*FUZZ ZiLLa* *You are DeMon & Sooo you Don't Have a MoraL ConScience!!!* *No Person of GOD, would Sit on their Ass & just LET* *Donald Trump to become President!!!!* *ALL Persons of GOD, Voted for HeLLary & there was NO Other Choice!*
I don't see how reading to Bible can convert someone from theist to atheist. Nothing in the Bible proves that there is no God. Even if the Bible contains immorality, fictitious material, and/or contradictions, that doesn't mean God does not exist. Deists believe in a Creator God, but not a personal God. Does the Bible prove them wrong about the former?
Luis Tijerina True If Bible is not studied rightly dividing then surely it leads to Atheism Right division bible study clears more confusion You should once go through through this link th-cam.com/video/DzxMhIhG4YM/w-d-xo.html
astropapi1 Actually, I think atheists do cherry pick also, this is not really a problem. However it is not the same. A theory collapses when a single error is traced, but does not necessary be validated when a single point is true. Atheists point out errors in Christian theory, hence the theory is wrong. It doesn't matter how many times Christians point out true things about their theory. It is still wrong.
Chris Oliva Well, if somebody discover's there's something wrong with our current theory of evolution, we change it. If somebody points out one of the (many) flaws in the bible, it's just a methaphor.
I am glad Richard Dawkins started addressing religion, because most scientist just assume that religion and science are on equal grounds, when clearly they are not.
This really got across for me at the end of the Nye Ham debate. This is where both were asked what would change their minds. Nye said evidence, while Ham said nothing.
I don't think most scientists assume that religion and science are on equal grounds, I think most scientists remain silent on the topic of religion because they are competing for grants, grants which are often rewarded by religious government officials.
I asked my christian parents to buy me the skeptics annotated bible for christmas. You can guess what they said. Needless to say, this only reassured me that deep down they knew they were wrong. If they thought they were right, and thought that the bible had nothing bad in it, then why not buy the book? Because it offends them? Why? If it is questioning their faith, and they truly believe their faith to be unquestionable, then what's the harm? That's like getting mad at someone for trying to break your unbreakable door down or something! It makes no sense!
Jeremy Jones i think all christians deep down know they're wrong. Other than the mentally ill ones. (Not an insult, there are many real mentally ill christians, im not making fun of them) They KNOW they're wrong. Because EVERYONE has morals. And really eternal torment and morals. The fact they even defend that is just... agh. Its sickening. And it's really just an insult to the advancement of the human race.
@Fubzilla no, they don't. They might deserve a million years of torment, but not eternal. It only goes to show the difference in morality between atheists and Christians. Eternal torment is infinitely just as bad. This is true. There is no "eternally offending God" logic. Anyone with basic morals and common sense can see infinite punishment is a stupid idea created by morons
@Fubzilla it's funny how you Christians don't even know what Jesus did for the majority of his life. "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." Mahatma Gandhi
It was physics that actually started me down the road to becoming an atheist. Realising that everything around me was really just a bunch of subatomic particles (and waves) made me become a materialist. What really killed my faith, however, was when I combined this with the realisation that every aspect of the mind has a corresponding part of the brain (a part that if removed will destroy that part of the mind). I came to see that everything INCLUDING the mind could be reduced to physics, and that there was thus most likely no after life.
So... because you know how a Mercedes car works, how it functions, how the motor goes, how the pieces work together, and the "laws" that rule the car, does that somehow mean there wanst any Creator of the car in the first place. Even more, if there is a Creator of the entire universe and its perfection, this Creator would be unipotent and allmighty so that way the perfection of the rules of the universe are understandable. Newton was a christian and wrote more theology than physics, Galilei, Kepler and Copernic were profound catholics, and Max Plank for example, was lutheran. Einstein believed in a higher power... HELL, the idea of the combination of maths and experimentation and observation (this before the other) was stablished by Saint. Albertus Magnus, a dominic monk of the XII century. So no, as Pasteur (another great scientist, devout catholic as well) said: "A little bit of science takes you away from God, and more science brings you back to him". Science is not an excuse for not believeing in God. Science and faith can be compatible. Science is not the way towards discovering God, its PHYLOSOPHY. You can either be an atheist (This is all a big cosmological accident, were here by accident, our lifes mean nothing in the end...) or be a theist which is far more heart-warming. And NO, THIS IS NOT AN ARGUMENT I KNOW. The only interesting atheist that doesnt say bullshit and actual arguments is Stephen Hawkins, BUT, as many others commits the intellectual suicide of talking of Phylosophy when hes a scientist, and has not studied phylo in his life. Extremely arrogant and skeptic, as I was in my former atheist view of the world.
Definition of religion: belief of god or higher supernatural being Definition of atheism: DISbelief of god or higher supernatural being Atheism is not a religion! Look in the dictionary!
Junior Bakiny Such as? The ones most commonly pointed to (Buddhism, for example) do believe in the supernatural and beings who are supernatural (in the case of Buddhism these are the Bodhisattvas).
Teddy Covey What this guy said^^ an atheist who believes in something supernatural is still an atheist. Atheism just means has to do with belief in God, not the supernatural. Naturalism on the other hand there is no such person as God, or anything at all like God. It does not allow for the supernatural.
***** I digress, your name sounds of Indian... So it's probably better to ask you. From their own prospective in Jainism, that everything, including what other people regard as supernatural/superstition, is a part of the natural order. Some factions of Buddhism are against the promise of Bodhisattva. I would appreciate some resources. Thanks a lot.
The one book that I will always recommend -not necessarily an atheism book either, more like skepticism- is 'The Demon Haunted World' by Carl Sagan. It is a beautifully written book that regardless of your stance on religion or credulity, showcases the absurdity of believing things without proof or evidence. Despite the fact that I read it long after being an atheist, it was really my first full book on anything a subject even remotely associated to the argument of superstition. I recommend it because I thought that even if I hadn't been the natural-born skeptic I was, I would have loved it to be my first, introductory book. So, even if you are an 'atheist' by definition, but you're still tempted to believe things without proof. THIS is the book to straighten you out.
+The Atheist Voice My journey from faith started with this guy! Hemant Mehta. I think it was the video "Things You Should Not Say To An Atheist." Hemant was so nice and SHATTERED my straw man representation of atheists. I watched more of his videos and started to think about my faith. I've read all of the books he has mentioned and now I am using my college learned animation skills to produce atheist, scientific, and philosophical content on TH-cam! Thanks Hemant Mehta. Book recommendations: The Believing Brain (Michael Shermer) Why Do People Believe Weird Things (Michael Shermer) A Letter to a Christian Nation (Sam Harris) The Moral Landscape (Sam Harris) Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (Sam Harris)
I just got it for Christmas today! Although I'm a deist and I believe in a first cause type of god, I do reject religious dogma and I would also consider myself a freethinker and a skeptic.
Nah, those problems aren't happening because of evolution, there are tons of other reasons why some kind of mutation might happen, it has nothing to do with evolution.
