Download or read book Leap of Honesty written by Stephen Frederick Uhl and published by Humanist Press. This book was released on 2014-04-13 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faithful Catholic priest become atheist psychologist shows how he himself shucked and how the reader can enjoy shucking childhood prejudices and superstitions to thrill to rational friendliness in our pluralistic planetary society. This book could have been titled “The Book of Tolerance.” The psychologist author recognizes that each of us learned a lot of traditions and beliefs when too young to evaluate them. Such prejudices are very deeply ingrained into the subconscious. Therefore they are often most difficult to overcome even in adult years and with further experience and education. (Dr. Uhl was already in his 30s when he finally got free; many people never get free.) Each of us grows up and learns to analyze and think critically at different speeds. Even in the same family one sibling may remain highly opinionated and prejudiced, stuck in the past, while another thoughtfully unlearns childhood myths and becomes a broadminded adult. Therefore, tolerance of such differing rates of learning and unlearning is necessary for civilized peace good friendships in a pluralistic society. Such patient understanding is less difficult when one follows the new Golden Rule: Treat others as you would reasonably want and expect them to treat you if your roles were reversed. The thrilling details of an exciting journey with our planetary neighbors are clearly laid out in the little book, Leap of Honesty – Priest to Atheist. A generous sprinkling of earthy humor richly seasons this revolutionary book for enjoyable spiritual nourishment. Previously published as Out of God’s Closet and Imagine No Superstition.

Download or read book The Atheist Priest written by Joe Barcala and published by Babelcube Inc.. This book was released on 2020-04-09 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A very catching story about a priest who, at the beginnin, realize that he does not believe in God anymore... but, at the end, doesn't he? Completed translation in word .docx document. Name of the book: The Atheist Priest.

Download or read book Caught in the Pulpit written by Daniel C. Dennett and published by Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA). This book was released on 2015-05-01 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is it like to be a preacher or rabbi who no longer believes in God? In this expanded and updated edition of their groundbreaking study, Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola comprehensively and sensitively expose an inconvenient truth that religious institutions face in the new transparency of the information age—the phenomenon of clergy who no longer believe what they publicly preach. In confidential interviews, clergy from across the ministerial spectrum—from liberal to literal—reveal how their lives of religious service and study have led them to a truth inimical to their professed beliefs and profession. Although their personal stories are as varied as the denominations they once represented, or continue to represent—whether Catholic, Baptist, Episcopalian, Methodist, Mormon, Pentecostal, or any of numerous others—they give voice not only to their own struggles but also to those who similarly suffer in tender and lonely silence. As this study poignantly and vividly reveals, their common journey has far-reaching implications not only for their families, their congregations, and their communities—but also for the very future of religion.

Download or read book Atheist Priest written by Scott Cowdell and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first extended study of Don Cupitt's writings discusses them from his earliest articles up to and including The Long-Legged Fly, published in 1987. Such a survey is badly needed, the author argues, because so many of the attacks on Don Cupitt are misplaced and fail to see his ongoing project as a whole. Scott Cowdell divides Cupitt into 'the early Cupitt', up to Taking Leave of God; 'the later Cupitt', the writer of the trilogy consisting of Taking Leave of God, The World to Come and Only Human and of The Sea of Faith; and the most recent non-realist Cupitt of The Long-Legged Fly. While sympathetic to Don Cupitt's works Scott Cowdell is by no means uncritical, and makes some important objections, particularly to Cupitt's rejection of alternative approaches: 'there are more thing in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in his philosophy'. But at least, he argues, Don Cupitt is honest in his assertions; there are other theologians in effect just as radical who conceal their radical character in an obscurantist haze. Don Cupitt has written a Foreword, and there is a full bibliography of his writings.

Download or read book Pints with Aquinas written by Matt Fradd and published by . This book was released on 2016-08-10 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you could sit down with St. Thomas Aquinas over a pint of beer and ask him any one question, what would it be? Pints With Aquinas contains over 50 deep thoughts from the Angelic doctor on subjects such as God, virtue, the sacraments, happiness, alcohol, and more. If you've always wanted to read St. Thomas but have been too intimidated to try, this book is for you.So, get your geek on, pull up a bar stool and grab a cold one, here we go!""He alone enlightened the Church more than all other doctors; a man can derive more profit in a year from his books than from pondering all his life the teaching of others." - Pope John XXII

