Agnosticism and Christianity and Other Essays (Great Mind Series)

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Summary: one of my favorite authors
Review: Huxley is one of my favorite authors. I haven't read this book but I have read Science and Christian Tradition from which most of these essays are derived. Stephen J. Gould said of Huxley, "Great and passionate writing does not only appear in novels. As a prose stylist, a few nineteenth-century scientists [Playfair, Lyell, and Huxley in particular] rank with the finest Victorian fiction writers." I couldn't agree more.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: The chapters in this book mainly come from Huxley's much larger "Science and the Christian Tradition". If you can get a hold of this book I highly recommend reading it; it takes the reader much farther than "Agnosticism and Christianity". If you cannot find the larger, then read this book. Huxley very matter of factly lays out why the bible cannot be taken as an authoritative source on its own.

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Summary: Evolution, Epistemology, and Agnosticism According to Huxley
Review: The topic of Agnosticism consumes a relatively minor part of this book. It is interesting to read Huxley's exposition on Darwin's theory of evolution and how he makes the case for why it is more plausible than any other theory. While some of what he says would require modification in light of modern evolutionary thought, most of his arguments (using data from anthropology, archaeology, biology, embryology, genetics, geology, etc.) are still valid. Other essays include discussions on epistemology especially with regard to supernaturalism and claims of miracles. Only in the last several pages does Huxley elaborate on the origin and meaning of Agnosticism. In fact, he seems almost reluctant to descend into the discussion. He indulges the reader nevertheless and does a stupendous job of stating the case. A pleasant read on a rainy day.