***** Lack of religion does not equal lack of moral values. There are many religious peoples that brake religion barriers. It's all up to You and Your set of moral values, not the religion.
***** I live in Sweden, so I'm brought up without religion (except for in school were we teach "religion" in general as a historical and code of conduct kind of way) . My parents have never believed in religion either, at least not in the 20 years I've lived, they are still happily married as far as I can tell.
***** Uh, forgot to mention...I gave him that book in the express hope that it would do just that....convince him to shed his superstitious religious trappings leftover from his upbringing. Just as I had about a year before I met him. LOL. And for the record, 14 years in and our marriage is doing fine. Peace.
rthqwaik Agreed. Hinduism is actually my top candidate for the "one true religion" (even though I am an Atheist). It's nearly a thousand years older than Judaism, its concepts are extremely vague (which helps eliminate refutation), but most importantly, it's really a religion about love and peace; which is the complete opposite of the Christianity.
But its very anti woman and have all conservative thoughts because the leaders interprete as they want. Gita is super repetitive and vague. But people now a days consider the refined version or interpretated versions as main geta. Go to asitis.com there is translation and long interpretation which try to make it rosy and deep
Mr. McDonald Used to be Hindu like Hemant. Became skeptical around the time I figured out Santa wasn't real. But by then it had taught me a lot of great stuff.
***** first of all, the Hare Krsna movement is a money hoarding enterprise and their versions of things dont really make sense.. so dont consider their version of the asitis Geeta anywhere even close to the real thing.. they make it lousy and attractive for the western world.. and now, myself being an agnostic.. i somehow believe Geeta is the only religious book which makes some sense.. coz it speaks of more fundamental questions of life.. and from no angle it is irrefutable.. it can be broken down too with more logical arguments.. but at the end of the day we cannot know.. atheism and theism.. both are refutable methodologies... both have arguments..
I'm a "new atheist" as you said and I really wanted to get my hands on some atheist books to read to further my knowledge, but I didn't really know which ones. This really helped out, so thank you.
I think as an Indian Why I am an Atheist by The Martyr Bhagat Singh is amazing. He is such a legend still alive in our memories. Sadly every govt is afraid of celebrating him as he is an Atheist.
1. Richard Carrier - 'Why I don't Believe in God' 2. Jerry Coyne - 'Why Evolution is True' 3. Paul Tobin - 'The Rejection of Pascal's Wager' 4. David Fitzgerald - 'Nailed' 5. 'The Big Book of Lists for Atheists, Agnostics, and Secular Humanists' 6. Albert Williams - 'Why our Children will be Atheists'
as someone a biology student i have to say that the ancestors tale, by richard dawkins, really opened my mind for evolution as well, at the time i was already an atheist and already loved science, and evolution, but it was my first actual book on the subject, the first of many more to come, which introduced me to evolution related fields. I'm a bit mad as well with richie (as i like to call him) he's an interesting writer and i would love even more books about the biological sciences from him, for those interested on the subject, i found some equally good, if not better writers about the subject of biology, stephen jay gould, matt riddley and robert sapolsky, pick any book from these writers, all great reads, not too technical(taking out stephen jay gould, the best out of the three in my opinion) and yet very insightful, is all about being presented with diferent perspectives on the subjects you already understand and care about, it really helps you shape your own perspective.
Here in Chile, we have a great book called "Atheists out of the closet", written by Cristóbal Bellolio and I hope the editors decides to translates it , because it's a very good start: it's funny, brings a lot of information and has a whole chapter with suggestions of books; actually I read Hitchen´s "God is not Great" because of that. Hope you guys don't mind my poor grammar. PS: I strongly recommend Sigmund Freud's "The Future of an Illusion", short but powerful text.
One of my favorites is Carl Sagan's "A Daemon Haunted World". It is a guide book to the world of con artists and explains how easily it is to be fooled. It applies to more than religion. How to properly be skeptical.
My top 5 are: 1. "Why we believe in god(s)", J A Thomson. Short, concise. Does what the title says. 2. "A History of God", Karen Armstrong. Religion laid bare. 3. "Being Good", Simon Blackburn. Short, concise. Morality without God. 4. "A universe from nothing", L Krauss, The fact based alternative to Genesis. 5. "Sense & Goodness without God", Richard Carrier. Hard reading about Metaphysical Naturalism but comprehensive and intellectually watertight.
If you ever have to deal with creationists I recommend "Atheist Universe:the thinking person's answer to christian fundamentalism." Concise and easy to read. It will give you direct reasoning and scientific answer's to all those absurd pseudo intellectual arguments for the existence of god.
Hemant Mehta said in this clip that Daniel Dennet's book doesn't get as much attention as books by the other three, Harris, Dawkins, Hitchens, and that he "doesn't understand why." Then in the very next breath he says that Dennet "isn't trying to argue AGAINST anyone's religion in the book." THAT'S why. As cogent and important as all of the books by those guys are, the ones that unfortunately get the most attention are only noticed because they cause a "rage" in the Christian community, and hence the authors get much more exposure, on shows like the Factor with Bill O'Reilly, for example. If more Christians picked up Dennet's book and actually cared to read it, that could be an important step in their deconversion process.
props for mentioning The Ancestors Tale despite it not really being about religion/atheism. THAT BOOK BLEW MY MIND. I always just sorta thought "yeah sure.. small changes.. over time... sure, sounds good" but you don't know nothin' about evolution until you read this! What most people know about evolution is really just the tip of the iceberg. This book adds so much depth to it. It's so much more intricate and amazing. I'd recommend it to anyone :)
I`m reading at this moment "God is not great - How religion poisons everything" and I`m really liking it. It a little heavy at some points when it tells some religious atrocities, but it`s a great book.
Felipe Rodrigues If you liked the book, read Hitchens last book 'Mortality'. It is definitely his best work and one of the most emotional endings of a book I've ever read so far.
The book that catapulted me from really questioning my faith and eventually turned me to become an atheist is Guy Harrison's "50 Simple Questions For Every Christian." Very easy to read and understand. Highly recommendable.
Brother no matter what you hear just don't stop the good work you are doing. I love your video and plz answer some mad people who compare their own ideas with Stephan Hawkins
I started with Dawkin's God Delusion and have heard he had other books that are considered much better. I am so glad you put up this list. I have ordered every single book from amazon. Most of them were below a DOLLAR. Enlightening yourself is less than a DOLLAR. OH MY SCIENCE!
My all-time favorite skeptical book is Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason. While actually a deist instead of an atheist, America's coolest founding father points out all the absurdities and contradictions in both the old and new testaments. ("A bunch of dead people rise up and walk around Jerusalem during Jesus's crucifixion? You'd think there would be more accounts of that in the historical record!")
I think there are many people that dispel the fear or the uncertainty of life by clinging to a religion. Religion itself is a way to manage a community of those people, the problem comes when they want to appear correct in their beliefs and so impose them on everyone else, sadly sometimes by force.
im in the process of reading god is not great, by the brilliant christopher hitchens, and its pretty good so far. he writes exactly how he talks, the man is a genius. i wish i had a chance to meet him, hes changed my life.
would you be in the process of reading Gods word? so that you will know that He is the one, hes great, sovereign & almighty. He writes exactly what he meant, Hes good but hes angry, he love but he hates, he bless & he curse, he saves & he condemn, i wish he changed your life.