Download or read book The Atheist Priest written by Marshal Lawrence Pierce, III and published by . This book was released on 2003-10-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based upon a true story, The Atheist Priest is a truly remarkable piece of literature. From the title to its contents, we are provoked to an intellectual discussion and forced to test the limits of the human heart. Where two small words fused together can offend and enlighten simultaneously. Fyodor Dostoevsky once pontificated "Without God, everything is possible." However, in The Atheist Priest, this theological notion is challenged to the very core. However, even the devout atheist can not take refuge in this book. That there is an ultimate choice to our existence: shall I live a moral life or not? Throughout the ages, philosophy and theology assumed the answer. Yet, The Atheist Priest reflects and chooses from its reflection. This is the post-modern soul: naked, stripped, and unblemished by tradition and dogma. The post-modern soul has choices and the choices are boundless.

Download or read book Out of God s Closet written by Stephen F. Uhl and published by Golden Rule Publishers. This book was released on 2009-04-30 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book could have been titled The Book of Tolerance. The Psychologist author recognizes that every child learns a lot of traditions and beliefs when too young to evaluate them. Such prejudices are very deeply ingrained into the subconscious. They are difficult to overcome even in our adult years of further experience and education. (Dr. Uhl was already in his 30s when he finally got free; many people never get free.) Each person grows up and learns to analyze and think criticallly at different rates. Even in the same family one sibling may remain opinionated and prejudiced, stuck in the past, while another thoughtfully unlearns childhood myths and becomes a broadminded adult ready for planetary friendships. Therefore, tolerance of such differing rates of learning and unlearning is necessary for civilized peace in a pluralistic society. Such friendly understanding comes easy under the new Golden Rule: Treat others as you would reasonably want and expect to be treated if your roles were reversed. Out of God's Closet: This Priest Psychologist Chooses Friendly Atheism shows how the author got really free and how readers can enjoy the same freedom to be proud, happy, planetary neighbors. Generous sprinkling of earthy humor richly seasons this revolutionary book for enjoyable spiritual nourishment.

Download or read book Why I Became an Atheist written by John W. Loftus and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2012-10-10 with total page 1047 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For about two decades John W. Loftus was a devout evangelical Christian, an ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and an ardent apologist for Christianity. With three degrees--in philosophy, theology, and philosophy of religion--he was adept at using rational argumentation to defend the faith. But over the years, doubts about the credibility of key Christian tenets began to creep into his thinking. By the late 1990s he experienced a full-blown crisis of faith. In this honest appraisal of his journey from believer to atheist, the author carefully explains the experiences and the reasoning process that led him to reject religious belief. The original edition of this book was published in 2006 and reissued in 2008. Since that time, Loftus has received a good deal of critical feedback from Christians and skeptics alike. In this revised and expanded edition, the author addresses criticisms of the original, adds new argumentation and references, and refines his presentation. For every issue he succinctly summarizes the various points of view and provides references for further reading. In conclusion, he describes the implications of life without belief in God, some liberating, some sobering. This frank critique of Christian belief from a former insider will interest freethinkers as well as anyone with doubts about the claims of religion.

Download or read book Losing Faith in Faith written by Dan Barker and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Losing Faith in Faith records Dan Barker's dramatic journey from devout soul-winner to one of America's most prominent freethinkers.Following his "calling" at age 15, Dan Barker worked as a missionary, ordained minister, associate pastor, touring evangelist, Christian songwriter, performer and record producer. After preaching for 19 years, Barker "lost faith in faith." Throwing out the bath water, he discovered: "There is no baby there!"Today Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., (www.ffrf.org) frequently represents freethought on the talkshow circuit and at personal appearances, concerts, and debates around the country, turning his experience as a former minister into ammunition against superstition and irrationality.In Losing Faith in Faith, Barker explains why he left the ministry. He also offers a definitive, compelling analysis of why he rejects belief in a god and the claims of religion. He explores the fallacies, inconsistencies, and harm of Christian doctrine and theistic dogma. In its place, he issues an appealing and compassionate invocation of freethought, reason, and humanism.Losing Faith in Faith is both a challenge to believers and an arsenal for skeptics.

Download or read book Give Me an Answer written by Cliffe Knechtle and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 1986-03-31 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cliffe Knechtle offers clear, reasoned and compassionate responses to the tough questions skeptics ask.

