Never, in 50 trillion years, would I even consider asking this. But I listened to unChristian by David Kinnamon, who is a Christian btw, and disagreed with 90% of it. But I discovered that I could "poke holes" in his views, and thought it was time for me to listen to a cheap audio book by someone I know disagrees with me. I was thinking about Dawkins God Delusion or something by Bart Erhman. But I don’t know. Also, I keep hearing about someone called Sam Harris – does anyone know who he is? My criteria is it cannot be a new book (old ones are cheaper!) and if can’t be dry – interjecting humor would be nice (how many Christians does it take to change a light bulb). Thought provoking questions (and answers) and bringing up why they don’t believe, would be nice as well.
When I said "non-believers of all faiths" I meant people who were Christian at one time but turned their back on Jesus and became non-believers. The atheists understood what I meant, why didn’t the Christians? You are just re-enforcing what David Kinnamon said. But I don’t look at the followers of Christianity. I look at the founder. I also bet that most pastors have read at least some books by the authors mentioned.
To be honest, I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I’ll know it when I find it. That’s why my new mantra (yes, I know that’s a Hindu word) is "the faith that cannot be shaken, has been shaken."
Sam Harris – Letter to a Christian Nation
It’s a long letter, but a very short book.
Sam Harris is a neuroscientist, an outspoken non-believer and a VERY good writer
Carl Sagan is amazing too ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g )
June 25th, 2010 at 2:41 am
The bible. You said especially Christians. Christians don’t beleive in the bible.
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June 25th, 2010 at 2:58 am
Sam Harris wrote "Letter to a Christian Nation" and "The End of Faith" — both are excellent reads and highly recommended by The Reverend Soleil. Harris is the one who asserts that "atheist" is a word that shouldn’t even have to exist — nobody has to identify themselves as an "alchemy skeptic" or a "leprechaun denier"…
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June 25th, 2010 at 3:14 am
Mystery of the Ages by Herbert W Armstrong
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June 25th, 2010 at 4:03 am
Mere Christianity
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June 25th, 2010 at 4:11 am
Sam Harris – Letter to a Christian Nation
It’s a long letter, but a very short book.
Sam Harris is a neuroscientist, an outspoken non-believer and a VERY good writer
Carl Sagan is amazing too ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g )
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June 25th, 2010 at 4:58 am
THE BIBLE….BUT GET ONE WITH FOOTNOTES CUZ THEY DONT understand it.
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June 25th, 2010 at 5:06 am
why obssess yourself with a lack of faith. If the cup’s empty stop hovering over it, IT’S EMPTY!
I suppose Dawkins and The Watchmaker or Clockmaker. EVolutionary theories i read in School, Jesuit school nonetheless.
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June 25th, 2010 at 5:40 am
"Non-believers of all faiths"?? "Non-believer" means NO faith. And no credibility here.
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June 25th, 2010 at 5:51 am
You need to read ‘The Demon Haunted World’ by Carl Sagan. It’s not a tirade against religion but a celebration of reason, which inevitably leads to atheism.
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June 25th, 2010 at 6:07 am
The Book of SubGenius – J.R. "Bob" Dobbs
This is the ultimate cult-breaker folks… the original and most powerful religion destroyer – and it’s a load of laughs.
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June 25th, 2010 at 6:26 am
"non-believers of all faiths"–surely that came out wrong?
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June 25th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Sam Harris is good.
So is Christopher Hitchens, but I seriously recommend Atheism: The Case Against God, by George H. Smith, and The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine.
Common Sense, J Meslier is considered to be the first antitheist work and is quite remarkable for its time.
They can all be found online for free on .pdf format with a bit of diligent searching for ebooks.
Good luck and enjoy!
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Age of reason…http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3743
Common Sense…http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17607
June 25th, 2010 at 7:07 am
There is no such person as a non-believing Christian although there are many people who call themselves Christians who are not.
As a Christian, one who truly believes the bible and can say that Jesus is my Saviour and that He has forgiven me all my sins I would like to recommend a very small book to you. It is called How Good is Good Enough and it is written by Andy Stanley. It can be bought singly, in packs of 6 or in bulk and is not expensive. It is easier to obtain in USA than it is in UK. Someone used to sell them on Ebay.