You just want to think that way bec. you dont want him. Bible says "Curse is the man who trust in man, bless is the man who trust in the Lord". Do you think he is against his own words? He wrote it w/o flaw using his appointed writers.
Disproving Christianity by David McAfee was really a good book. It does a great job of pointing out the contradictions of the bible. I also liked the way it was presented almost like a debate.
Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, by John W. Loftus, is a great book by someone who truly knows and understands Christianity and Evangelical Christian thought.
Amen to that! ;-) I read Cosmos when I was a wee lad and it started a passion for cosmology that still burns in me to this day. Sagan was and is my hero; imo the best of the science popularizers. I'll always think of him saying "That pale blue dot" in his magnificent baritone every time I think of our world gracefully dancing across the void in a sublime ballet of Newtonian mechanics. =)
A guide on how to convince a religious person (One of the stronger believers) to actually open one of those and read the first 20 or 30 pages would be nice.
I'm a new atheist and have just recently gotten rid of my religious books and was looking to replace them with atheist books. Great recommendations, definitely going to pick them up :)
I recommend "Reasonable Atheism: A Moral Case For Respectful Disbelief" by Scott F. Aikin and Robert B. Talisse. It doesn't seem to be widely known, but I really appreciate its focus on reasonable discussion and its emphasis on our helping believers to understand *why* we don't share their beliefs--as opposed to trying to "convert" theists to unbelief. Most god-believers are NOT "idiots" or evil--they're just wrong about something (in my opinion).
I loaned Sam Harris's The End of Faith to two friends, they both messaged me saying "I'm 36 pages in and this is the best book I've ever read!". I might be retrospectively adjusting my memories, but looking back I think I had that same thought and looked at the page number and saw 36. I bet that's like, the best climax moment, the best first chapter ever written or something. I plan to read it again with this phenomenon in mind.
A book I would strongly recommend is "God: The Failed Hypothesis", by Victor J. Stenger. It goes past the idea that there is no positive evidence for the existence of God, and postulates that science shows that the world was NOT designed and that, therefore, there is no God, at least no god of the type that the Abrahamic religions believe in. A lot of it may be difficult to understand if you're not well-versed in science and mathematics; however, it is a document of the facts and so should be considered an invaluable source.
I haven't read that one (thought I'm getting there!), but I did read The Greatest Show on Earth, and it is so easy to read. All it takes is interest. It got me so stoked on science, and biology especially. Communications major!
I second this. The Greatest Show on Earth was FANTASTIC. Dawkins' writing style is very gripping, yet not filled with the technical jargon a layman like myself wouldn't get without proper study. I'm currently on The Selfish Gene and so far would recommend it to anyone who liked Greatest Show on Earth or Ancestors Tale. -Psych Major))
Ryan Ewy Cheers for that mate. I just ordered Ancestor's Tale. I'd always thought Selfish Gene would be harder to handle because it was his first one, but I'll pick that up next. I know you were advising the other gent but I'll take the recommendation!
The Ancestor's Tale is an amazing book... It is one of my favourite scientific books and Richard Dawkins most compelling book. It is relatively easy to read and understand. It really brings out the beauty of life and evolution. Although I did read and enjoy The God Delusion, I also feel that Dawkins he should be better remembered for the 8 books he wrote before that.
I know what you're getting and the only "mistake" in scripture is the one caused by someone not understanding the real meaning of the text or misinterpreting verses that later cause confusion. Forget "Christians" for a moment. What was Jesus Himself known for? Even if a person doesn't want to believe in whats known as the miraculous side of His life, you can still agree that Christ Himself was a good person that lead by example in everything He said.
Testament of Jean Meslier born 1678, in the village of Mazerny, Was one of the most profound work on religion, inspiring Voltaires writings, Baron D´Holbach System of nature, and Denis Deiderot for the age of enlightenment. (The classic words of Deiderot that Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest, are most likely from Jean Meslier, as he uses same type of line in his testament.
I find a lot of atheists to be awfully similar to the group they try so hard to distance themselves from. The preaching of atheism by some, the declaration that it is the "right" train of thought, "converting" people to become atheists, all this seems so close to a faith in itself. I do not follow any faith myself, I am quite critical of religion. I did think until recently I was an atheist, but the I started to realise that the group's behaviour is too similar total religion. And Atheists usually aren't mocked or looked down upon when they try to "convert". While writing this comment, I see the suggested videos next to me: "Julia Sweeney: The gifts of not believing in God", "Mark's calls - Atheist experience" and more like them. Does that kind of talk not remind you of anything?
+Adam The Analyzer I understand that, of course I do. But I do think that there are more and more atheists that become overzealous in their conviction, that start to be almost aggressive in their disbelief. Atheism is great, but some atheists aren't, that's all
"Atheism" isn't a group, it's defined as the lack of belief in a deity. Many atheists share the same thoughts and passion. You say we try to "preach" yet we only want the world to open its eyes, as religion hinders the growth of that the world could one day become.
"Atheism" isn't a group, it's defined as the lack of belief in a deity. Many atheists share the same thoughts and passion. You say we try to "preach" yet we only want the world to open its eyes, as religion hinders the growth of that the world could one day become.
James Darkwood You say you are not religious, and thought you were an atheist, but you have now revised your thoughts on that. You know that if you are not a theist, you are, by definition, an atheist, right? It's like me saying: "Yes, I am born and raised in Norway, but I disagree with some of the decisions of the government, so I don't think I am Norwegian anymore"
Samuel Tunnell it's undeniable that most of us atheists are rather bitter and angry about religion after we deconvert but everyone chills after a while, it's just the frustration that we could believe in dogma and the repressed anger towards religion that can sometimes be expressed but it never lasts.
The documentary Kumare is a personal favorite of mine, partially because it is thought provoking without telling you what to think. It can be found on Netflix.
10 Books to help you through your Christian life: 1/ NIV Holy Bible 2/ Self Study Bible Course (Derek Prince) 3/ Holman Bible Atlas 4/ The Language of Science & Faith (Francis S.Collins) 5/ Who on earth is the Holy Spirit (Tim Chester & Christopher de la Hoyde) 6/ Is God anti-gay (Sam Alberry) 7/ A Grief Observed (C.S. Lewis) 8/ Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis) 9/ Searching for the Original Bible (Randall Price) 10/ Top Ten Biblical discoveries in Archaeology (Timothy Kimberley)
Good stuff! Also Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, Josh McDowell, Frank Turek, John Lennox, and D. James Kennedy have all written fantastic works about the evidence for Christianity, the Bible, and a personal God. Check those out if you haven't yet!
Thank you Hemant. I've read several of Richard Dawkins books, but will order "The Ancestors Tale" and also Steve Well's "The Skeptics Annotated Bible".
