Why do we believe in God? Why do we doubt Him?For as long as humans have huddled around firelight, stared at storms, buried their dead, and carved their myths into stone, the whisper of God has haunted us. God: A History of Belief and Doubt follows that whisper across time-from cave paintings to cathedrals, prophets to philosophers, empires to exiles, atheists to modern seekers. Dustin Gross tells the story without sermonizing or sugar-coating.
With wit, bite, and brutal honesty, he examines how awe gave birth to gods, how power turned gods into empires, how philosophy stretched God into abstraction, how Israel, Christianity, and Islam reshaped belief, and how unbelief has always pushed back with equal force. This is not a book that promises proof. It is a book of story, flesh and blood, history and heresy. You may walk away more convinced or more skeptical-but you will not walk away untouched.
Inside you'll find: The primal hunger that birthed gods in caves and firelight How tribal protectors became imperial mascots The radical leap of monotheism and its twin shadow of doubt Incarnation, revolution, and the audacity of God made flesh Islam's uncompromising cry of mercy and oneness Modern skepticism, science, and the survival of belief Belief and unbelief are not enemies. They are twins, locked in an eternal argument.
This book is their story-and ours.
Why do we believe in God? Why do we doubt Him?For as long as humans have huddled around firelight, stared at storms, buried their dead, and carved their myths into stone, the whisper of God has haunted us. God: A History of Belief and Doubt follows that whisper across time-from cave paintings to cathedrals, prophets to philosophers, empires to exiles, atheists to modern seekers. Dustin Gross tells the story without sermonizing or sugar-coating.
With wit, bite, and brutal honesty, he examines how awe gave birth to gods, how power turned gods into empires, how philosophy stretched God into abstraction, how Israel, Christianity, and Islam reshaped belief, and how unbelief has always pushed back with equal force. This is not a book that promises proof. It is a book of story, flesh and blood, history and heresy. You may walk away more convinced or more skeptical-but you will not walk away untouched.
Inside you'll find: The primal hunger that birthed gods in caves and firelight How tribal protectors became imperial mascots The radical leap of monotheism and its twin shadow of doubt Incarnation, revolution, and the audacity of God made flesh Islam's uncompromising cry of mercy and oneness Modern skepticism, science, and the survival of belief Belief and unbelief are not enemies. They are twins, locked in an eternal argument.
This book is their story-and ours.