In this second volume of his expansive history of atheism, S. T. Joshi examines the major trends in the last four centuries. The Scientific Revolution, culminating in the work of Galileo and Newton, expressed an increasing awareness of the natural functioning of the universe without the intervention of a god. In spite of the emergence of major religious figures in philosophy (Descartes, Spinioza) and literature (Pascal, Milton, Bunyan), the trend was toward secularism. This trend erupted in the French Enlightenment in the 18th century, with such titans as Voltaire, Diderot, and Hume, some of whom were the first explicit atheists in Western history. In the 19th century, biblical criticism and the advance of science (especially Darwin' s theory of evolution) destroyed the remaining intellectual pillars supporting religion. This work reached a pinnacle in the 20th century, when atheism and secularism flourished in such figures as
Russell, Einstein, and, at the beginning of the 21st century, the New Atheists. Joshi traces all these issues in detail, consulting a vast array of sources to portray a Western civilization where secularism is now the dominant mode of thought and action.
About the Author :
S. T. Joshi is a writer, editor, and scholar whose previous books include Atheism: A Reader and The Unbelievers: The Evolution of Modern Atheism.
Review :
"Even a treatise exceeding six hundred pages cannot begin to contain the swelling ocean of S.T. Joshi's encyclopedic erudition. One marvels that a single brain is capable of such a feat. As a theologian and New Testament scholar, I can attest to the fairness and acute insight of his valuable section on Biblical Criticism. But I must also go on to compare this masterful volume to a detailed autopsy of the Divine Phantom. Orthodox theism declined to comatose oblivion in inverse proportion to the growing intellectual maturity of humanity. Each degree of God's decline marked an increase of humanity's vigor. Let Joshi's book stand as a tombstone attesting the Death of God!" --Robert M. Price, Editor, Journal of Higher Criticism "Epic in scale, comprehensive in its research, and engaging in its narrative, S.T. Joshi's magisterial history of Western atheism is without question the definitive work on this topic." --Ronald A. Lindsay, Editor, Free Inquiry
"Masterfully written and highly readable, The Downfall of God (now two volumes) is undoubtedly S. T. Joshi's magnum opus." --Roderick Bradford, Editor and Publisher, The Truth Seeker magazine