Good picks. Kind of surprised your not into the philosophical branch of secular thinking, its so rich in history. "Breaking the Spell" most diffently treads into this field and who better then Dennet. Currently reading his book, "Darwin's Dangerous Idea", phenomenal book!
The Blind Watchmaker from Richard Dawkins is another good book mainly about evolution. It does use evolution to debunk Creationist theories, but it delves pretty deeply into evolution, and I learned a whole lot about evolution from this book and how beautiful it, and the world in general, really is.
My older sister studied theology and left "The God Delusion" in her room, I'm an atheist and I have been my whole life, which is a bit of a pain when your from northern Ireland and really don't care about the whole loyalist republican bull, I'll admit I have a bit of spite for religion in general because people here are still effected by the "religious" tensions which bugs me a bit, it really helped me develop more understanding about the thought process behind atheism and religion and made me realize how lucky I was not to have been indoctrinated. Even if it was ment for open minded Christians and I didn't learn anything huge it did build upon things I already knew and helped me appreciate skepticism, it's the first book on atheism I've ever read and I'm definitely planning on reading more in the future
I love love LOVE Julia Sweeney's Letting Go of God. It's not a play though, it's a monologue fyi. It is an excellent monologue at that. You can actually find it on youtube now, but that shouldn't dissuade you from going to purchase it from Amazon or iTunes. It's worth it.
"Losing the faith on faith" from Dan Barker. It helps a lot to clarify on a clear way all contradictions and non sense points from christianity. I highly recommend it.
Just what I was looking for - thank you! I'm not an atheist (you can call me an agnostic deist), but I'll learn more from these books then I ever could from religious books.
We shall make serious attempt to avoid labels. It is my belief that once we are labeled like atheist,Moslem, Christian,...is a sure thing to limit our school of thoughts. Faith/belief is a private matter meant to energize the individual. Beyond that we shall keep an open mind not to succumb to idiocracy as a result of limited mind associated with an organized institution.
The History of Atheism by Georges Minois. Anything by Minois is bound to be comprehensive and highly informative and his historical assessment of the atheism is no exception. He goes more indepth regarding more ancient history but it is an amazing albeit heavy Reading that I highly recommend.
Some of my favorites.....Godless by Dan Barker about a preacher who lost faith and his journey to atheism. 50 reasons people give for believing in god is a simple book of 50 short stories, great bathroom read. Quick diffusers to the reasons people give why they believe in god.
Godless from Dan Barker was a great help to me in understanding the arguments for atheism. A great resource that I find myself going back to from time to time.
Fifty reasons people give for believing in a god is an excellent book by Guy P. Harrison. It is written kindly enough that a christian may listen to it's message and goes through each of the reasons giving science and logic to prove that the reasons are not good reasons. It's written simply so anyone can understand it, yet is packed with great information. It's one of favorite books of all time.
This isn't really an atheist book but it is well written and covers the broader topic of: things people believe that have no basis in fact. "50 popular beliefs people think are true" by Guy P. Harrison.
The book that contributed the most to me becoming an atheist (besides the scriptures, obviously) was "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan. It doesn't talk all that much about religion, but it was very good at making me really examine why I believed the things I believed in. And it made me realize, for the first time ever, that some of the things I believed very strongly were not justified. And I eventually realized that one of those unjustified beliefs was my belief in god.
The Ancestor's Tale is a great book, but I think The Selfish Gene is much more enlightening and pretty much represents the underlying idea behind all of Dawkins' writings. It's a must read for any student of science, philosophy or religion.
Beak of the Finch has a lot of good information about evolution. And it's a heck of a lot more readable than The Origin of Species. I read it as a believer, and no, it didn't convert me to atheism (I was one of those believers who did the mental gymnastics required to believe in both evolution and the Christian god). But later, when I did deconvert, having a fairly solid understanding of evolution was helpful because it was one less hurdle to overcome.
I nominate philosopher Antony Flew's last book, who at one time was the most notorious atheist in the world: "There IS a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind" by Antony Flew ;)
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My favorite Atheist book is The Bible. It has probably converted more Christians to Atheists than any other book ever written.
Yes, it helped me too, but the other book would convert more christians to atheism, if they would even bother reading them.
*FUZZ ZiLLa*
*You are DeMon & Sooo you Don't Have a MoraL ConScience!!!*
*No Person of GOD, would Sit on their Ass & just LET*
*Donald Trump to become President!!!!*
*ALL Persons of GOD, Voted for HeLLary & there was NO Other Choice!*
I don't see how reading to Bible can convert someone from theist to atheist. Nothing in the Bible proves that there is no God. Even if the Bible contains immorality, fictitious material, and/or contradictions, that doesn't mean God does not exist.
Deists believe in a Creator God, but not a personal God. Does the Bible prove them wrong about the former?
Lol 😂 you funny!
Luis Tijerina
True
If Bible is not studied rightly dividing then surely it leads to Atheism
Right division bible study clears more confusion
You should once go through through this link
th-cam.com/video/DzxMhIhG4YM/w-d-xo.html
The best book to convert a theist to an atheist is the bible
astropapi1 Actually, I think atheists do cherry pick also, this is not really a problem. However it is not the same. A theory collapses when a single error is traced, but does not necessary be validated when a single point is true. Atheists point out errors in Christian theory, hence the theory is wrong. It doesn't matter how many times Christians point out true things about their theory. It is still wrong.
Chris Oliva Well, if somebody discover's there's something wrong with our current theory of evolution, we change it. If somebody points out one of the (many) flaws in the bible, it's just a methaphor.
astropapi1 Stupidity my friend... Fear... Ignorance...
Chris Oliva I think you are conflating the colloquial definition of theory with scientific theory.
bnpixie1990 Sorry, but I don't see it.
1. Breaking the Spell
2. Infidel
3. The Moral Landscape
4. The God Delusion
5. God is Not Great.
God is not Great is a great read.
Analytical Atheist all of those books are shite lmao
You forgot the bible that turns more christans into athiests
I am glad Richard Dawkins started addressing religion, because most scientist just assume that religion and science are on equal grounds, when clearly they are not.
This really got across for me at the end of the Nye Ham debate. This is where both were asked what would change their minds. Nye said evidence, while Ham said nothing.
+Noscopede Glad you noticed that.
That's the Power fundamentalism.
I don't think most scientists assume that religion and science are on equal grounds, I think most scientists remain silent on the topic of religion because they are competing for grants, grants which are often rewarded by religious government officials.
Agronox DT actually only 30% do. From a statistic
"The best cure for christianity is reading the Bible" - Mark Twain
Facts
Actually is the opposite
And Quran for Muslims - me😂
I asked my christian parents to buy me the skeptics annotated bible for christmas. You can guess what they said. Needless to say, this only reassured me that deep down they knew they were wrong. If they thought they were right, and thought that the bible had nothing bad in it, then why not buy the book? Because it offends them? Why? If it is questioning their faith, and they truly believe their faith to be unquestionable, then what's the harm? That's like getting mad at someone for trying to break your unbreakable door down or something! It makes no sense!
