Has anybody here read any of the following books: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett If anybody has, Let's discuss them. I have not yet had the chance to read the last two books on the list but I intend to buy God Is Not Great this week. I have read each of the first three books several times and each time I read them their arguments make more sense to me, espesially the way in which Sam Harris argues in The End of Faith that moderate religious people give cover to the fundamentalists by insisting religion cannot be criticized in any way. He also explains that fundamentalism is not the problem with Islam (and Christianity) it is Islam (or Christianity) itself that is the problem. Dawkins has given me truckloads of ammo to use in my debates with religious people, as he destroys every argument for God and religion in The God Delusion. He also completely annihilates the argument that God is necessary for us to be moral Letter to a Christian Nation had its beginnings as a form letter response that Harris composed to reply to all the Christian hate mail he received after The End of Faith and it remains that way. The book basically looks at all the evil religion is causing in the world today and the role that even moderates have to play in perpetuating the situation. So what are your view and perspectives on these books?
I'm reading the God Delusion at present. I'm not an atheist, I'm a deist (and it's great not to have to explain that!!! yay for people who have read about it!) and I'm loving it so far. I may read Letter to a Christian Nation after your description of it. =]
I recommend that you read The End of Faith before proceeding to Letter to a Christian Nation as the former puts the latter in far better perspective. End of Faith and The God Delusion are absolute must reads for any person wanting to know about the so-called New Atheism. I now call myself a "Dawkinsian Atheist".
I haven't read any of these, although I have heard of them because a very good friend of mine works in a metaphysical/new age type of bookstore that carries lots of text on religion, and he knows more about more religions than anyone I know, but I thought it was interesting you phrased things as you did above. As I see it, it might not be that great to formulate the problem as "religion causing evil." Religions are human frameworks that are used to do (and justify) both good and evil--if you frame it as if religions themselves have some sort of volition, then it pretty much obscures the fact that evil is done not by the religion itself but by the people in those religious practices. Kinda like if we think of corporations as evil-doers, we miss the fact that it's not the corporations themselves that are harming people and the environment, it's the people in charge of those corporations who are using the corporations to do that harm. I guess what I mean is that considering religions as the source of the harm that is done in their name negates or lessens any personal accountability for doing harm. "Oh I didn't do anything wrong... that's what God says/what my religion says to do."
All the books on the list that I have read, I can highly recommend and they are worth every penny spent on them. Here is a link to the 1st chapter of The God Delusion at the official Richard Dawkins website: Chapter 1 TGD Without followers, there would be no religions so by extension religion does harm because its followers do harm, also without the people there would be no corporations so if the employees of the corporations do evil, it is the corporations that are doing evil. Moderates create a lot of the problem, by teaching that unquestioning faith is a virtue. That is certainly what many people do, for instance religious parents saying they love their gay child but still throwing them out of the house and then saying they have to because of their religion.
I own a copy of The God Delusion but i havent read all of it yet. One thing i found interesting that Dawkins commonly says that in America society is easier to be gay than an atheist. Im the other way around I'm so open about been atheist and i havent been able to come out about my sexuality
Come on, man, at least spell it right in the thread title. Anyway, I've only read God is Not Great by Hitchens and skimmed some of Dawkins' work, but here in the south it's a little harder to find and read atheist books without raising tons of negative attention. Quite a shame, but the one time I brought such a book to school I got more than a dozen comments about my apparent lack of morals and how I'm doomed to eternal suffering. What generous love. And in regards to which is harder, being an atheist or being gay: being both, and in the Bible Belt, and in public schools. It's a fun life I live.
Ahh dawkins... my definition of hatelove A cute man with a sexy accent who I disagree with on 84% of everything he's ever said.... :lol:
:eek: What have you done to my Emma!?!?!?! Incidentally, my friend is reading TGD. I skimmed through it and I distinctly remember one line: "God is like a thumb to suck." I think he was going on about how religion offers a comfort blanket and then saying "Just because X is comforting, doesn't make X true". He had some pretty good points, I must admit.
