The Homemade Atheist

The Homemade Atheist PDF Author: Betty Brogaard
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1569758344
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 159

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this personal memoir, a former evangelical Christian shares her journey away from her confining faith toward a happier, healthier, nonreligious life. Betty Brogaard was raised to be a good Christian. By the time she was twenty years old, she had joined a fundamentalist church. She even met and married a young man who became a minister in the congregation. However, the more she came to understand Christianity from within, the more she found herself asking questions instead of finding answers. In The Homemade Atheists, Betty shares her fascinating journey from the mental slavery of religion to the happiness she found in freethought. Along the way and without malice, she offers questions that challenge you to analyze your own beliefs—exactly as she did over her years-long journey. Her transformation provides a wealth of insight is for anyone seeking a path to a nonreligious way of life.

The Homemade Atheist

The Homemade Atheist PDF Author: Betty Brogaard
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1569758344
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 159

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this personal memoir, a former evangelical Christian shares her journey away from her confining faith toward a happier, healthier, nonreligious life. Betty Brogaard was raised to be a good Christian. By the time she was twenty years old, she had joined a fundamentalist church. She even met and married a young man who became a minister in the congregation. However, the more she came to understand Christianity from within, the more she found herself asking questions instead of finding answers. In The Homemade Atheists, Betty shares her fascinating journey from the mental slavery of religion to the happiness she found in freethought. Along the way and without malice, she offers questions that challenge you to analyze your own beliefs—exactly as she did over her years-long journey. Her transformation provides a wealth of insight is for anyone seeking a path to a nonreligious way of life.

Hi, I'm an Atheist!

Hi, I'm an Atheist! PDF Author: David G. McAfee
Publisher: St. Martin's Essentials
ISBN: 1250782090
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Get Book Here

Book Description
The essential guide to coming out as a non-believer David G. McAfee was raised in a conservative American Christian household. So when he stopped believing in God—any god—his family was shocked. He quickly realized that atheists are misunderstood, frequently thought of as Satan worshippers and anarchists. Thus started McAfee's journey to his true self, and crusade to tell others—especially those who are devoutly religious—what atheism really is, what he believes in, and why atheists should not be feared. In Hi, I'm an Atheist!, McAfee looks at what an atheist believes and how to “come out” as an atheist to your friends, family, and co-workers, offering sound advice on overcoming the difficult moments in any “coming out” conversation. Including a resource guide both for people just coming to atheism and people who have been atheists for years as well as an interview with Rebecca Vitsmun, the woman made famous for coming out as an atheist live on CNN, Hi I’m an Atheist! is a smart, sensitive, and realistic guide to living one’s life positively and honestly without the need for a belief in God.

Godless

Godless PDF Author: Dan Barker
Publisher: Ulysses Press
ISBN: 1569756775
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 394

Get Book Here

Book Description
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

The Homemade Atheist

The Homemade Atheist PDF Author: Betty Brogaard
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1458786935
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Get Book Here

Book Description
Betty Brogaard was raised to be a good Christian. By the time she was 20 years old, she had joined a fundamentalist church. She even met and married a young man who became a minister in the congregation. However, the more she came to understand Christianity from within, the more she found herself asking questions instead of finding answers. In The Homemade Atheists, Betty shares her sincere, personal and fascinating journey from the mental slavery of religion to the happiness she found in freethought. Along the way and without malice, she offers questions that challenge you to analyze your own beliefs--exactly as she did over a period of many years. Her transformation provides a wealth of insight s for anyone seeking a path to a nonreligious way of life.

Systematic Atheology

Systematic Atheology PDF Author: John R. Shook
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135162637X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
Atheology is the intellectual effort to understand atheism, defend the reasonableness of unbelief, and support nonbelievers in their encounters with religion. This book presents a historical overview of the development of atheology from ancient thought to the present day. It offers in-depth examinations of four distinctive schools of atheological thought: rationalist atheology, scientific atheology, moral atheology, and civic atheology. John R. Shook shows how a familiarity with atheology’s complex histories, forms, and strategies illuminates the contentious features of today’s atheist and secularist movements, which are just as capable of contesting each other as opposing religion. The result is a book that provides a disciplined and philosophically rigorous examination of atheism’s intellectual strategies for reasoning with theology. Systematic Atheology is an important contribution to the philosophy of religion, religious studies, secular studies, and the sociology and psychology of nonreligion.

