Vincent Bugliosi, bestselling author of books about some of the most hated and notorious real-life villains in the past fifty years, takes on the question of God and his existence or nonexistence in his new book. Bugliosi’s past books have been about the murders committed by Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, and Lee Harvey Oswald. His other day job is prosecuting attorney where he actually prosecuted Manson.
In his newest book, Divinity of Doubt: The God Question he prosecutes theists (believers in God), atheists (believers that no such being greater than humans exists), and the notion of religion. Starting with the introduction, his conviction in his own beliefs, those of an agnostic, taking no position on whether there is or isn’t a God, is readily apparent.
While the author makes some valid points about organized religion, the lacking of any real evidence of God’s existence or nonexistence, and even the validity of many Bible passages, his sarcasm, perceived anger, and the way he ridicules other beliefs diminishes any ground he may have been able to gain. It is difficult to determine throughout the book if the topic of God is the author’s target or God himself is the villain.
Imperfection from Above
Bugliosi makes many references about God being all-knowing, all-powerful, all-love, and all-good throughout the book. He also points out all of the ways that the Bible, God, and humans are imperfect. It’s that imperfection that seems to be at the heart of his anger, or at least what many readers will perceive as anger.
Some of his thoughts, especially at the beginning of the book, are contradictory, which may stem from his self-proclaimed agnostic views. For example, Bugliosi declares early in the book that there is much more evidence that man created God than that God created man. Immediately after writing that statement, he tells readers such a thought does not mean that God did not create man.
Why God Lets Bad Things Happen
This is an age old question. If God is so good, so knowing, so loving, why does He let bad things happen to good people, to innocent children, or to His only son? Many theologians have provided a plethora of answers. Granted, most of the answers really don’t hold much logic. Once again, religious leaders have an answer to that as well, having faith means accepting such answers without the logic.
Granted, Bugliosi has real-life experience with and has written about some of the worst criminals imaginable which could easily taint his views a bit. Some of the passages in this book seems as if he trying to prosecute God for all of the terrible events in history such as 9/11, the Holocaust, and other tragedies where human life was destroyed or tortured.
Thought Provoking Questions
If the reader can get past the author’s attitude as well as their own fear of questioning the existence of God, Bugliosi asks valid questions and provides reasonable answers, making the reader probably think that this writer’s view of the book is contradictory.
On one hand, the author’s unchecked attitude permeates throughout the book. There are sections of the book he writes in a more calm manner allowing his premise to bear fruit and giving the reader solid suppositions to seriously consider.
Emotional Topic Emotionless Book
Regardless of the reader’s belief in God or religion, this book will create all sorts of emotions and emotional reactions. Some readers will be angry. Some will completely agree with everything the author writes. And, some others will completely dismiss the entire premise. What is certain about this book is that Bugliosi has stripped emotion (except for anger) out of a highly emotional topic making it much harder to connect to him and his theories.
In the introduction section, he makes a statement about the ability of wise men saying foolish things just as a fool can say wise things. Not sure if the author considers himself a wise man writing foolish theories or a fool writing wise thoughts.
Nonetheless, the book does have a voice making it a relatively good read. The one downfall is that the author’s sarcasm may diminish the ability for the book to distinguish itself from the thousands of other books on the same topic.
Divinity of Doubt: The God Question by Vincent Bugliosi Vanguard Press, 2011, ISBN: 978-1-59315-629-9
