Book Details:
Title and Author: The
Evolution of Gods: The Scientific Origin of Divinity and Religions
by Dr. Ajay Kansal
Evolution of Gods: The Scientific Origin of Divinity and Religions
by Dr. Ajay Kansal
Print Length: 214 Pages
Publication Date: August 2012
Language: English
Genre: Non-Fiction, Religion and Spirituality, Comparative Religion,
Atheism
Atheism
Blurb:
Did gods create humanity or did humans create gods?
Did gods create mankind, or did mankind create gods? Why, when and how did mankind begin to worship gods?
Religious scriptures the world over claim that one or the other god made all plants and animals, but science has not yet identified any supernatural power that created and overned living beings. Was it man who came up with the idea of gods to help him cope with his own fears? Could it be that ancient people attributed natural phenomena-unfathomable and frightening to them-to the working of invisible gods? What kind of sufferings or fears made people bow before unseen powers or gods as we call them? When were these gods
created? Who invented morals and methods of worship? Who wrote the ancient scriptures such as the Bible and the Vedas? Most crucially, have gods and the scriptures shaped our responses to the world around us?
The Evolution of Gods seeks to answer these questions, and explains scientifically how, when and why religions and gods came into being.Ajay Kansal marshals anthropological and historical facts about the development of religions in a simple and straight forward manner to assert that it was mankind that created gods, and not the other way around.
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Review
How many of us have questioned why 'God' came into being? How many of us have dared to ask this question? I have. Have been hushed all the time. So when I came across this book, it brought forward all the so called rebellious thoughts of mine. I, as a 'Man', have evolved. According to the Darwin’s Theory of Evolution- from the apes. But what about our Maker? Who thought of him or about him? What is the story behind the Evolution of God?
Ajay Kansal has very beautifully portrayed how the concept of religion and the fear of religion came into being. Whether I agree with him or not doesn't matter or is of no consequence. I, as a reviewer, am only presenting how he wrote the book and his thoughts. I necc. don't have to agree with him.
Few of his concepts that caught my eye:
1) How did priests come into being?
2) Why we started burying out dead or burning them?
3) Concept why hymns came into being or rather why priests chanted them?
4) Why different religions sacrificed animals?
His language is impeccable and his thoughts are clear. But as a reader, I found it more of a history lesson than a belief. My problem is only one thing – the same one I had from my childhood. A why? How did Mr. Ajay Kansal come to this conclusion? How can he back his thoughts up scientifically? Yes, he has traced the roots back to history. Why man feared and worshiped fire…. But who created the fire? He has answered questions like why man feared the flood and worshiped Jal Dev .. my question would be who created the water. It is like old wine in a new bottle. My moral science teacher told me the same thing.
But if I go alone with his thoughts, I found them well researched and well written. His voice has a commanding tone, makes a reader want to sit up, to understand the concept. A great writing trait indeed.
Rating
Reasoning
As I have already mentioned the questions which he attempt to answer, the answers to the question I am searching – is still a question to me. I hope Mr. Ajay Kansal can answer me those one day. But he is one powerful writer whom I will surely look out for when his next book is published.
About the Author:
Follow The Author:
Ajay Kansal is a professor and consultant pathologist. It was during his medical practice that he encountered human suffering in a big way that made him question the concept of Gods and drove him to write this book.
The Evolution of Gods is his first book and the only book written by an Indian author on the concept of the existence of God which talks of all religions and is not based on any one particular form of it. His next work is a romance which is currently in progress.
Water is a compound, created by the fusion of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Period. Nobody created it. There is matter in the universe in various forms. They keep interacting and morphing into other matter. Nobody can create matter. Nobody can even destroy matter. It can only be changed into another form. Fire is a by-product of chemical reactions between two elements.
ReplyDeleteThanks Neelesh. Ok even if I go by this theory... who created the matter? So fire is the chemical reaction between two elements? So where have those elements come from. Scientefically we can prove every part that is present in this universe. Even I dont know if I am an aethiest or not .. but the question always remains... how ? this matter, this chemical reaction must have originated somewhere .. where ?
DeleteYou have written a superb review considering that you don't agree with most of what the author says. I don't either. And I found the book terribly boring. Do check out CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD by Neale Donald Walsch if you are really seeking an answer. No, he does not promote a Christian God or a punishing God. He is just talking about GOD, my kind - who has no religion. Was Jesus Christ a Christian? or was Prophet Mohammed a Muslim? If that is so, does religion make sense? It doesn't to me. But GOD does
ReplyDeleteThis was a tough book to review Sundari. Specially in these kinds of books one always sees the thier own viewpoint. We have always had influx of such info. I really wish some thoughts would change from HOW to WHY. Maybe then we will get some answers we are all searching for.
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