Download or read book Superstition in All Ages written by Paul Henri Thiry Holbach (baron d') and published by . This book was released on 1878 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur written by Elisabeth Leseur and published by Sophia Institute Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Elizabeth Leseur's husband, Felix - an avowed atheist - discovered this diary, he converted and later answered God's call to become a priest.

Download or read book Taking Leave of God written by Don Cupitt and published by SCM Press. This book was released on 2014-09-16 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rejecting Christian doctrines and metaphysics in favour of the religious consciousness which characterizes human identity, Cupitt "takes leave" of God by abandoning objective theism.

Download or read book From Pastor to Atheist written by Larry Cartford and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2010-04-23 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion has been a powerful and determinative force in human life ever since the beginning of time. Many religions have flourished, then died. Yet the basic dynamics of religion have not changed. Religions seek to promote the gods they create, instill fear, divide people, and control behavior. After disclosing religions for what they are- manipulative and domineering- a non-god way of life is presented. What religions consider to be their exclusive domains, eternal life, spirituality, morality and truth, are exposed as not solely theirs. Spirituality and morality are presented as an innate depth of human beingness in all people. Eternal life is offered as the noble destiny for all people not dependent on what gods are accepted. Truth is to be known through reason, not revelation. To break unconditionally the power of religion the nexus must be changed from gods to humans at the center. No longer ask, What do the gods want? instead. What do humans need? Along with a non-god way of life a world without religion is discussed which elucidates a new way of beauty, openness and peace. For all people seeking an alternative way of life not controlled by religion or revelation this book offers a non-god way of life.

Download or read book Faith in Doubt written by Harold Munn and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2024-05-07 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when an atheist and a believer find themselves next door neighbours? What happens when religion finds itself in a culture of science and secularism? Could they hold hands? Could they fall in love? Faith in Doubt claims that churches speak about faith and God only from within the world view of an ancient culture—as foreign to modern people as Latin. No wonder there is a precipitous decline in church attendance. Faith in Doubt proposes that churches start a conversation with secularism by learning to speak of faith and God from within the assumptions of modern secular culture. Faith in Doubt explains how. Faith in Doubt follows John, a believer, and his neighbour Rosalind, an atheist professional scientist, through their budding romance as they undergo relationship conflicts paralleling their exploration of each other’s opposing views of religion. Can their relationship weather storms of break up, distrust, and deep pain at rejection? Will John and Rosalind—symbolizing faith and science—ever hold hands in a lasting, meaningful relationship? Faith in Doubt grounds the discussion with accounts of real incidents in the author’s own life as a child and later as a priest in urban, rural, and First Nations contexts. He experienced disbelief and strains in important relationships—unexpectedly finding those challenges to be sources of new life and joy. Readers, whether believers or not, may discover similar experiences happening in their own lives.

Download or read book THE DIARY OF A RELUCTANT ATHEIST written by David R Bock and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2023-09-05 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author David R. Bock became an atheist in high school and studied philosophy as an undergraduate, including two years at the University of Vienna. A mystical encounter in a monastery in Germany and conversations with Catholic priests and laypeople caused him to rethink his views of God and religion. When David shifted to economics at Oxford and started his career, he continued to encounter people who talked to him about spirituality, Jesus of Nazareth, and the supernatural nature of the Christian walk. His journey from atheism to faith culminated during a dinner with friends when he was overwhelmed by the love of God and dramatically set free from the intellectual shackles of his atheism. Written in the form of a diary, The Journal of a Reluctant Atheist tells the story of David’s conversion from atheism to Christian faith. This intellectual transformation spans a decade in his life from college to graduate school, marriage, and beginning a career in international finance and development. A Rhodes Scholar, David describes how God reveals himself through nature, other people, and personal experience, all the while leaving us free to choose between atheism and faith.

Download or read book Christian Atheist written by Brian Mountford and published by John Hunt Publishing. This book was released on 2011-06-16 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christian Atheist examines the growing religious phenomenon of those who are drawn to Christianity without accepting its metaphysical claims or dogma. Throughout the history of the Church there have been many people like this who have sat differently to the central creedal claims, but in the contemporary 'god delusion' culture, more are coming out to claim acceptance for their views. The key to the book is a set of interviews with people who fall broadly into the 'Christian Atheist' category; some are more agnostic and less sceptical than others, but what they have in common is the rejection of traditional belief in God, counterbalanced by an admiration for the aesthetic genius of Christianity (leading to a sense of deeper value), the Christian moral compass, and in some cases the community aspect of Christian life.