Becoming Atheist

Author : Callum G. Brown
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2017-01-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781474224550

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Becoming Atheist by Callum G. Brown Pdf

The Western World is becoming atheist. In the space of three generations churchgoing and religious belief have become alien to millions. We are in the midst of one of humankind's great cultural changes. How has this happened? Becoming Atheist explores how people of the sixties' generation have come to live their lives as if there is no God. It tells the life narratives of those from Britain, Western Europe, the United States and Canada who came from Christian, Jewish and other backgrounds to be without faith. Based on interviews with 85 people born in 18 countries, Callum Brown shows how gender, ethnicity and childhood shape how individuals lose religion. This book moves from statistical and broad cultural analysis to use frank, humorous and sometimes harrowing personal testimony. Becoming Atheist exposes people's role in renegotiating their own identities, and fashioning a secular and humanist culture for the Western world.

Author : John W. Loftus
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Page : 689 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2012-10-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781616145781

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Why I Became an Atheist by John W. Loftus Pdf

For about two decades John W. Loftus was a devout evangelical Christian, an ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and an ardent apologist for Christianity. With three degrees--in philosophy, theology, and philosophy of religion--he was adept at using rational argumentation to defend the faith. But over the years, doubts about the credibility of key Christian tenets began to creep into his thinking. By the late 1990s he experienced a full-blown crisis of faith. In this honest appraisal of his journey from believer to atheist, the author carefully explains the experiences and the reasoning process that led him to reject religious belief. The original edition of this book was published in 2006 and reissued in 2008. Since that time, Loftus has received a good deal of critical feedback from Christians and skeptics alike. In this revised and expanded edition, the author addresses criticisms of the original, adds new argumentation and references, and refines his presentation. For every issue he succinctly summarizes the various points of view and provides references for further reading. In conclusion, he describes the implications of life without belief in God, some liberating, some sobering. This frank critique of Christian belief from a former insider will interest freethinkers as well as anyone with doubts about the claims of religion.

Author : Frank Schaeffer
Publisher : Regina Orthodox Press,Csi
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2014-11-07
Category : Belief and doubt
ISBN : 1928653995

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Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God by Frank Schaeffer Pdf

Caught between the beauty of his grandchildren and grief over a friend's death, Frank Schaeffer finds himself simultaneously believing and not believing in God--an atheist who prays. Schaeffer wrestles with faith and disbelief, sharing his innermost thoughts. He writes as an imperfect son, husband and grandfather whose love for his family, art and life trumps the ugly theologies of an angry God and the atheist vision of a cold, meaningless universe.

Author : Chris Hedges
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 227 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2009-03-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781439158364

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When Atheism Becomes Religion by Chris Hedges Pdf

From the New York Times bestselling author of American Fascists and the NBCC finalist for War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning comes this timely and compelling work about new atheists: those who attack religion to advance the worst of global capitalism, intolerance and imperial projects. Chris Hedges, who graduated from seminary at Harvard Divinity School, has long been a courageous voice in a world where there are too few. He observes that there are two radical, polarized and dangerous sides to the debate on faith and religion in America: the fundamentalists who see religious faith as their prerogative, and the new atheists who brand all religious belief as irrational and dangerous. Both sides use faith to promote a radical agenda, while the religious majority, those with a commitment to tolerance and compassion as well as to their faith, are caught in the middle. The new atheists, led by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, do not make moral arguments about religion. Rather, they have created a new form of fundamentalism that attempts to permeate society with ideas about our own moral superiority and the omnipotence of human reason. I Don't Believe in Atheists critiques the radical mindset that rages against religion and faith. Hedges identifies the pillars of the new atheist belief system, revealing that the stringent rules and rigid traditions in place are as strict as those of any religious practice. Hedges claims that those who have placed blind faith in the morally neutral disciplines of reason and science create idols in their own image -- a sin for either side of the spectrum. He makes an impassioned, intelligent case against religious and secular fundamentalism, which seeks to divide the world into those worthy of moral and intellectual consideration and those who should be condemned, silenced and eradicated. Hedges shatters the new atheists' assault against religion in America, and in doing so, makes way for new, moderate voices to join the debate. This is a book that must be read to understand the state of the battle about faith.

