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shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
I enjoyed reading and discussing this book with a group. It's an accessible look at the current state of the connection between religion and science. Hagerty interviewed many folks using the new capabilities of neuroscience to try and discover if, and how, people are biologically changed by spiritual or near-death or paranormal experiences. Or if some brains are more or less likely to be open to spiritual experiences. Or if our minds and our brains can be separated. So many interesting questions to explore.
megatsunami's review against another edition
I liked this book. I enjoyed learning about scientific studies of spiritual experience. I was a little ambivalent about the author's personal opinions being so clearly a part of the ideas put forward, and felt that at times this compromised her analysis... but hey, at least she was honest about being biased toward the existence of God.
But what really drove me crazy was that, aside from a few token references to "He or She", the God that she imagines is clearly, solely male. She even refers at one point to stripping away all the trappings from our idea of "God" - then follows this up by saying that what's left would be "the sum of his attributes." Um... if you stripped away all the trappings, then "God" wouldn't be male. (I won't even get into all the times she refers to "man" or "mankind.") Why is an NPR religion journalist so ignorant about gender? Why is someone who's so interested in every other aspect of what God might be like, totally narrow-minded about God having to be male?
Also, her idea of God, besides being male, seemed very Christian (or possibly more broadly, Judeo-Christo-Islamic) to me, and did not fit with my conception of the divine. She talks about a new conception of God based on science, but doesn't seem aware that there are other conceptions of "God" out there. She could have talked to Witches and heard ideas about Gaia, the Earth as living consciousness, the Goddess as the totality of being. These concepts are totally in line with the ideas she was exploring, but she just (apparently) wasn't interested.
But what really drove me crazy was that, aside from a few token references to "He or She", the God that she imagines is clearly, solely male. She even refers at one point to stripping away all the trappings from our idea of "God" - then follows this up by saying that what's left would be "the sum of his attributes." Um... if you stripped away all the trappings, then "God" wouldn't be male. (I won't even get into all the times she refers to "man" or "mankind.") Why is an NPR religion journalist so ignorant about gender? Why is someone who's so interested in every other aspect of what God might be like, totally narrow-minded about God having to be male?
Also, her idea of God, besides being male, seemed very Christian (or possibly more broadly, Judeo-Christo-Islamic) to me, and did not fit with my conception of the divine. She talks about a new conception of God based on science, but doesn't seem aware that there are other conceptions of "God" out there. She could have talked to Witches and heard ideas about Gaia, the Earth as living consciousness, the Goddess as the totality of being. These concepts are totally in line with the ideas she was exploring, but she just (apparently) wasn't interested.
philippelazaro's review against another edition
4.0
“I came to define God by His handiwork: a craftsman who builds the hope of eternity into our genes, a master electrician and chemist who outfits our brains to access another dimension, a guru who rewards our spiritual efforts by allowing us to feel united with all things, an intelligence that pervades every atom and every nanosecond, all time and space, in the throes of death, or the ecstasy of life.”
–Barbara Bradley Hagerty
The topic of life after death is both so divisive and sensationalized that almost always, I'd be skeptical of a book that even starts to approach this topic. Thankfully Hagerty had some of my favorite authors across various fields provide their acclaim for her book jacket that drew me in.
Actually, for a topic that usually gets either swept up in emotionalism, sensational but unverifiable accounts, or rejectionism, this book actually does a fantastic job of factoring in personal anecdotes, scientific explanations, and ways these things can perhaps come together.
–Barbara Bradley Hagerty
The topic of life after death is both so divisive and sensationalized that almost always, I'd be skeptical of a book that even starts to approach this topic. Thankfully Hagerty had some of my favorite authors across various fields provide their acclaim for her book jacket that drew me in.
Actually, for a topic that usually gets either swept up in emotionalism, sensational but unverifiable accounts, or rejectionism, this book actually does a fantastic job of factoring in personal anecdotes, scientific explanations, and ways these things can perhaps come together.
thestarman's review against another edition
2+ stars. Nice effort. Author visits & interviews interesting people, who often seem as nutty as they are intelligent.
Possibly a good read if you are interested in working of the brain (layman's level), or science/biology vs religious musings. Not a bad read, but at the end I knew about as much on the subject as when I began (I've read a handful of similar books). On the plus side, FINGERPRINTS OF God helped me get to sleep.
For a similar book with a bit more humor: [b:Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife|14990|Spook Science Tackles the Afterlife|Mary Roach|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1401287778s/14990.jpg|2398507] (which I give ~2.75 stars)
Possibly a good read if you are interested in working of the brain (layman's level), or science/biology vs religious musings. Not a bad read, but at the end I knew about as much on the subject as when I began (I've read a handful of similar books). On the plus side, FINGERPRINTS OF God helped me get to sleep.
For a similar book with a bit more humor: [b:Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife|14990|Spook Science Tackles the Afterlife|Mary Roach|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1401287778s/14990.jpg|2398507] (which I give ~2.75 stars)
vanillabee's review against another edition
3.0
I've enjoyed the actual scientific content of this book, but I don't enjoy the way it's written and the author's personal bits mixed in. The author tends to bring the same stuff up again and again and repeat the same phrases ("dopamine is what causes runner's high" for example) and it got really annoying. For me - how it was written was at too low a level, explanations felt overly simplistic, the metaphors often used felt unnecessary. I was interested in the science more than anything, and would have liked more of that, but got a lot of the author's personal life and opinions instead. I understand the book was written for personal reasons, so it's not fault of the authors, but I didn't like it myself. Having her impose her opinions on the information (like in the chapter about the non-local mind, when she talks about how that "left me a bit cold"), draw every story back to her own anecdotes and experiences, and end every chapter with her personal perspective ruined it for me. It could have made the book interesting, but I didn't really care. I would have preferred a book with an invisible narrator.
thursdaymouse's review against another edition
5.0
This book has indelibly imprinted itself on my soul, and in doing so has eased part of my curiosity of how contemporary neuroscientists are dealing with the problem of consciousness. Science has made it's mark on me, yet I cannot shake my inherent spiritual nature, nor have I wanted to within the past few years, I have accepted myself as a believer. Barbara Bradley Hagerty writes with genuinety and respect for both spiritualists and materialists alike. If you have ever questioned the beliefs of your childhood...read about Barbara's journey through the spiritual landscape and how it is making it's way more and more into mainstream science. You will have eased a bit of your questions by the end, I hope...Paradigm shift? Perhaps one day...
jenlouden's review
3.0
I love the stories, love the writing, but in the end, all Barbara can really say is you can have faith if you want it - science can't prove or disprove God yet.
raehink's review
3.0
The author has a unique and unsettling experience which propels her into the world of neurology to find out what science says about our spirituality. A fascinating read.
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