A Reluctant Agnostic

A Reluctant Agnostic PDF Author: Loren Bauman
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
ISBN: 1640278354
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
A Reluctant Agnostic is a story about sincere, humble, joyous Christianity confronted by contradictory natural evidence—a tale of religious conviction at odds with science. The author grew up in the very unique Old German Baptist Brethren Church, where he was immersed in wholehearted fundamental faith, and he shares details of the Brethren experience with an insider’s affection. Yet for all their distinctiveness, these plain-living people nevertheless embrace the same biblical precepts and theology as multimillions of other Christians, so the broader questions and issues raised in this book address a wide audience from their familiar Christian point of view. Furthermore, the author speaks movingly of the Gospel and savior he loved in a way even non-Christians will appreciate. But why did this reluctant agnostic lose his beloved faith? And how do these same questions relate to you? This is an important discussion which is relevant to everyone who values truth and contemplates mortality. Join him as he explores the distinctions between science and faith, and wrestles with how we can know for sure what’s really real.

A Reluctant Agnostic

A Reluctant Agnostic PDF Author: Loren Bauman
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
ISBN: 1640278354
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Get Book Here

Book Description
A Reluctant Agnostic is a story about sincere, humble, joyous Christianity confronted by contradictory natural evidence—a tale of religious conviction at odds with science. The author grew up in the very unique Old German Baptist Brethren Church, where he was immersed in wholehearted fundamental faith, and he shares details of the Brethren experience with an insider’s affection. Yet for all their distinctiveness, these plain-living people nevertheless embrace the same biblical precepts and theology as multimillions of other Christians, so the broader questions and issues raised in this book address a wide audience from their familiar Christian point of view. Furthermore, the author speaks movingly of the Gospel and savior he loved in a way even non-Christians will appreciate. But why did this reluctant agnostic lose his beloved faith? And how do these same questions relate to you? This is an important discussion which is relevant to everyone who values truth and contemplates mortality. Join him as he explores the distinctions between science and faith, and wrestles with how we can know for sure what’s really real.

Agnostic-Ish

Agnostic-Ish PDF Author: Josh Buoy
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692710517
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This is a book about science, religion, and the world in between. I was born into a Christian family, but fell out of religion and in love with the scientific method. I had little need of faith, I thought, when science could tell me so much more about the world, and ask so little of me in return. But as I aged into young adulthood, a new chapter of my story began. Did I really know why I believed what I believed? How could I be so certain of my convictions when I hadn't even honestly considered the evidence? This book traces my journey through the furthest reaches of thought, a journey that took me through the realms of psychology, biology, physics, and belief. Could I find a place for faith in the modern world? Or was I right to cast it off as I did?

The Great Agnostic

The Great Agnostic PDF Author: Susan Jacoby
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300137257
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
A biography that restores America's foremost 19th-century champion of reason and secularism to the still contested 21st-century public square.

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution (Great Discoveries)

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution (Great Discoveries) PDF Author: David Quammen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393076342
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
"Quammen brilliantly and powerfully re-creates the 19th century naturalist's intellectual and spiritual journey."--Los Angeles Times Book Review Twenty-one years passed between Charles Darwin's epiphany that "natural selection" formed the basis of evolution and the scientist's publication of On the Origin of Species. Why did Darwin delay, and what happened during the course of those two decades? The human drama and scientific basis of these years constitute a fascinating, tangled tale that elucidates the character of a cautious naturalist who initiated an intellectual revolution.

Religion for Atheists

Religion for Atheists PDF Author: Alain De Botton
Publisher: Signal
ISBN: 0771025998
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
From the author of The Architecture of Happiness, a deeply moving meditation on how we can still benefit, without believing, from the wisdom, the beauty, and the consolatory power that religion has to offer. Alain de Botton was brought up in a committedly atheistic household, and though he was powerfully swayed by his parents' views, he underwent, in his mid-twenties, a crisis of faithlessness. His feelings of doubt about atheism had their origins in listening to Bach's cantatas, were further developed in the presence of certain Bellini Madonnas, and became overwhelming with an introduction to Zen architecture. However, it was not until his father's death -- buried under a Hebrew headstone in a Jewish cemetery because he had intriguingly omitted to make more secular arrangements -- that Alain began to face the full degree of his ambivalence regarding the views of religion that he had dutifully accepted. Why are we presented with the curious choice between either committing to peculiar concepts about immaterial deities or letting go entirely of a host of consoling, subtle and effective rituals and practices for which there is no equivalent in secular society? Why do we bristle at the mention of the word "morality"? Flee from the idea that art should be uplifting, or have an ethical purpose? Why don't we build temples? What mechanisms do we have for expressing gratitude? The challenge that de Botton addresses in his book: how to separate ideas and practices from the religious institutions that have laid claim to them. In Religion for Atheists is an argument to free our soul-related needs from the particular influence of religions, even if it is, paradoxically, the study of religion that will allow us to rediscover and rearticulate those needs.

