The Measure of God: Our Century-Long Struggle to Reconcile Science & Religion

The Gifford lectures have been given by many of the most influential thinkers in disciplines such as philosophy, theology, sociology, psychology and the natural sciences over the past 120 years. This book describes the origin and history of the lectures, but it does much more than that. The lectures are grouped by period (into four chronological "acts" as the author calls them), and within each period the lectures are discussed in the context of the major intellectual currents of the time. The content of a lecture series is not simply summarized, but the reasoning of the lecturer is explained by reference to what he or she was seeking to add to an ongoing argument and to advance the understanding of a discipline by the audience and by the wider public. The impact of the lectures on the discipline is also explained. Larry Witham has studied the lectures and is able to identify and explain the reasoning of the author in a clear and understandable fashion. This is not to say that the book can be skimmed through and the content absorbed. The book is substantial and should be read carefully as there is much in it worth pausing and pondering. The book contains just over 300 pages of well-written text. An appendix includes a listing of every Gifford lecture, where and when it was given, the title of the book in which the lectures were published (or the title of the lectures if they were not published, which is uncommon) and the lecturer's affiliation. This is a stimulating volume that would be a welcome gift to anyone interested in the development of modern thought.