Jeremy Jones i think all christians deep down know they're wrong. Other than the mentally ill ones. (Not an insult, there are many real mentally ill christians, im not making fun of them) They KNOW they're wrong. Because EVERYONE has morals. And really eternal torment and morals. The fact they even defend that is just... agh. Its sickening. And it's really just an insult to the advancement of the human race.
@Fubzilla Let me guess, everything wrong in the Bible is a metaphor (nobody knows what for)
@Fubzilla no, they don't.
They might deserve a million years of torment, but not eternal.
It only goes to show the difference in morality between atheists and Christians.
Eternal torment is infinitely just as bad. This is true. There is no "eternally offending God" logic.
Anyone with basic morals and common sense can see infinite punishment is a stupid idea created by morons
@Fubzilla read your own Bible and then talk. God is evil in the Bible.
Let alone the fact there's no evidence for such a dumb idea.
@Fubzilla it's funny how you Christians don't even know what Jesus did for the majority of his life.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." Mahatma Gandhi
The actual bible works fine! :)
the uncensored
***** version
***** Any official version!
That book written by men and continuously translated/revised is good for what?
Keith Thomas deconverting people
any good physics book can make you an atheist.
umm... noo.. studying phsics doenst make u lose your faith
handsome boss ,. don't know about others but I have become an atheist by reading physics books and watching some videos of Stephen Hawking
It was physics that actually started me down the road to becoming an atheist. Realising that everything around me was really just a bunch of subatomic particles (and waves) made me become a materialist. What really killed my faith, however, was when I combined this with the realisation that every aspect of the mind has a corresponding part of the brain (a part that if removed will destroy that part of the mind). I came to see that everything INCLUDING the mind could be reduced to physics, and that there was thus most likely no after life.
David Warren yeah physics is beautiful😊😊
So... because you know how a Mercedes car works, how it functions, how the motor goes, how the pieces work together, and the "laws" that rule the car, does that somehow mean there wanst any Creator of the car in the first place. Even more, if there is a Creator of the entire universe and its perfection, this Creator would be unipotent and allmighty so that way the perfection of the rules of the universe are understandable. Newton was a christian and wrote more theology than physics, Galilei, Kepler and Copernic were profound catholics, and Max Plank for example, was lutheran. Einstein believed in a higher power... HELL, the idea of the combination of maths and experimentation and observation (this before the other) was stablished by Saint. Albertus Magnus, a dominic monk of the XII century.
So no, as Pasteur (another great scientist, devout catholic as well) said: "A little bit of science takes you away from God, and more science brings you back to him". Science is not an excuse for not believeing in God. Science and faith can be compatible. Science is not the way towards discovering God, its PHYLOSOPHY. You can either be an atheist (This is all a big cosmological accident, were here by accident, our lifes mean nothing in the end...) or be a theist which is far more heart-warming. And NO, THIS IS NOT AN ARGUMENT I KNOW.
The only interesting atheist that doesnt say bullshit and actual arguments is Stephen Hawkins, BUT, as many others commits the intellectual suicide of talking of Phylosophy when hes a scientist, and has not studied phylo in his life. Extremely arrogant and skeptic, as I was in my former atheist view of the world.
Definition of religion: belief of god or higher supernatural being
Definition of atheism: DISbelief of god or higher supernatural being
Atheism is not a religion! Look in the dictionary!
Some religions don't believe in God.
Junior Bakiny Such as? The ones most commonly pointed to (Buddhism, for example) do believe in the supernatural and beings who are supernatural (in the case of Buddhism these are the Bodhisattvas).
Teddy Covey What this guy said^^ an atheist who believes in something supernatural is still an atheist. Atheism just means has to do with belief in God, not the supernatural. Naturalism on the other hand there is no such person as God, or anything at all like God. It does not allow for the supernatural.
***** I digress, your name sounds of Indian... So it's probably better to ask you. From their own prospective in Jainism, that everything, including what other people regard as supernatural/superstition, is a part of the natural order. Some factions of Buddhism are against the promise of Bodhisattva. I would appreciate some resources. Thanks a lot.
Philip MacLean same shit
The one book that I will always recommend -not necessarily an atheism book either, more like skepticism- is 'The Demon Haunted World' by Carl Sagan.
It is a beautifully written book that regardless of your stance on religion or credulity, showcases the absurdity of believing things without proof or evidence. Despite the fact that I read it long after being an atheist, it was really my first full book on anything a subject even remotely associated to the argument of superstition. I recommend it because I thought that even if I hadn't been the natural-born skeptic I was, I would have loved it to be my first, introductory book.
So, even if you are an 'atheist' by definition, but you're still tempted to believe things without proof. THIS is the book to straighten you out.
Going to read this. Thank you.
God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, read it.
+The Atheist Voice
My journey from faith started with this guy! Hemant Mehta. I think it was the video "Things You Should Not Say To An Atheist." Hemant was so nice and SHATTERED my straw man representation of atheists. I watched more of his videos and started to think about my faith. I've read all of the books he has mentioned and now I am using my college learned animation skills to produce atheist, scientific, and philosophical content on TH-cam! Thanks Hemant Mehta.
Book recommendations:
The Believing Brain (Michael Shermer)
Why Do People Believe Weird Things (Michael Shermer)
A Letter to a Christian Nation (Sam Harris)
The Moral Landscape (Sam Harris)
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (Sam Harris)
I started with exactly the same video!
Same here!
kara jjang Do you have The Skeptics Annotated Bible?
I just got it for Christmas today! Although I'm a deist and I believe in a first cause type of god, I do reject religious dogma and I would also consider myself a freethinker and a skeptic.
I love evolution.
Nah, those problems aren't happening because of evolution, there are tons of other reasons why some kind of mutation might happen, it has nothing to do with evolution.
God is not Great turned my husband atheist. :)
***** damn that was cold. laughed my ass off though.
***** Really? Being an atheist makes You horrible person by default?
***** Lack of religion does not equal lack of moral values. There are many religious peoples that brake religion barriers. It's all up to You and Your set of moral values, not the religion.
***** I live in Sweden, so I'm brought up without religion (except for in school were we teach "religion" in general as a historical and code of conduct kind of way) . My parents have never believed in religion either, at least not in the 20 years I've lived, they are still happily married as far as I can tell.
***** Uh, forgot to mention...I gave him that book in the express hope that it would do just that....convince him to shed his superstitious religious trappings leftover from his upbringing. Just as I had about a year before I met him. LOL. And for the record, 14 years in and our marriage is doing fine. Peace.
"On the Genealogy of Morality" by Nietzsche! That's a great book about the human origins of western religion and faith in general
i need The Skeptic's Annotated gita
Ignoring the mythology, Hinduism is much harder to refute than Christianity (even though it is possible)
rthqwaik Agreed. Hinduism is actually my top candidate for the "one true religion" (even though I am an Atheist). It's nearly a thousand years older than Judaism, its concepts are extremely vague (which helps eliminate refutation), but most importantly, it's really a religion about love and peace; which is the complete opposite of the Christianity.
