Faith Versus Fact : Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible (9780698195516) by Jerry A. Coyne Page B

Philosophical Association. What does he say about God?
    What [Daniel Dennett] calls an “anthropomorphic” God, furthermore, is precisely what traditional Christians believe in—a god who is a
person,
the sort of being who is capable of knowledge, who has aims and ends,and who can and in fact does act on what he knows in such a way as to try to accomplish those aims.
    For every theological claim that God is a spirit or force about whom we can say little—except that he exists—I can adduce several statements from theologians and believers swearing that God resembles a powerful but bodiless person, with human emotions, motivations, and a loving personality. This view of the deity is not so different from that of the Jehovah’s Witnesses mentioned above, or even the one described to young children in
Bruce and Stan’s Pocket Guide to Talking with God:
    It’s really important to understand that God is not an impersonal force. Even though He is invisible, God is personal and He has all the characteristics of a person. He
knows,
he
hears,
he
feels
and he
speaks
.
    Liberal theologians like Karen Armstrong and David Bentley Hart , who maintain that God is not like this at all, either dismiss the universal belief in a personal God or claim, on no convincing grounds, that it’s wrong. And even if you think that the nebulous “ground of being” God is the most convincing God, you’re ignoring the beliefs of those who actually inject their dogma into the public arena. Certainly one can deal with the “best” arguments for God—which invariably turn out to be the ones so fuzzy that they’re the least capable of being falsified, much less understood—but it’s more important to deal with religious beliefs as they’re held by the vast majority of people on Earth.
    Other Empirical Claims of Religion
    Beyond God, what are the other truths that religions hold dear? I’ve taken one version of the Nicene Creed—a statement recited weekly in many Christian churches, and one of many such creeds maintained by different religions—and simply put in bold its truth claims. While many Christians may piously mouth these words without believing them, many believers certainly see them as true. And virtually every word in this creed is a claim about the universe:
    I believe in one God,
    the Father almighty,
    maker of heaven and earth,
    of all things visible and invisible.
    I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
    the Only Begotten Son of God,
    born of the Father before all ages.
    God from God, Light from Light,
    true God from true God,
    begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
    through him all things were made.
    For us men and for our salvation
    he came down from heaven,
    and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
    and became man.
    For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
    he suffered death and was buried,
    and rose again on the third day
    in accordance with the Scriptures.
    He ascended into heaven
    and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
    He will come again in glory
    to judge the living and the dead
    and his kingdom will have no end.
    I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
    who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
    who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
    who has spoken through the prophets.
    I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
    I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
    and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
    and the life of the world to come. Amen.
    In summary, the Creed claims a monotheistic God, who nevertheless somehow consists of three parts (including Jesus and the Holy Spirit); thecreation of the universe by that God; and the sending of his son—born of a virgin—as an earthly sacrifice to redeem believers from sin. It further asserts that God’s son (who was also God) was crucified but resurrected after three days and, although