Aging Gracelessly

Aging Gracelessly PDF Author: Tom Bennett
Publisher: Histria Books
ISBN: 1592112196
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 63

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Book Description
The Bible is arguably the greatest masterpiece of literature ever produced. But what makes it great? Who decides whether it is great, accurate or valid? Is one opinion or interpretation better than another?These are questions that are best left to the experts...right? Aging Gracelessly is the culmination of an 18-month study by the author to read the Bible, analyzing it from the perspective of a reluctant agnostic... and hopefully find in it a much anticipated inner peace. It is a genuine attempt to investigate the “Good Book” without the bias and influence of others.The author delves into each book of the Bible and relates the experience with an unusual honesty and candor. He is looking for peace... and possibly salvation... and, like C. S. Lewis, fully expects to get off his agnostic fence to join the two billion other Christian adherents who consider the Bible the ultimate handbook for the soul. Along the way, he discusses with himself many of the facets of our intangible existence; things like good vs evil, reality vs wishful thinking, faith vs brainwashing, and ignorance vs stupidity. Aging Gracelessly raises as many questions as it addresses...and it will make even the most vigorous believers among us think about what we believe.

How (Not) to Speak of God

How (Not) to Speak of God PDF Author: Peter, Rollins
Publisher: Paraclete Press
ISBN: 1612610714
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
With sensitivity to the Christian tradition and a rich understanding of postmodern thought, Peter Rollins argues that the movement known as the “emerging church” offers a singular, unprecedented message of transformation that has the potential to revolutionize the theological and moral architecture of Western Christianity. How (not) to Speak of God sets out to explore the theory and praxis of this contemporary expression of faith. Rollins offers a clear exploration of this embryonic movement and provides key resources for those involved in communities that are conversant with, and seeking to minister effectively to, the needs of a postmodern world. “Here in pregnant bud is the rose, the emerging new configuration, of a Christianity that is neither Roman nor Protestant, neither Eastern nor monastic; but rather is the re-formation of all of them. Here, in pregnant bud, is third-millennium Christendom.” —Phyllis Tickle “I am a raving fan of the book you are holding. I loved reading it. I have already begun widely recommending it. Reading it did good for my mind and for my soul. It helped me understand my own spiritual journey more clearly, and it gave me a sense of context for the work I’m involved in. In fact, I would say this is one of the two or three most rewarding books of theology I have read in ten years.” —Brian McLaren, from the Foreword

Not God's Type

Not God's Type PDF Author: Holly Ordway
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1681493578
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
This is the story of a glorious defeat. Ordway, an atheist academic, was convinced that faith was superstitious nonsense. As a well-educated college English professor, she saw no need for just-so stories about God. Secure in her fortress of atheism, she was safe (or so she thought) from any assault by irrational faith. So what happened? How did she come to “lay down her arms” in surrender to Christ and then, a few years later, enter the Catholic Church? This is the moving account of her unusual journey. It is the story of an academic becoming convinced of the truth of Christianity on rational grounds — but also the account of God’s grace acting in and through her imagination. It is the tale of an unfolding, developing relationship with God — told with directness and honesty — and of a painful surrender at the foot of the Cross. It is the account of a lifelong, transformative love of reading and the story of how a competitive fencer put down her sabre to pick up the sword of the Spirit. Above all, this book is a tale of grace, acting in and through human beings but always issuing from God and leading back to Him. And it is the story of a woman being brought home.

The Devil's Delusion

The Devil's Delusion PDF Author: David Berlinski
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0786751479
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
From a bestselling author, an “incendiary and uproarious” assault on the pretensions of scientific atheists (National Review) Militant atheism is on the rise. Prominent thinkers including Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have published best-selling books denigrating religious belief. And these authors are merely the leading edge of a larger movement that includes much of the scientific community. In response, mathematician David Berlinski, himself a secular Jew, delivers a biting defense of religious thought. The Devil's Delusion is a brilliant, incisive, and funny book that explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it is the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world.

The Atheist Who Didn't Exist

The Atheist Who Didn't Exist PDF Author: Andy Bannister
Publisher: Monarch Books
ISBN: 0857216112
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
"A breath, a gust, a positive whoosh of fresh air. Made me laugh, made me think, made me cry. " Adrian Plass In the last decade, atheism has leapt from obscurity to the front pages: producing best-selling books, making movies, and plastering adverts on the side of buses. There's an energy and a confidence to contemporary atheism: many people now assume that a godless scepticism is the default position, indeed the only position for anybody wishing to appear educated, contemporary, and urbane. Atheism is hip, religion is boring. Yet when one pokes at popular atheism, many of the arguments used to prop it up quickly unravel. The Atheist Who Didn't Exist is designed to expose some of the loose threads on the cardigan of atheism, tug a little, and see what happens. Blending humour with serious thought, Andy Bannister helps the reader question everything, assume nothing and, above all, recognise lazy scepticism and bad arguments. Be an atheist by all means: but do be a thought-through one.