Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s religious fiction, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God (2009), follows an atheist professor on a quest to understand religion and why people believe in God. The book is popular with readers of religious fiction for its exploration of the tension between religious belief and skepticism. An award-winning writer with a PhD in philosophy, Goldstein taught courses on subjects such as the rationalists, the empiricists, the ancient Greeks, and philosophical theories at Barnard College before writing full-time. 36 Arguments for the Existence of God is one of her most popular works.