Table of Contents
Faith and Atheism - a possible synthesis? 1
The main synthesis 2
The detailed argument 5
Humanity today 7
Why people don't believe 8
Creation, complexity, Darwin and Dawkins 8
Contemporary philosophers 13
The history of religion 17
Technology is god? 18
European intellectual cynicism, American believerism and Asian religion 21
A holistic history of humanity 24
Enlightened humanity 28
Enlightenment time line 33
Cogito ergo sum 34
Choice, cause and chance 35
Determination of outcomes 43
Are we alone - does cosmology suggest theism? 45
Metaphysics - from Aristotle to Hegel 51
Current thinking - the paradigm of postmodern society 52
The church in modernity 57
Towards a synthesis 71
The physical connection 72
The soul connection 75
The divine connection 77
The myth connection 78
A proposed synthesis 80
Andre Comte-Sponville
A Short Treatise on the Great Virtues 82
Justice 87
Love 95
Market 97
Institutions 101
The role of the state 106
Myth - and resurrection 107
Myth - the trinity 110
Myth - sibling rivalry 112
Fear 113
The blessed life 114
Hosting the synthesis 117
Bibliography 118