But its very anti woman and have all conservative thoughts because the leaders interprete as they want. Gita is super repetitive and vague. But people now a days consider the refined version or interpretated versions as main geta. Go to asitis.com there is translation and long interpretation which try to make it rosy and deep
Mr. McDonald Used to be Hindu like Hemant. Became skeptical around the time I figured out Santa wasn't real. But by then it had taught me a lot of great stuff.
***** first of all, the Hare Krsna movement is a money hoarding enterprise and their versions of things dont really make sense.. so dont consider their version of the asitis Geeta anywhere even close to the real thing.. they make it lousy and attractive for the western world.. and now, myself being an agnostic.. i somehow believe Geeta is the only religious book which makes some sense.. coz it speaks of more fundamental questions of life.. and from no angle it is irrefutable.. it can be broken down too with more logical arguments.. but at the end of the day we cannot know.. atheism and theism.. both are refutable methodologies... both have arguments..
I loved reading Dawkins, "An Ancestor's Tale". However, I enjoyed "The Selfish Gene" a great deal more. In my view, it's an all-time classic.
Basic world history and science are highly recommended to all.
"Godless" by Dan Barker is an excellent book. Chronicles how a fundamentalist preacher (Dan Barker) turns atheist and why.
I'm a "new atheist" as you said and I really wanted to get my hands on some atheist books to read to further my knowledge, but I didn't really know which ones. This really helped out, so thank you.
"Religion is one of the few things in the world that does not get the scrutiny it deserves."
Brilliantly put!
I think as an Indian
Why I am an Atheist by The Martyr Bhagat Singh is amazing.
He is such a legend still alive in our memories.
Sadly every govt is afraid of celebrating him as he is an Atheist.
Scared?
Man that's no longer the case.
1. Richard Carrier - 'Why I don't Believe in God'
2. Jerry Coyne - 'Why Evolution is True'
3. Paul Tobin - 'The Rejection of Pascal's Wager'
4. David Fitzgerald - 'Nailed'
5. 'The Big Book of Lists for Atheists, Agnostics, and Secular Humanists'
6. Albert Williams - 'Why our Children will be Atheists'
greatt !! im a catholic well..raised catholic and currently no religion and exploring and im going to get those bookss :)
as someone a biology student i have to say that the ancestors tale, by richard dawkins, really opened my mind for evolution as well, at the time i was already an atheist and already loved science, and evolution, but it was my first actual book on the subject, the first of many more to come, which introduced me to evolution related fields. I'm a bit mad as well with richie (as i like to call him) he's an interesting writer and i would love even more books about the biological sciences from him, for those interested on the subject, i found some equally good, if not better writers about the subject of biology, stephen jay gould, matt riddley and robert sapolsky, pick any book from these writers, all great reads, not too technical(taking out stephen jay gould, the best out of the three in my opinion) and yet very insightful, is all about being presented with diferent perspectives on the subjects you already understand and care about, it really helps you shape your own perspective.
God is not great by Christopher Hitchens, that one did it for me. Amazing book!
Here in Chile, we have a great book called "Atheists out of the closet", written by Cristóbal Bellolio and I hope the editors decides to translates it , because it's a very good start: it's funny, brings a lot of information and has a whole chapter with suggestions of books; actually I read Hitchen´s "God is not Great" because of that. Hope you guys don't mind my poor grammar.
PS: I strongly recommend Sigmund Freud's "The Future of an Illusion", short but powerful text.
"Godless" by Dan Barker is another awesome book.
I also love "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins. One of my favorite Dawkins books.
One of my favorites is Carl Sagan's "A Daemon Haunted World". It is a guide book to the world of con artists and explains how easily it is to be fooled. It applies to more than religion. How to properly be skeptical.
My top 5 are:
1. "Why we believe in god(s)", J A Thomson. Short, concise. Does what the title says.
2. "A History of God", Karen Armstrong. Religion laid bare.
3. "Being Good", Simon Blackburn. Short, concise. Morality without God.
4. "A universe from nothing", L Krauss, The fact based alternative to Genesis.
5. "Sense & Goodness without God", Richard Carrier. Hard reading about Metaphysical Naturalism but comprehensive and intellectually watertight.
If you ever have to deal with creationists I recommend "Atheist Universe:the thinking person's answer to christian fundamentalism." Concise and easy to read. It will give you direct reasoning and scientific answer's to all those absurd pseudo intellectual arguments for the existence of god.
Thanks!
Hemant Mehta said in this clip that Daniel Dennet's book doesn't get as much attention as books by the other three, Harris, Dawkins, Hitchens, and that he "doesn't understand why."
Then in the very next breath he says that Dennet "isn't trying to argue AGAINST anyone's religion in the book."
THAT'S why.
As cogent and important as all of the books by those guys are, the ones that unfortunately get the most attention are only noticed because they cause a "rage" in the Christian community, and hence the authors get much more exposure, on shows like the Factor with Bill O'Reilly, for example. If more Christians picked up Dennet's book and actually cared to read it, that could be an important step in their deconversion process.
What about Christopher Hitchens' book?
props for mentioning The Ancestors Tale despite it not really being about religion/atheism. THAT BOOK BLEW MY MIND. I always just sorta thought "yeah sure.. small changes.. over time... sure, sounds good" but you don't know nothin' about evolution until you read this! What most people know about evolution is really just the tip of the iceberg. This book adds so much depth to it. It's so much more intricate and amazing. I'd recommend it to anyone :)
I`m reading at this moment "God is not great - How religion poisons everything" and I`m really liking it. It a little heavy at some points when it tells some religious atrocities, but it`s a great book.
Felipe Rodrigues If you liked the book, read Hitchens last book 'Mortality'. It is definitely his best work and one of the most emotional endings of a book I've ever read so far.
James Henry THAT ENDING IS A SUMMONER OF ONION CUTTING NINJAS
James Henry fuck me that was sad
I love that book !
God is not great is my favorite atheist book ive read so far.
The book that catapulted me from really questioning my faith and eventually turned me to become an atheist is Guy Harrison's "50 Simple Questions For Every Christian." Very easy to read and understand. Highly recommendable.
i did read lt and could answer all 50 questions. its not that u left your faith is simply that you didnt understand it
Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World". Great read, highly recommended.
Brother no matter what you hear just don't stop the good work you are doing. I love your video and plz answer some mad people who compare their own ideas with Stephan Hawkins
Skeptic's annotated Bible :now on the bucket list.
I started with Dawkin's God Delusion and have heard he had other books that are considered much better. I am so glad you put up this list. I have ordered every single book from amazon. Most of them were below a DOLLAR. Enlightening yourself is less than a DOLLAR. OH MY SCIENCE!
what about Richard Dawkins' magic of reality?
A really good and easy one, but kinda for kids. However, i enjoyed
My all-time favorite skeptical book is Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason. While actually a deist instead of an atheist, America's coolest founding father points out all the absurdities and contradictions in both the old and new testaments. ("A bunch of dead people rise up and walk around Jerusalem during Jesus's crucifixion? You'd think there would be more accounts of that in the historical record!")
