Michael Krasny visits Google’s San Francisco office to present his book “Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic’s Quest”. This event took place on January 26, 2011, as part of the Authors@Google series.
Books by agnostics about their agnosticism (unlike the prolific atheists) are anything but a dime a dozen. In fact, Krasny’s latest is one of only a dozen or so published this century. Krasny may be a university professor, but he doesn’t address his questions as an academic. He explores agnosticism the way he explores topics on his daily NPR show—in a thoughtful, informed, and almost conversational tone. The main difference is this isnt just any issue; it’s Krasny’s own story. The author’s honesty begins with the book’s title. He obviously envies the feelings of peace and comfort that people of faith experience. Keeping him from it, though, are innumerable questions. The book presents these ruminations with only hints to the answers. The questions involve issues like the Ten Commandments, God’s existence, evil, and tolerance. Along the way, Krasny brings many people into the conversation—fellow agnostics like Thomas Huxley, atheists like Richard Dawkins, and even biblical characters like Job. The author’s nondogmatic stance will please virtually all readers.