What are some good Atheist books that Christians ought to read?

Question

Besides good science books.

My favorite is "Atheist Universe" By David Mills

Answer 1

Atheism: The Case Against God by George H Smith, a must read.

I'd also recommend:

The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark by Carl Sagan

god is not Great by Christopher Hitchens

Letter To A Christian Nation by Sam Harris

Answer 2

I'd start with some books that look at the history of the bible, actually.

#1 is "The Jesus Puzzle" - also available online at http://www.jesuspuzzle.org. Excellent scholarly research on the epistles and the historicity of Jesus.

#2 probably Bart Ehrman's books, "Misquoting Jesus" and "Lost Christianities"

#3, "The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man" also about the historicity of Jesus

#4, "The Jesus Mysteries" about the other ancient mystery religions which feature dying/rising gods.

Then I would recommend, "Dying to Live" by Susan Blackmore, which talks about the research into near death experiences and out-of-body experiences.

I also recommend "Sense and Goodness without God" by Richard Carrier. Although it's a little disorganized, it does get to the heart of many of the problems and questions that deconverting theists have regarding morality. Great excerpt here: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/whynotchristian.html ... Carrier has a number of other essays on infidels.org.

"Why I am not a Christian," by Bertrand Russell, while a classic, is still excellent reading.

Michael Shermer's books "Why People Believe Weird Things" and "How We Believe" are great for helping people think about logic and rational thought even though he pus*sies out on religion.

And of course all the books that have recently come out, including "The God Delusion," "Atheist Universe," "God: The Failed Hypothesis," "God is Not Great," etc. are all good although they might be harder for a Christian to get through as an introductory book. It depends whether they are questioning their beliefs or not, which is why I would recommend other books first.

Also, they should definitely read ALL of the bible!

Answer 3

I cannot recommend Julian Baggini's "Atheism: A Very Short Introduction" highly enough.

It's written in such a way that it does not, at any point, denounce theism (in fact it includes a section where it points out numerous times that to believe in a god is not an irrational decision). Instead the whole point of the book is to define and explain atheism and explain the logic behind it, and it does so in a very thorough and respectful way. It's very theist-friendly.

Baggini says in his preference that the book is intended for atheists, agnostics, and "religious believers who have a sincere desire to understand what atheism is all about"

Sadly, people like deucecoupe and justme up there wouldn't give this book the time of day.

I don't agree with Christianity, but i've still read christian texts. Those who don't take the time to learn about other (non)belief systems are arrogant and lazy.

Answer 4

i'm an avid reader yet i've got not got faith I even have study any books written via the gents you pronounced. I even have study some articles and that i watched a Dawkins interview as quickly as, I merely can no longer get interior the path of the dislike and intolerance to work out if there is any fact below all of it. My absolute widespread atheist is Siddh?rtha Gautama a minimum of he taught love, no longer hate. The Buddha taught non-violence, know for all existence, the coolest thing about giving generously and of an basic lifestyle, serving for a lot of human beings as a variety of the optimal standards of humane habit. If Dawkins ought to teach as Buddha did with compassion, humbleness and style......then i could surely pay attention to what he had to declare. (BTW - i do no longer tell others to study the bible OR to become a Christian....it fairly is for each guy or woman to decide on.)

Answer 5

I doubt that you can get a bible thumpin' christian to read anything with an intelligent argument opposing religion... the more religion someone has the less smarts, education, and poorer they are.... I think the best book to read to become an atheist is the bible itself... A careful reading, really careful in which one analyzes just what kind of a god the god of Abraham really is, leads the intelligent away from the supernatural... he is just one bad dude. Most christians have never read the bible, just the parts that they have been shown or that are sweet, or show some prophecy... But a great book on the NYTimes best seller list until just a few months ago was The God Delusion... super tight arguments in one volume..... excellent thinker and writer..... Read this one... worth every dime.

Answer 6

I haven't came across any good Atheist books. They are all very childish and illogical, as well as extremely polemic (in their own unique sense). The best anti-Christian book ever, I believe, was "Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine. Splendid book. Argued and written far better than Mills or Harris or Dawkins.

And science books are not atheistic. God is the supernatural, science only deals with the natural world. Science can never comprehend the supernatural. Science has no relation with the supernatural.

Answer 7

Evolution and the Myth of Creationism: A Basic Guide to the Facts in the Evolution Debate by Tim Berra

Answer 8

If you believe Christians. Anything that relates to science is an Athiest book. They better not read the TV guide that is spawned by science.

Answer 9

I'm Christian, but appreciated Douglas E. Krueger's "What Is Atheism? A Short Introduction". It's a basic guide to atheism, by an atheist, and gives a good overall guide to non-theism in general.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Atheism-Introduction-Douglas-Krueger/dp/1573922145/ref=sr_1_1/002-3991271-3451209?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181883114&sr=1-1

Answer 10

Victor Stranger "Has Science Found God?" (I think I have that right) I'll give you a hint, NO! Sam Harris is good too.