I agree with your Dowkins selection I have read most of his the only other selection I might say is a book called Blowing Smoke by Michael Wolraich.
I think there are many people that dispel the fear or the uncertainty of life by clinging to a religion. Religion itself is a way to manage a community of those people, the problem comes when they want to appear correct in their beliefs and so impose them on everyone else, sadly sometimes by force.
im in the process of reading god is not great, by the brilliant christopher hitchens, and its pretty good so far. he writes exactly how he talks, the man is a genius. i wish i had a chance to meet him, hes changed my life.
would you be in the process of reading Gods word? so that you will know that He is the one, hes great, sovereign & almighty. He writes exactly what he meant, Hes good but hes angry, he love but he hates, he bless & he curse, he saves & he condemn, i wish he changed your life.
Arjay Sarmiento both books were created by man.
You just want to think that way bec. you dont want him. Bible says "Curse is the man who trust in man, bless is the man who trust in the Lord". Do you think he is against his own words? He wrote it w/o flaw using his appointed writers.
Arjay Sarmiento
so youre saying the bible wasnt written by man?
thats it and thats why its infallable.
Disproving Christianity by David McAfee was really a good book. It does a great job of pointing out the contradictions of the bible. I also liked the way it was presented almost like a debate.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!
Great recommendations. I'd really like to know how the woman reacted when you returned her tabbed version of the bible.
Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, by John W. Loftus, is a great book by someone who truly knows and understands Christianity and Evangelical Christian thought.
I'd recommend *god is not Great* by Christopher Hitchens. I'm currently on the 8th Chapter & it's pretty awesome so far.
i read it and made me stronger in my catholic faith. historical ignorance and logical fallacies all over
Amen to that! ;-)
I read Cosmos when I was a wee lad and it started a passion for cosmology that still burns in me to this day. Sagan was and is my hero; imo the best of the science popularizers. I'll always think of him saying "That pale blue dot" in his magnificent baritone every time I think of our world gracefully dancing across the void in a sublime ballet of Newtonian mechanics. =)
Undeniable by Bill Nye is a great book that I would highly recommend.
ashxx17 I'm reading that one right now and it's really good!
A guide on how to convince a religious person (One of the stronger believers) to actually open one of those and read the first 20 or 30 pages would be nice.
The Douchebag Bible by The Amazing Atheist
I'm a new atheist and have just recently gotten rid of my religious books and was looking to replace them with atheist books. Great recommendations, definitely going to pick them up :)
I'll recommend The Religion Virus by Craig A. James. It is an excellent book on the evolution of religious memes.
I recommend "Reasonable Atheism: A Moral Case For Respectful Disbelief" by Scott F. Aikin and Robert B. Talisse. It doesn't seem to be widely known, but I really appreciate its focus on reasonable discussion and its emphasis on our helping believers to understand *why* we don't share their beliefs--as opposed to trying to "convert" theists to unbelief.
Most god-believers are NOT "idiots" or evil--they're just wrong about something (in my opinion).
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins!
I loaned Sam Harris's The End of Faith to two friends, they both messaged me saying "I'm 36 pages in and this is the best book I've ever read!".
I might be retrospectively adjusting my memories, but looking back I think I had that same thought and looked at the page number and saw 36. I bet that's like, the best climax moment, the best first chapter ever written or something. I plan to read it again with this phenomenon in mind.
BY CTHULHU, I WANT THAT BIBLE
Love these videos. This channel is criminally under-viewed. Keep up the great work, Hemant.
I recommend,
The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever selected and with introductions by Christopher Hitchens. Da Cap Press, 2007.
A book I would strongly recommend is "God: The Failed Hypothesis", by Victor J. Stenger. It goes past the idea that there is no positive evidence for the existence of God, and postulates that science shows that the world was NOT designed and that, therefore, there is no God, at least no god of the type that the Abrahamic religions believe in. A lot of it may be difficult to understand if you're not well-versed in science and mathematics; however, it is a document of the facts and so should be considered an invaluable source.
Is The Ancestor's Tale difficult for people who haven't majored in Biology?
It seemed like a good read to me. Chem major.
I haven't read that one (thought I'm getting there!), but I did read The Greatest Show on Earth, and it is so easy to read. All it takes is interest. It got me so stoked on science, and biology especially.
Communications major!
I second this. The Greatest Show on Earth was FANTASTIC. Dawkins' writing style is very gripping, yet not filled with the technical jargon a layman like myself wouldn't get without proper study. I'm currently on The Selfish Gene and so far would recommend it to anyone who liked Greatest Show on Earth or Ancestors Tale.
-Psych Major))
Ryan Ewy Cheers for that mate. I just ordered Ancestor's Tale. I'd always thought Selfish Gene would be harder to handle because it was his first one, but I'll pick that up next.
I know you were advising the other gent but I'll take the recommendation!
Sam Harris Letter to A Christian nation is a good read
College student XD no major yet
The Ancestor's Tale is an amazing book... It is one of my favourite scientific books and Richard Dawkins most compelling book. It is relatively easy to read and understand. It really brings out the beauty of life and evolution.
Although I did read and enjoy The God Delusion, I also feel that Dawkins he should be better remembered for the 8 books he wrote before that.
#1 best book for turning people away from Christianity is still the Christian Bible. But that Annotated Bible looks really sweet!
I know what you're getting and the only "mistake" in scripture is the one caused by someone not understanding the real meaning of the text or misinterpreting verses that later cause confusion. Forget "Christians" for a moment. What was Jesus Himself known for? Even if a person doesn't want to believe in whats known as the miraculous side of His life, you can still agree that Christ Himself was a good person that lead by example in everything He said.
and who is followed by a religion that is hellbent on not living by his example
tripleflip7 prove it ?
i have been atheist 16 years cause i born into atheist family but my mom didnt say that religion is bad. i myself found religion was from every angle
i have one very important question. what is this guy's race? i just can't figure it out.
Half asian half latino maybe?
Human
why is that "very important"?
LodovicoAriosto1
Needs to know his stuff, before personal bashing commences. :P
who the fuck cares? :P
Testament of Jean Meslier born 1678, in the village of Mazerny, Was one of the most profound work on religion, inspiring Voltaires writings, Baron D´Holbach System of nature, and Denis Deiderot for the age of enlightenment. (The classic words of Deiderot that Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest, are most likely from Jean Meslier, as he uses same type of line in his testament.
I find a lot of atheists to be awfully similar to the group they try so hard to distance themselves from. The preaching of atheism by some, the declaration that it is the "right" train of thought, "converting" people to become atheists, all this seems so close to a faith in itself.
I do not follow any faith myself, I am quite critical of religion. I did think until recently I was an atheist, but the I started to realise that the group's behaviour is too similar total religion. And Atheists usually aren't mocked or looked down upon when they try to "convert".
While writing this comment, I see the suggested videos next to me: "Julia Sweeney: The gifts of not believing in God", "Mark's calls - Atheist experience" and more like them. Does that kind of talk not remind you of anything?
