Showing titles in Atheism

The Christian faith has been vigorously defended with a variety of philosophical, historical, and theological arguments, but many of the arguments that worked in an earlier age no longer resonate in today's educated West. Where has apologetics gone wrong? What is the best response to the growing challenge presented by scientific discovery and naturalistic thought?

Goodbye Jesus is the step-by-step account of a former minister’s journey into and out of faith - the story of a long pendulum swing from the deep commitment of a devout believer to the firm conviction that no personal God exists and that all religions are man-made. This is a relatable and thoughtful listen for those seeking to better understand the evangelical mindset, for Christians who are questioning their faith, for ministers trying to decide whether to stay or go, and for those who have left their faith and are dealing with its loss.

David Fitzgerald’s award-winning 2010 book Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All pointed out the top 10 fatal flaws of Christianity’s origin story. Now, Jesus: Mything in Action presents the most compelling new findings in Jesus myth theory and critically examines its controversial reception by biblical scholars, the extent and reliability of our sources for Jesus, and the surprising history behind Jesus’ evolution.

Atheism For Dummies offers a brief history of atheist philosophy and its evolution, explores it as a historical and cultural movement, covers important historical writings on the subject, and discusses the nature of ethics and morality in the absence of religion. A simple, yet intelligent exploration of an often misunderstood philosophy.

You'll meet people who know about darkness, yet still look for light and laughter. Bob finds life and fellowship at the natural burial ground that is his wife's last resting place. Kim's baby lived for only eight days yet left a lasting impact on her mother's heart and on the world. Matthew, who has prostate cancer, lives alone but learns to join song with others travelling a similar road. Ruth has a global pandemic to contend with on top of secondary cancer; while she can't choose her circumstances, she can choose to focus on all that remains possible.

In this groundbreaking volume, J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., MD, with Clare Aukofer, offers a succinct yet comprehensive study of how and why the human mind generates religious belief. Dr. Thomson, a highly respected practicing psychiatrist with credentials in forensic psychiatry and evolutionary psychology, methodically investigates the components and causes of religious belief in the same way any scientist would investigate the movement of astronomical bodies.

Do "In God We Trust", the Declaration of Independence, and other historical "evidence" prove that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles? Are the Ten Commandments the basis for American law? A constitutional attorney dives into the debate about religion's role in America's founding.

Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist and is considered one of the most influential figures of anarchism. Bakunin’s God and the State, an unfinished manuscript published posthumously in 1882, is a classic and influential atheist text which sets out the anarchist critique of religion as bound up in legitimising the state.

It has become the prevalent view among sociologists, historians, and some theistic scientists that religion and science have never been in serious conflict. Some even claim that Christianity was responsible for the development of science. In a sweeping historical survey that begins with ancient Greek science and proceeds through the Renaissance and Enlightenment to contemporary advances in physics and cosmology, Stenger makes a convincing case that not only is this conclusion false, but Christianity actually held back the progress of science for 1,000 years.

Joe Armstrong spent nine years studying for the Catholic priesthood. He no longer believes in God. This is his acclaimed, searingly honest coming-of-age memoir of his nine years in the Marist Fathers seminary in 1980s Dublin, Ireland. This is a rare authentic insight into the true lives of celibate seminarians and priests. It is also of interest to those struggling with co-dependency, giving a frank portrayal of a complex relationship with a dysfunctional mother. It is also a fascinating portrayal of an experience with counseling, and how it can help us to break destructive patterns...

In deconstructing 75 distasteful delights of biblical proportions, we will investigate the likelihood of not only the Apostle Paul’s claim of the divine origin of scripture, but the claim of the innumerable whom uphold the Bible as the true and infallible word of God.

Christian Child, Atheist Adult is the autobiographical narrative of a Southern Baptist deacon's son who discovered just how misled he had been during his formative years; ultimately making a transformation into one of Christianity's most staunch critics. Gregory Blount provides accounts of the social and familial tactics often used by many faith-based religions to indoctrinate and entrap members. The book also provides a broad consideration of the scientific, historical, and philosophical answers that led the author to develop his perspective.

What is it like to be a preacher or rabbi who no longer believes in God? In this expanded and updated edition of their groundbreaking study, Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola comprehensively and sensitively expose an inconvenient truth that religious institutions face in the new transparency of the information age - the phenomenon of clergy who no longer believe what they publicly preach.

The gloves come off in this electric exchange, originally hosted by Christianity Today, as leading atheist Christopher Hitchens (author of God Is Not Great) and Christian apologist Douglas Wilson (author of Letter from a Christian Citizen) go head-to-head on this divisive question. The result is entertaining and provocative—a glimpse into the ongoing debate.

The God of the Old Testament commanded and endorsed many practices that we find morally reprehensible today. High on the list was the institution of slavery, which features prominently in several sections of the Hebrew Bible. Fathers could sell their daughters into slavery, masters could beat their slaves, creditors could carry off children for failure to repay a debt, and foreigners could be kept for life, passed down as inherited property. How are we to make sense of all of this from our modern point of view?

Positive humanism is an applied secular humanistic philosophy based on the scientific findings of positive psychology that focuses on personal, professional, and societal flourishing. As an applied philosophy its focus is on ideas that lead to increased well-being. As a secular humanistic philosophy, there are no appeals to the supernatural, the magical, or the mystical. The philosophy is founded on reason and critical thinking.

