Watts, William

English

Digital Commons @ Butler University

Butler University Digital Commons @ Butler University LAS Faculty Book Reviews College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 9-1-2010 36 Arguments for the Existence of God by Rebecca Goldstein, Pantheon, 2010 William Watts Butler University, wwatts@butler.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/las_bookreviews Recommended Citation Watts, William, "36 Arguments for the Existence of God by Rebecca Goldstein, Pantheon, 2010" (2010). LAS Faculty Book Reviews. 57. https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/las_bookreviews/57 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Digital Commons @ Butler University. It has been accepted for inclusion in LAS Faculty Book Reviews by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Butler University. For more information, please contact digitalscholarship@butler.edu. Because Ideas Matter... The faculty and staff of Butler University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences presents Recommended Readings 36 Arguments for the Existence of God by Rebecca Goldstein, Pantheon, 2010 Reviewed by William Watts   Rebecca Goldstein's 36 Arguments for the Existence of God has a wonderfully misleading title. It is not a theological treatise or an exercise in piety, but a lively novel. The main character, Cass Seltzer, is a university professor who has just published a book entitled The Varieties of Religious Illusion, which refutes each of the 36 arguments he has identified for the existence of god. As a result, he gains national fame as the "atheist with a soul," and is in high demand on the talk-show circuit. The success of Seltzer's book initiates a surprising sequence of events, including a job offer from Harvard, the loss of his long-term girlfriend, and a rediscovery of his Hassidic roots. While the novel does not affirm the existence of god, it is nevertheless organized around the 36 arguments Seltzer has identified, and it has chapter titles such as "The Argument from the Improbable Self" and "The Argument from Cosmic Tremblings." This gives the novel a double reference; it moves gracefully between the mundane realities of day-to-day life and the deeper questions that lie just beneath the surface. While the novel is often comic, it provides a serious exploration of the ways in which religious belief both advances and impedes our search for meaning and understanding. Goldstein manages all of this with a light touch and a humanity that leave the reader wishing for more arguments. - Willam Watts is associate professor of English at Butler University.  

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