+Adam The Analyzer I understand that, of course I do. But I do think that there are more and more atheists that become overzealous in their conviction, that start to be almost aggressive in their disbelief.
Atheism is great, but some atheists aren't, that's all
"Atheism" isn't a group, it's defined as the lack of belief in a deity. Many atheists share the same thoughts and passion. You say we try to "preach" yet we only want the world to open its eyes, as religion hinders the growth of that the world could one day become.
"Atheism" isn't a group, it's defined as the lack of belief in a deity. Many atheists share the same thoughts and passion. You say we try to "preach" yet we only want the world to open its eyes, as religion hinders the growth of that the world could one day become.
James Darkwood You say you are not religious, and thought you were an atheist, but you have now revised your thoughts on that. You know that if you are not a theist, you are, by definition, an atheist, right? It's like me saying: "Yes, I am born and raised in Norway, but I disagree with some of the decisions of the government, so I don't think I am Norwegian anymore"
Samuel Tunnell it's undeniable that most of us atheists are rather bitter and angry about religion after we deconvert but everyone chills after a while, it's just the frustration that we could believe in dogma and the repressed anger towards religion that can sometimes be expressed but it never lasts.
The documentary Kumare is a personal favorite of mine, partially because it is thought provoking without telling you what to think. It can be found on Netflix.
10 Books to help you through your Christian life:
1/ NIV Holy Bible
2/ Self Study Bible Course (Derek Prince)
3/ Holman Bible Atlas
4/ The Language of Science & Faith (Francis S.Collins)
5/ Who on earth is the Holy Spirit (Tim Chester & Christopher de la Hoyde)
6/ Is God anti-gay (Sam Alberry)
7/ A Grief Observed (C.S. Lewis)
8/ Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis)
9/ Searching for the Original Bible (Randall Price)
10/ Top Ten Biblical discoveries in Archaeology (Timothy Kimberley)
Good stuff!
Also Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, Josh McDowell, Frank Turek, John Lennox, and D. James Kennedy have all written fantastic works about the evidence for Christianity, the Bible, and a personal God.
Check those out if you haven't yet!
Thank you Hemant. I've read several of Richard Dawkins books, but will order "The Ancestors Tale" and also Steve Well's "The Skeptics Annotated Bible".
That Annotated bible is a MUST HAVE. Time to order on Amazon!
Good picks. Kind of surprised your not into the philosophical branch of secular thinking, its so rich in history. "Breaking the Spell" most diffently treads into this field and who better then Dennet. Currently reading his book, "Darwin's Dangerous Idea", phenomenal book!
The Blind Watchmaker from Richard Dawkins is another good book mainly about evolution. It does use evolution to debunk Creationist theories, but it delves pretty deeply into evolution, and I learned a whole lot about evolution from this book and how beautiful it, and the world in general, really is.
Bertrand Russell "Why I am not a Christian" is my favorite.
My older sister studied theology and left "The God Delusion" in her room, I'm an atheist and I have been my whole life, which is a bit of a pain when your from northern Ireland and really don't care about the whole loyalist republican bull, I'll admit I have a bit of spite for religion in general because people here are still effected by the "religious" tensions which bugs me a bit, it really helped me develop more understanding about the thought process behind atheism and religion and made me realize how lucky I was not to have been indoctrinated. Even if it was ment for open minded Christians and I didn't learn anything huge it did build upon things I already knew and helped me appreciate skepticism, it's the first book on atheism I've ever read and I'm definitely planning on reading more in the future
I love love LOVE Julia Sweeney's Letting Go of God. It's not a play though, it's a monologue fyi. It is an excellent monologue at that. You can actually find it on youtube now, but that shouldn't dissuade you from going to purchase it from Amazon or iTunes. It's worth it.
"Losing the faith on faith" from Dan Barker.
It helps a lot to clarify on a clear way all contradictions and non sense points from christianity. I highly recommend it.
Just what I was looking for - thank you! I'm not an atheist (you can call me an agnostic deist), but I'll learn more from these books then I ever could from religious books.
We shall make serious attempt to avoid labels. It is my belief that once we are labeled like atheist,Moslem, Christian,...is a sure thing to limit our school of thoughts. Faith/belief is a private matter meant to energize the individual. Beyond that we shall keep an open mind not to succumb to idiocracy as a result of limited mind associated with an organized institution.
The History of Atheism by Georges Minois. Anything by Minois is bound to be comprehensive and highly informative and his historical assessment of the atheism is no exception. He goes more indepth regarding more ancient history but it is an amazing albeit heavy Reading that I highly recommend.
Carl Sagan's 'The Demon Haunted World' is a personal favorite.
I just bought YOUR book, Mr. Mehta. A Young Atheist's Survival Guide.
I am trying to read 25 books this year. I think I will add Ancestor's Tale to my list. Thanks for the video.
Some of my favorites.....Godless by Dan Barker about a preacher who lost faith and his journey to atheism. 50 reasons people give for believing in god is a simple book of 50 short stories, great bathroom read. Quick diffusers to the reasons people give why they believe in god.
Godless from Dan Barker was a great help to me in understanding the arguments for atheism. A great resource that I find myself going back to from time to time.
This is great, I ordered several books immediately and last night watched Julia Sweeney's show. Brilliant!
Fifty reasons people give for believing in a god is an excellent book by Guy P. Harrison. It is written kindly enough that a christian may listen to it's message and goes through each of the reasons giving science and logic to prove that the reasons are not good reasons. It's written simply so anyone can understand it, yet is packed with great information. It's one of favorite books of all time.
This isn't really an atheist book but it is well written and covers the broader topic of: things people believe that have no basis in fact. "50 popular beliefs people think are true" by Guy P. Harrison.
Foundational falsehoods of creationism by Aron Ra is an amazing book. I highly recommend it
Any religious book of a different religion is a great book to explore. To all religious ones out there. It's a good miror to your own.
The book that contributed the most to me becoming an atheist (besides the scriptures, obviously) was "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan.
It doesn't talk all that much about religion, but it was very good at making me really examine why I believed the things I believed in. And it made me realize, for the first time ever, that some of the things I believed very strongly were not justified. And I eventually realized that one of those unjustified beliefs was my belief in god.
The Atheist Manifesto is a very good book written by Michel Onfray.Fantastic translation.
The Ancestor's Tale is a great book, but I think The Selfish Gene is much more enlightening and pretty much represents the underlying idea behind all of Dawkins' writings. It's a must read for any student of science, philosophy or religion.
Beak of the Finch has a lot of good information about evolution. And it's a heck of a lot more readable than The Origin of Species.
I read it as a believer, and no, it didn't convert me to atheism (I was one of those believers who did the mental gymnastics required to believe in both evolution and the Christian god). But later, when I did deconvert, having a fairly solid understanding of evolution was helpful because it was one less hurdle to overcome.
I nominate philosopher Antony Flew's last book, who at one time was the most notorious atheist in the world:
"There IS a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind" by Antony Flew ;)
Most christians have heard of the bibles but few have read them, so it’s good to hear from atheists.