Author : Barbara Ehrenreich
Publisher : Twelve
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2014-04-08
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781455501755

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Living with a Wild God by Barbara Ehrenreich Pdf

From the New York Times bestselling author of Nickel and Dimed comes a brave, frank, and exquisitely written memoir that will change the way you see the world. Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the most important thinkers of our time. Educated as a scientist, she is an author, journalist, activist, and advocate for social justice. In LIVING WITH A WILD GOD, she recounts her quest-beginning in childhood-to find "the Truth" about the universe and everything else: What's really going on? Why are we here? In middle age, she rediscovered the journal she had kept during her tumultuous adolescence, which records an event so strange, so cataclysmic, that she had never, in all the intervening years, written or spoken about it to anyone. It was the kind of event that people call a "mystical experience"-and, to a steadfast atheist and rationalist, nothing less than shattering. In LIVING WITH A WILD GOD, Ehrenreich reconstructs her childhood mission, bringing an older woman's wry and erudite perspective to a young girl's impassioned obsession with the questions that, at one point or another, torment us all. The result is both deeply personal and cosmically sweeping-a searing memoir and a profound reflection on science, religion, and the human condition. With her signature combination of intellectual rigor and uninhibited imagination, Ehrenreich offers a true literary achievement-a work that has the power not only to entertain but amaze.

Author : Peter Boghossian
Publisher : Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)
Page : 267 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2014-07-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781939578150

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A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian Pdf

For thousands of years, the faithful have honed proselytizing strategies and talked people into believing the truth of one holy book or another. Indeed, the faithful often view converting others as an obligation of their faith—and are trained from an early age to spread their unique brand of religion. The result is a world broken in large part by unquestioned faith. As an urgently needed counter to this tried-and-true tradition of religious evangelism, A Manual for Creating Atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith—but for talking them out of it. Peter Boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than 20 years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.

Author : Tim Whitmarsh
Publisher : Faber & Faber
Page : 213 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2016-02-02
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780571279326

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Battling the Gods by Tim Whitmarsh Pdf

How new is atheism? In Battling the Gods, Tim Whitmarsh journeys into the ancient Mediterranean to recover the stories of those who first refused the divinities. Long before the Enlightenment sowed the seeds of disbelief in a deeply Christian Europe, atheism was a matter of serious public debate in the Greek world. But history is written by those who prevail, and the Age of Faith mostly suppressed the lively free-thinking voices of antiquity. Tim Whitmarsh brings to life the fascinating ideas of Diagoras of Melos, perhaps the first self-professed atheist; Democritus, the first materialist; and Epicurus and his followers. He shows how the early Christians came to define themselves against atheism, and so suppress the philosophy of disbelief. Battling the Gods is the first book on the origins of the secular values at the heart of the modern state. Authoritative and bold, provocative and humane, it reveals how atheism and doubt, far from being modern phenomena, have intrigued the human imagination for thousands of years.

Author : Aurelius Augustinus
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 1982
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0809103265

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The Literal Meaning of Genesis by Aurelius Augustinus Pdf

Author : Robin Lane Fox
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 587 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2006-07-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780141925752

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The Unauthorized Version by Robin Lane Fox Pdf

The Bible is moving, inspirational and endlessly fascinating - but is it true? Starting with Genesis and the implicit background to the birth of Christ, Robin Lane Fox sets out to discover how far biblical descriptions of people, places and events are confirmed or contradicted by external written and archaeological evidence. He turns a sharp historian's eye on when and where the individual books were composed, whether the texts as originally written exist, how the canon was assembled, and why the Gospels give varying accounts even of the trial and condemnation of Jesus.

Author : Eduard Meier
Publisher : Wildflower Press
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 1996
Category : Bible
ISBN : 0926524127

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Lehren Jmmanuels, Alias Jesus Christus by Eduard Meier Pdf

e Talmud of Immanuel is an ancient Aramaic scroll that may be the source of the Gospel of Matthew. If authentic, it indicates an extraterrestrial origin for the Christian New Testament--it could become the most stunning find of our century. 1 0

Author : Julian Baggini
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 137 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2003-06-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0192804243

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Atheism: A Very Short Introduction by Julian Baggini Pdf

Do you think of atheists as immoral pessimists who live their lives without meaning, purpose, or values? Think again! Atheism: A Very Short Introduction sets out to dispel the myths that surround atheism and show how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral.

