in the highly disputed areas of intelligent design, such as biological design and irreducible complexity. Lennox records some amazing admissions by secular scientists.
The strength of God's Undertaker is the last third of the book, which deals with the origin of the genetic code and information. As a professor of mathematics, Lennox presents an excellent argument against the spontaneous production of the genetic code and the information necessary to run it. If for no other reason, it is good to read the book to understand the arguments that will ultimately falsify or verify a solely naturalistic approach the origin of life. The enormity of the problem convinced me in 1973 to become a deist. Since that time, the problems have actually grown in magnitude as more becomes known about chemistry and biochemistry.
Conclusion
Although Lennox has written God's Undertaker using science, he does not get too technical so as to lose a reasonably educated layman. As a philosopher, John Lennox approaches the concepts with analogies and illustrations that allow understanding of arguments that can be technically challenging. The book is highly recommended for those who want a short, but thorough introduction into the scientific evidence for intelligent design.
God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?
Related Pages
- Book Review: The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day
- Book Review: Greater Than You Think: A Theologian Answers the Atheists About God
- Book Review: God is Great, God is Good: Why Belief in God is Reasonable and Responsible
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Last Modified November 29, 2007