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Buy This Book and Re-Think Your Life & Your Afterlife Nov 4, 2009 (71 of 93 found this helpful)
In all his previous books, Dinesh D'Souza has typically challenged long-held assumptions in order to find, or get closer, to the truth. "Life After Death: The Evidence," however, examines a question most of us ask ourselves and one which all of us should be asking: what comes after we "die"? And by using this method, he helps us question how we may get closer to the truth about life and mortality, which leads logically to the question of immortality. Atheists frothing at the mouth to belittle a book based on faith in God and immortality (hey Boston College - why not release the debate tape between Alan Wolfe and D'Souza if Wolfe is as bright as he claims?) rushed in typical fashion to write simple-minded reviews blasting this book for doing what D'Souza does best: tackle tough questions that atheists cannot answer. But D'Souza confuses the nonbelievers in his new book by providing evidence for life after death by employing the scientific method - the same logic atheists claim eliminates any possibility of an afterlife. What do we "know"? We are "born," we hopefully live a fruitful life, and we "die." What happened before we were "born"? What happens after we "die"? D'Souza is one of the best analysts of qualitative and quantitative data and a first-rate researcher and author, and "Life After Death" is a gift to all of us. If we value our lives and those of others, there are no other issues more important than the one D'Souza brings to life in his new book. As usual, is it clearly written and logical. Buy this book and re-think your life. Then re-think your afterlife. This book belongs on everyone's bookshelf.
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Another Thought-Provoker From Dinesh Nov 11, 2009 (11 of 15 found this helpful)
Polemic, irenic, elenchtic; all three styles of proof presentation are found in this book. Mr. D'Souza is at his best, inducing the reader to mull over the evidence for life after death.
Beginning with NDE claims, moving on to developments in physics that recognize possibilities beyond the limits of physical laws, observing a natural teleology evident in biology, exposing reductive materialism as counterfactual, identifying the naïveté of an empirical realism, offering the notion of "cosmic justice" as a basis for morality, that human choice is aspirational when clothed by conscience, and concluding that the products of science and philosophy posit beneficent design, the author reveals that the evidence is at least "clear and convincing" for life after death. Then, and most offending for some, it is evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that moves one to the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard of proof.
Despite the tenor of the reviews of this book, from virulent attack to accepting praise, the reader is only asked to think about the viability of the various models that currently occupy the field. And, that is certainly what the author has accomplished; he has advanced the discussion. He has done so thoughtfully and honestly and on a level that enables most readers to understand his argument.
Mr. D'Souza set out to offer a rational hope for immortality. In the process, he reveals that it is irrational to assume that ideas of eternality are somehow logically illicit and unscientific. Ironically, as demonstrated by this book, such an assumption is, in itself, intellectually unsophisticated and ultimately dishonest. Even a Sarte recognized that denial of immortality should lead to despair. All readers can agree on one fact - we shall all face death. One can despair, one can ignore, one can examine the claims of immortality, or one can deny without examination. One can act or be acted upon. In this context, examining the claims for immortality constitutes the act; being acted upon is . . .
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You'll Find Out Nov 3, 2009 (51 of 77 found this helpful)
No, I haven't read the book. But I did listen to a 3 hour interview yesterday with D'souza.
First off, the man deserves a fair hearing. He's reasonable, and quite rational. He looks at evidence, not belief- and he uses his critical mind quite clearly. No, life after death cannot be 'proven', and he says this baldly and straight out. But there is so much evidence pointing in the direction of life after death....... any open mind will find plenty to ponder.
As for you closed minds out there, here's a thought experiment. Can you prove that beauty exists? No. Can you prove that love exists? No. Many elements of life cannot be proven, and our culture's scientific materialism sneers, and actually seems frightened, that there is so much that it cannot comprehend.
Remember, you can throw out the bathwater of organized religion, but the baby of truth, however poorly parented, is precious. Reason should follow evidence, not dogma. If you don't think the case for life after death has merit, you're simply not looking with an open mind!
In any case, you'll find out! Meanwhile, D'Souza is a worthy contributor to this most compelling topic.
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Engaging and well researched Nov 13, 2009 (6 of 9 found this helpful)
Like an extended conversation with a generous and likable friend, this is a book to treasure, and read more than once. I applaud D'Sousa's strategy of not using the often irrational, emotional and highly personal accounts of people who testify to NDEs. Nor does he engage in the circular arguments of the devout who use scripture to prove their points. There are many fine books that do both of these.
Life After Death stands apart from them by marching smartly into the teeth of the strongest arguments atheists can muster for a materialistic worldview. The author kindly takes them on, point by point, to show their arguments as superficial and inadequate to answer the larger questions posed by astrophysics, philosophy, sociology and psychology. He does not play the triumphalist who loudly proclaims victory over his foes, rather with humor and kindness gently leads the reader into the deeper waters of his arguments and makes his points one-by-one, piling up strong, if not overwhelming, evidence to support his thesis.
This is an ideal read for a layperson who is smart and curious but not expert in the various disciplines D'Souza explores. I recommend it highly.
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An excellent overview of a provocative topic. Well-written, incisive, and extremely compelling. Nov 20, 2009
Dinesh D'Souza is a gifted intellectual; he was the Robert and Karen Rishwain Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He has a very solid reputation as a scholar and lecturer. His approach to this highly controversial topic is measured and intelligent. To enrich the discussion, he refers to a number of excellent studies on the perception of death in Western culture, such as Aries' foundational study "The Hour of our Death."
This book is an extremely well-written and clear-headed overview of a provocative topic that has been with us for centuries but is lately appearing in the news and attracting the attention of neuroscientists and other scholars on the cutting edges of their fields. The stories told by survivors are strikingly similar across cultural boundaries and through the span of time. Such accounts, as Dinesh eloquently demonstrates through a series of philosophically rich discussions of the evidence, deserve the serious attention they are being given by the gifted intellectuals who are carefully discussing this material.
Please ignore the one-star reviews written by a few disgruntled Dawkins lapdogs who have NOT read this book. They have nothing creative or compelling to add to the discussion; they merely repeat the tired and philosophically shallow canards Dawkins (who has no grasp of the philosophy he stumbles blindly through) offers up as "arguments." These reviewers do not understand the argument Dinesh has set forth nor do they understand the fact that claims of "proof" and "evidence" are highly problematic when these terms are mistakenly invoked in disparate discourses. Read "At the Origins of Modern Atheism" for starters; then take some serious philosophy courses before you start claiming that you have "proven" anything at all whatsoever.
You will not be disappointed by this excellent study. It is a highly readable book as well as a scholarly one -- a rare combination indeed these days.