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A review by ben_smitty
36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
5.0
Wow. Goldstein's 36 Arguments for the Existence of God is probably one of the nerdiest books I've ever read. Topics discussed (either fully or in passing) include Hasidism, transcendentalism, game theory, moral psychology, anthropology, probability theory, Orthodox Judaism, prime numbers, Hermetic Qabbalah, Platonism, mindfulness, and of course the existence of God (and much much more). References to authors, philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, poets, and religious figures add up to over a hundred. And they all fit into a perfect story about the tensions between familial ties and individual fulfillment in this mysterious world that we live in. I haven't even mentioned the Appendix, which contains 36 counter-arguments against the existence of God (which was like having a scoop of ice cream after a satisfying meal)
I was surprised by how much I loved the novel and its quirks. True, it is hard to put something like this together and expect a coherent story, but I was blown away by the clarity of Goldstein's prose. The main character, Cass Seltzer, is dubbed the "atheist with a soul" after his publication of The Varieties of Religious Illusion (a play on William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience), a book which contains 36 arguments against the existence of God in the Appendix (similar to the structure of the novel itself). He is a professor of Psychology, who specializes in Psychology of Religion. The novel deals with Seltzer's past romance and eventual divorce, his obsession with a mystic Jewish professor during his time as a graduate student, and his ties with Azarya, the Rabbi's son in Seltzer's own hometown, New Valden.
Surprisingly, Goldstein did not strawman religious people at all, and I thought she represented Christian arguments well in the debate between Cass Seltzer and Felix Fidley (a Christian professor of Economics). The entire novel was almost like a preface, saying "even though I don't believe in the existence of God, I will respect your stance on the mystery of the world and the beauty of religion"before proceeding to pull theistic arguments apart. While I was expecting a new atheist bash-fest novel about the stupidity of religion, similar to the likes of Dawkins and Hitchens, I realized that the real "atheist with a soul" is Goldstein herself.
I was surprised by how much I loved the novel and its quirks. True, it is hard to put something like this together and expect a coherent story, but I was blown away by the clarity of Goldstein's prose. The main character, Cass Seltzer, is dubbed the "atheist with a soul" after his publication of The Varieties of Religious Illusion (a play on William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience), a book which contains 36 arguments against the existence of God in the Appendix (similar to the structure of the novel itself). He is a professor of Psychology, who specializes in Psychology of Religion. The novel deals with Seltzer's past romance and eventual divorce, his obsession with a mystic Jewish professor during his time as a graduate student, and his ties with Azarya, the Rabbi's son in Seltzer's own hometown, New Valden.
Surprisingly, Goldstein did not strawman religious people at all, and I thought she represented Christian arguments well in the debate between Cass Seltzer and Felix Fidley (a Christian professor of Economics). The entire novel was almost like a preface, saying "even though I don't believe in the existence of God, I will respect your stance on the mystery of the world and the beauty of religion"before proceeding to pull theistic arguments apart. While I was expecting a new atheist bash-fest novel about the stupidity of religion, similar to the likes of Dawkins and Hitchens, I realized that the real "atheist with a soul" is Goldstein herself.