Ute nu! "Och människan skapade Gud"

Robert Wrights The Evolution of God ges nu ut i svensk översättning under titeln Och människan skapade Gud. För den som läste Richard Dawkins Illusionen om Gud är denna bok en självklar fortsättning. Dawkins visade att den traditionella idén om Gud är en illusion. Wright visar hur och varför vi människor skapade Gud.

Och människan skapade Gud vill förändra vår förståelse av religionens uppkomst. På denna fascinerande resa genom historien avslöjas ett mönster i judendomens, kristendomens och islams utveckling och en mycket jordnära grund för hur de heliga texterna växte fram. Med utgångspunkt i arkeologi, teologi, antropologi och evolutionär psykologi visar Robert Wright att religionens syfte omedvetet har varit att stärka sociala strukturer, något den kan fortsätta att göra även i globaliseringens tidsålder. Boken tecknar en bild som kanske upprör troende, men som ändå lämnar dörren öppen för en gudomlig makt – av en helt ny sort.

Pressröster om Robert Wrights The Evolution of God

Paul Bloom The New York Times Book Review:
“In his brilliant new book, ”The Evolution of God,” Robert Wright tells the story of how God grew up. He starts with the deities of hunter-­gatherer tribes, moves to those of chiefdoms and nations, then on to the polytheism of the early Israelites and the monotheism that followed, and then to the New Testament and the Koran, before finishing off with the modern multinational Gods of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Wright’s tone is reasoned and careful, even hesitant, throughout, and it is nice to read about issues like the morality of Christ and the meaning of jihad without getting the feeling that you are being shouted at. His views, though, are provocative and controversial. There is something here to annoy almost everyone. “

Andrew Sullivan The Times of London:
“The tone of the book is dry scepticism with a dash of humour; the content is supple, dense and layered. What makes it fresh and necessary is that it’s a non-believer’s open-minded exploration of how religious doctrine and practice have changed through human history — usually for the better.

[…] Fundamentalism, in this reading, is a kind of repetitive neurotic interlude in the evolution of religion towards more benign and global forms. It’s not a linear process — misunderstanding, violence, stupidity, pride and anger will always propel human beings backwards just when they seem on the verge of progress. Greater proximity has often meant greater hatred — as one god has marshalled earthly forces against another. But in the very, very long run, as human beings have realised that religion is nothing if not true and that truth can be grasped or sought in many different ways, doctrines have evolved. Through science and travel, conversation and scholarship, interpretation and mysticism — our faiths have adapted throughout history, like finches on Darwin’s islands.”