So, he is explaining not specifically why people “believe in God” but why they believe in spirits including his god, The Trinity. 21, 40, 55-56) belief in which is promoted by the unconscious mental processes he is describing. He makes this clear by references to ghosts, spirits of ancestors, and local (forest) spirits as “gods” (pp. 15) are actually reasons for belief in spirits (including gods). ) The present essay is a critique of arguments and statements in chapters 7 and 8, where the author departs from a scientific presentation and enters into more overtly theistic arguments.Īn important initial point: what Barrett describes as reasons for “belief in gods generally and God particularly” (p. (Expositions of this kind were made previously by others. He is currently a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, which advertises that it emphasizes “the integration of psychology and Christian theology,” and that its faculty are “committed Christian disciples.” The first six chapters of Barrett’s book Why Would Anyone Believe in God? (Barrett, 2004) are a largely unexceptionable presentation of recent understanding of the primitive, unconscious mental processes that are one explanation of the existence, prevalence, and durability of belief in gods. Barrett is a psychologist who studies cognition.
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