P.S. I’m not surprised that the Christians did not understand what you meant. You don’t seem to understand it yourself and, even in your explanation, you say "When I said "non-believers of all faiths" I meant people who were Christian at one time but turned their back on Jesus and became non-believers." There is no such person as a Christian of all faiths. Christianity is one faith, Buddhism is another, Islam is another etc. etc. If you want sensible, literate answers to questions please make the question clear. What I think you really meant to say was "ex-Christians of all DENOMINATIONS". Now, those words I (and my fellow Christians) would have understood.
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June 25th, 2010 at 7:41 am
Depends on what you are looking for. If you’re just looking for debate from an atheist point of view, Dawkins is ok. But if you’re looking for an actual academic book, Erhman is the one to go for. Miquoting Jesus, Lost Christianities or Jesus, Interrupted. Erhman was a Christian, went to college to be a Christian Scholar and soon found out that things don’t click…. so he claims to be agnostic.
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June 25th, 2010 at 8:18 am
Any book by Paul Davies is an excellent start.http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4323661/the_anthropic_principle_fine_tuning_of_the_universe_michael_strauss_phd/ I am a non- believer in the atheist faith.
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June 25th, 2010 at 8:46 am
"Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn would be tops on my list, for sure. Quinn presents a different narrative of how things came to be this way that demands consideration. The ideas are presented via a fun, fictional story that’s easy to read which makes it a good medium for these kinds of ideas. The book, though, isn’t about religion per se, it’s about culture. Religion and spirituality come up quite a bit, obviously, and I think you’ll find his interpretation of Adam and Eve, in particular, to be very thought provoking.
I wasn’t a big fan of Dawkins’ "The God Delusion" as, apart from a few anecdotes from Dawkins experience, there was little new in it as the arguments for god that are expressed and refuted have been refuted countless times. If you’re looking for something that generally summarizes why there’s probably no god, then this might be a good choice. As an atheist I too was able to "poke holes" in his thesis, not because he was wrong but because having been a Catholic, I understand the religious experience more than most. The religious experience is entirely subjective, and Dawkins’ arguments are objective. The arguments for the existence of gods that Dawkins chose to refute were the ones that attempted to be objective. In other words, I kind of felt that Dawkins (along with other atheists in general) focused too much on objective evidence and not enough on the "reasons to believe" that religious people have. That’s just my opinion. If, however, you’re unfamiliar with the various arguments for/against the existence of gods (ie, argument from design, teleological, etc), then this book is a really good primer.
Dawkins science books are much better reads, in my opinion. "The Selfish Gene" is a very good explanation of evolutionary theory and "how things came to be this way" from a biological and to a lesser degree moral/cultural level. I greatly prefer reading books about "how things came to be this way" as I’m more interested in learning what we know about that than in academic debates over what we believe about things what we can’t possibly know about.
The "four horsemen" (as they’re called in the blogosphere) of modern atheist literature are Dawkins, Sam Harris ("Letter to a Christian Nation"), Christopher Hitchens ("God is Not Great") and Daniel Dennett. Of the last three, I’ve only read articles they’ve written or watched lectures or interviews they’ve done, not read their books.
"Guns, Germs and Steel" is an excellent book about the spread of culture and civilization and how ideas, languages, cultures and people have spanned the globe. Its author Jared Diamond is an atheist but he doesn’t write about atheism.
Between "The Selfish Gene," "Guns Germs and Steel," "Ishmael" and some book on modern ideas on cosmology and nucleosynthesis, you have a pretty solid and simple model of how things came to be this way. Even if you don’t agree with all of it, there certainly aren’t any god-sized gaps that need filled.
Hope that helps. Enjoy! I greatly respect your ability and desire to challenge your assumptions.
Edit:
I totally appreciate your new mantra and agree with it myself. I think we should also assert our ignorance. However, the reason why people took issue with (or got confused by) your wording is the same reason I take issue with the "turning your back on Jesus" comment. Cognitive dissonance is a very powerful thing.
I didn’t "turn my back on Jesus," I sought knowledge as a form of worshipping God. If God gave me this brain, surely using his gifts is a form of thanks and praise. I was very nearly a priest at one point in my life, but at some point I realized I didn’t have any good reason to believe and, in consequence, I didn’t.
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I’m an atheist, an agnostic and an animist.
My work-in progress blog: http://www.noonespecial.ca