Author : Dan Barker
Publisher : Ulysses Press
Page : 394 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2008-09
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781569756775

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Godless by Dan Barker Pdf

Uncover the truth about atheism in the book Oliver Sacks calls, "a revelation. . . I don’t think anyone can match the (devastating!) clarity, intensity, and honesty which Dan Barker brings to the journey—faith to reason, childhood to growing up, fantasy to reality, intoxication to sobriety." ADVANCE PRAISE FOR GODLESS “Valuable in the human story are the reflections of intelligent and ethical people who listen to the voice of reason and who allow it to vanquish bigotry and superstition. This book is a classic example.” —CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS author of God is Not Great “The most eloquent witness of internal delusion that I know—a triumphantly smiling refugee from the zany, surreal world of American fundamentalist Protestantism—is Dan Barker.” —RICHARD DAWKINS author of The God Delusion “Godless was a revelation to me. I don’t think anyone can match the (devastating!) clarity, intensity, and honesty which Dan Barker brings to the journey—faith to reason, childhood to growing up, fantasy to reality, intoxication to sobriety.” —OLIVER SACKS authors of Musicophilia In Godless, Barker recounts his journey from evangelical preacher to atheist activist, and along the way explains precisely why it is not only okay to be an atheist, it is something in which to be proud.” —MICHAEL SHERMER publisher of Skeptic Magazine “Godless is a fascinating memoir and a handbook for debunking theism. But most of all, it is a moving testimonial to one man’s emotional and intellectual rigor in acclaiming critical thinking.” —ROBERT SAPOLSKY author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

Author : Ali A. Rizvi
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2016-11-22
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781250094452

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The Atheist Muslim by Ali A. Rizvi Pdf

In much of the Muslim world, religion is the central foundation upon which family, community, morality, and identity are built. The inextricable embedment of religion in Muslim culture has forced a new generation of non-believing Muslims to face the heavy costs of abandoning their parents’ religion: disowned by their families, marginalized from their communities, imprisoned, or even sentenced to death by their governments. Struggling to reconcile the Muslim society he was living in as a scientist and physician and the religion he was being raised in, Ali A. Rizvi eventually loses his faith. Discovering that he is not alone, he moves to North America and promises to use his new freedom of speech to represent the voices that are usually quashed before reaching the mainstream media—the Atheist Muslim. In The Atheist Muslim, we follow Rizvi as he finds himself caught between two narrative voices he cannot relate to: extreme Islam and anti-Muslim bigotry in a post-9/11 world. The Atheist Muslim recounts the journey that allows Rizvi to criticize Islam—as one should be able to criticize any set of ideas—without demonizing his entire people. Emotionally and intellectually compelling, his personal story outlines the challenges of modern Islam and the factors that could help lead it toward a substantive, progressive reformation.

Author : Chris Stedman
Publisher : Beacon Press
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2012-11-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780807014394

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Faitheist by Chris Stedman Pdf

The story of a former Evangelical Christian turned openly gay atheist who now works to bridge the divide between atheists and the religious The stunning popularity of the “New Atheist” movement—whose most famous spokesmen include Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens—speaks to both the growing ranks of atheists and the widespread, vehement disdain for religion among many of them. In Faitheist, Chris Stedman tells his own story to challenge the orthodoxies of this movement and make a passionate argument that atheists should engage religious diversity respectfully. Becoming aware of injustice, and craving community, Stedman became a “born-again” Christian in late childhood. The idea of a community bound by God’s love—a love that was undeserved, unending, and guaranteed—captivated him. It was, he writes, a place to belong and a framework for making sense of suffering. But Stedman’s religious community did not embody this idea of God’s love: they were staunchly homophobic at a time when he was slowly coming to realize that he was gay. The great suffering this caused him might have turned Stedman into a life-long New Atheist. But over time he came to know more open-minded Christians, and his interest in service work brought him into contact with people from a wide variety of religious backgrounds. His own religious beliefs might have fallen away, but his desire to change the world for the better remained. Disdain and hostility toward religion was holding him back from engaging in meaningful work with people of faith. And it was keeping him from full relationships with them—the kinds of relationships that break down intolerance and improve the world. In Faitheist, Stedman draws on his work organizing interfaith and secular communities, his academic study of religion, and his own experiences to argue for the necessity of bridging the growing chasm between atheists and the religious. As someone who has stood on both sides of the divide, Stedman is uniquely positioned to present a way for atheists and the religious to find common ground and work together to make this world—the one world we can all agree on—a better place.

Author : Bhagat Singh
Publisher : Sristhi Publishers & Distributors
Page : 19 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2019-08-15
Category : History
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Why I am an Atheist by Bhagat Singh Pdf

A discussion with a friend soon turned into a matter of self-assessment, leading to this discourse on why Bhagat Singh chose to be an atheist. Even in the face of death at a very young age, with uncanny observations and sharp questions, he forces us to re-think our foundations to faith in god.