Religion for Atheists

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

Get Book Here

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.

Women Beyond Belief

Women Beyond Belief PDF Author: Karen L. Garst
Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)
ISBN: 1634310837
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
Women have made great strides toward equal rights over the past hundred years, especially in the West. But when considering the ongoing fight over reproductive rights and equal pay—and the prevalence of sexual violence and domestic abuse—it is clear that a significant gap still exists. With scripture often cited as justification for the marginalization of women, it is time to acknowledge that one of the final barriers to full equality for women is religion. Much has been written about the great strides humankind has made in knocking down many long-held religious beliefs, whether related to the age of the earth or the origin of the species. But religion's negative impact on women has been less studied and discussed. This book is a step toward changing that. Twenty-two women from a variety of backgrounds and Judeo-Christian traditions share their personal stories about how they came to abandon organized religion, and how they discovered life after moving away from religious and supernatural beliefs. Their words serve both as a celebration of all who have taken similar steps under the weight of thousands of years of religious history—and as a source of inspiration for those individuals, especially women, who have deep doubts about their own belief traditions but who don't yet know how to embrace life without falling back on religion.

Philosophy of Religion and the African American Experience

Philosophy of Religion and the African American Experience PDF Author: John H. McClendon III
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004332219
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 411

Get Book Here

Book Description
Most white philosophers of religion generally presume that philosophy of religion is based on what is a false universality; whereby the white/Western experience is paradigmatic of humanity at-large. The fact remains that Howard Thurman, James H. Cone and William R. Jones, among others, have produced a substantial amount of theological work quite worthy of consideration by philosophers of religion. Yet this corpus of thought is not reflected in the scholarly literature that constitutes the main body of philosophy of religion. Neglect and ignorance of African American Studies is widespread in the academy. By including chapters on Thurman, Cone and Jones, the present book functions as a corrective to this scholarly lacuna.

Resilient Gods

Resilient Gods PDF Author: Reginald W. Bibby
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 077489007X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Get Book Here

Book Description
Are Canadians becoming less religious? After playing a central role in our lives for nearly a century, religion did seem to be losing its salience in Canada. Many observers saw this trend as inevitable, reflecting secularization patterns seen elsewhere in the Western world. But there is more to the story. Reginald Bibby’s Resilient Gods takes an in-depth look at the religious landscape in Canada today. Pulling together extensive data, he finds that a solid core of some 30 percent continue to embrace religion, while a similar proportion is rejecting it. The remaining 40 percent are somewhere in the middle. The picture that emerges is not one of religious decline but rather of religious polarization, with the numbers of “pro-religious,” “no religious,” and “low religious” in flux. Such proclivities are influenced by social and cultural factors, one being increased immigration, which is ensuring the viability of a pro-religious core. The gods are here to stay, Bibby argues, but so what? Using the most current information available, including unique national survey data, he explores the implications of pro-religious, no-religious, and low-religious choices for personal and social well-being, spirituality, and attitudes towards death. The questions he asks are compelling and the answers thought-provoking whether one embraces the gods or not.

The Atheist's Bible

The Atheist's Bible PDF Author: Geoff Linsley
Publisher: Geoff Linsley
ISBN: 0595481647
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 446

Get Book Here

Book Description
Did God create the universe? If so, who created him? The Atheist's Bible tackles these complex and important ancient mysteries. With the discoveries of modern science, author Geoff Linsley offers a new look at the questions most philosophers throughout history have thought unanswerable. Mysteries such as "Why does the universe exist as it does?" and "When did it come about?" are thought to be demystified by modern science. Mixing scientific knowledge with common sense, Linsley answers these questions in an easy-to-understand dialogue. The Atheist's Bible compiles the case for an atheistic universe in a thorough discussion, provides facts that science has gathered about existence, and creates a new view of the nature of the universe. Linsley searched through scientific discussions of how nature operates, through religious wisdom, and through topics thought to be paranormal to present the first complete theory regarding the origin and evolution of existence and humanity. A collection of several books with individual purposes, The Atheist's Bible furthers the understanding of reality and helps to overcome the fear of the unknown. Linsley challenges the realm of theism and looks outside of it to explain how the universe functions. "The depth of research and the volume of information given make this book exceptional. Linsley treats faith respectfully and doesn't get into baseless arguments against views that oppose his own. This book is well written, very informational, and entertaining." -- Foreward CLARION Review