We can’t avoid the persistent questions about the meaning of life—and the nature of reality. But science is the only means of answering them. So declares philosopher Alex Rosenberg in this bracing, surprisingly sanguine take on a world without god. The science that makes us nonbelievers, he demonstrates, tells us the nature of reality, the purpose of everything, the difference between right and wrong, how the mind works, even the direction of human history.

Well into the 21st century, our species continues to participate in beliefs and customs that seem more suited to the Bronze Age than the Information Age, some of which involve poisonous snakes, holy smoke, urine bubbles, crystals, tarot cards, aliens, costumed virgins, and, of course, an offering plate. Join Seth Andrews for a random romp across the planet and a humorous look at some of humanity's Sacred Cows.

Richard Wurmbrand spent three years in solitary confinement during his 14-year imprisonment in Communist Romania. In The Answer to the Atheist's Handbook, conceived during his solitary confinement, Wurmbrand challenges the arguments for atheism as proposed by the Soviet Academy of Science's Atheist's Handbook. Throughout the Communist world, the teachings of the Atheist's Handbook held supreme authority. But Wurmbrand demonstrates that the atheistic worldview leaves more questions unanswered than it settles.

The United States is in the midst of a religious revolution. Or, perhaps it is better to say a non-religious revolution. Around a quarter of US adults now say they have no religion. The great majority of these religious "nones" also say that they used to belong to a religion but no longer do. These are the nonverts: think "converts," but from having religion to having none. There are currently about fifty-nine million of them in the United States.

This personal story about a spiritual journey away from Christianity is an honest examination of what we can know about God. Popular religious beliefs and practices are challenged, with potential new information for those who may be questioning their faith. After formal academic study of religion, Baptist minister David Ramsey became agnostic and left the ministry altogether. In this book, he shares how his search for truth led to personal doubts about the foundation of Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus, and eventually the very existence of God.

God and the State (called by its author "The Historical Sophisms of the Doctrinaire School of Communism") is an unfinished manuscript by the Russian anarchist philosopher Mikhail Bakunin, published posthumously in 1882. The work criticises Christianity and the then-burgeoning technocracy movement from a materialist, anarchist and individualist perspective. It has gone on to become Bakunin's most widely read and praised work.

Atheism is often considered to be a negative, dark, and pessimistic belief which is characterized by a rejection of values and purpose and a fierce opposition to religion. 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. It also confronts the failure of officially atheist states in the 20th century. The book presents an intellectual case for atheism that rests as much upon positive arguments for its truth as on negative arguments against religion.

Do we have free will? And if we don’t, why do we feel as if we do? In a godless universe governed by impersonal laws of cause and effect, are you responsible for your actions? Former evangelical minister Dan Barker and author of God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction unveils a novel solution to the question that has baffled scientists and philosophers for millennia.

Atheism is characterized by rejection or lack of belief in the existence of a Supreme Being, commonly referred to as God. The people who practice this belief are referred to as atheists. There is a distinction however, to this belief. One form of atheism is a simple case of skepticism. There is a disbelief that God really exists. Simply put, it is refusal or inability to accept the concept that God is alive today, and that there is a God, as most people believe to be true. This is categorized as "weak atheism".

Our God is an English translation of Hamara Khuda written by Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra), M. A. in the prime of his youth. The book was written largely for the youth who were being swept by the onslaught of atheist literature. It is as relevant today as then; rather more so. The book mainly addresses the issue of existence of God from the point of view of rational arguments. It furnishes cogent reasons as to why we cannot see God. The beauty of God lies in his being hidden from our physical eyes, and yet being apparent to us through his creation and revelation.

What first prompted prehistoric man, sheltering in the shadows of deep caves, to call upon the realm of the spirits?And why has belief thrived ever since, leading us to invent heaven and hell, sin and redemption, and above all, gods?Religion reflects our deepest hopes and fears; whether you are a believer or, like Matthew Kneale, a non-believer who admires mankind's capacity to create and to imagine, it has shaped our world.

Are we on the brink of sacrificing science and history on the altar of fundamentalist ideology? Navigating the chasm between unyielding faith and empirical science, this memoir reveals a deeply personal struggle with Young Earth Creationism and religious fundamentalism. Indoctrinated at age six into a fundamentalist sect, the author is confronted with the undeniable evidence of science while simultaneously being torn by his church's warnings of eternal damnation for simply acknowledging reality.

«Esta es la cuestión acerca de mis ideas y de quienes piensan como yo. Nuestra creencia no es una creencia. Nuestros principios no son una fe. No sostenemos nuestras convicciones dogmáticamente. Creemos firmemente que se puede vivir una vida ética sin religión. Y de hecho sabemos que el reverso es cierto: que la religión ha hecho que muchas personas no solo no se comporten mejor que otras, sino que consideren aceptable comportarse en modos que harían que el gerente de un burdel o un genocida torcieran el gesto».

Astronomer and TV science guy Gevin Rees just landed the interview of a lifetime with the world's most famous physicist. Remarkable, because the eccentric genius is notoriously reclusive, and he's already dead. What happens next forces Rees to run for his life from not one but two deadly assassins and global powers desperate to bury what he's just uncovered. Mind-blowing technology and solid evidence that would rewrite religious history and challenge the faith of billions.

For thousands of years, religion has woven its way through societies and people as if it were part and parcel to that society or person. In large measure it was left unexplained and unchallenged, it simply existed. Those who attempted to challenge and expose religion were often persecuted, excommunicated, shunned, or even executed. It could be fatal to explain that which the church, priest or imam said was unexplainable. Before the germ, viral and parasite theory of disease, physicians had no tools to understand disease and its propagation.