God, the Failed Hypothesis - book review

Does "God, the Failed Hypothesis" by Victor J. Stenger really illustrate "How Science Shows that God Does Not Exist"? I find the claim of this book rather intriguing because so many atheists stay far away from such a claim. Trying to prove that God does NOT exist, they say, is equivalent to proving a negative such as "there are no invisible pink unicorns living in this universe." Even if we were able to scan the whole universe with invisible pink unicorn detectors, unless we scanned the entire universe at the same time, a claim may be made that our unicorn had moved around to escape detection.

Stenger tries a more sophisticated approach by specifying a particular God, namely the God of the three monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He is not saying that science proves there is no god (generalized & unspecific) but that it can prove there is no GOD (specifically the god of Abraham). By specifying a specific God who says that he is involved with the human race, Stenger can test hypotheses about what the world scene would look like with and without a God.

To set up the testing, Stenger must first explain what science is and how science uses testable hypotheses to rule out things that are not true. For example, if prayer is truly effective then it must make a difference in people's lives. Such differences would be measurable with a properly set up experiment.

For the rest of the book Stenger refers to experiment after experiment, none of which confirm the hypothesis that God exists or interferes in the lives of humans. There may be a God who ONCE created everything and set things in motion but that is an untestable hypothesis so science can neither confirm nor rule out such a God.

This book is not for the faint of heart theist. Such a reader is liable to come away with a questioning belief in God or in science. On the other hand it might be excellent reading for preparing for debating an atheist.