AWAKENING
HEALTH
The discussion about the existence of God seems
to devolve into a question of semantics. Shermer,
a self-proclaimed atheist humanist, focusing on
the Abrahamic God of the bible, rejects all notions
of a divine being sitting in judgment or being the
architect of the universe and all it contains. He is
convinced that all natural systems will self-organize, and that the notion of any form of intelligent
design is mere superstition promoted by religions
with a vested interest in controlling the faithful.
Sheldrake, on the other hand, speaks eloquently of a compassionate universal energy that is a
manifestation of divine power and consciousness.
However you wish to call it – God, energy, unified
field – in the end Sheldrake and Shermer’s views
on spooky action at a distance or the causal field
that creates order out of chaos and life out of biochemical reactions are not that far apart. The main
question that separates a person of faith from an
open-minded skeptic is whether these actions are
directed by a conscious source. That seems to be
the “big question” that materialists do not yet have
an answer for. On the one hand, looking at such
things as war, disease, poverty and injustice, even
a believer must wonder what was God thinking!
But then looking at babies, sunsets, starry skies
and the beauty of nature, the thought that this all
came about by chance just doesn’t compute. I personally would not want to be such a skeptic as to
think that the universe is just a clockwork mechanism obeying the laws of physics and mathematics and indifferent to my being. How grey the
world would seem. I think the biggest gift of this
book is that one is forced to consider one’s own
position on many fascinating questions like this
in light of the other perspective. It is far too easy
to go on autopilot when it comes to one’s beliefs,
and feels safer to go with what your parents and
teachers taught. Given the state of the world and
the polarization being inflamed by religious zealotry, it is probably time that we all re-examined our
beliefs. This book provides some useful directions.
Reviewed by Miriam Knight
INTERVIEW
About the Author
D r. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher and
editor-in-chief of Skeptic magazine, a publication
largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific
and supernatural claims. He is a monthly columnist
for Scientific American, has been a college professor
since 1979, and regularly contributes Opinion Editorials, book reviews, and essays to the Wall Street
Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Science, Nature, and
other publications. Dr. Shermer has authored numerous books including: The Moral Arc: How Science
and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice,
and Freedom; The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and
Gods to Politics and Conspiracies; Why Darwin Matters: Evolution and the Case Against Intelligent Design, and The Science of Good and Evil. Dr. Shermer
has an M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, and a Ph.D. in the history of
science from Claremont Graduate University. He appeared on such shows as The Colbert Report, 20/20,
Dateline, Charlie Rose, and Larry King Live.
His two TED talks, seen by millions, were voted in
the top 100 of the more than 1000 TED talks.
41 | New Consciousness Review
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW