Download or read book The Christian Delusion written by John W. Loftus and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this anthology of recent criticisms aimed at the reasonableness of Christian belief, former evangelical minister and apologist Loftus has assembled fifteen outstanding articles by leading skeptics, expanding on themes introduced in Loftus' first book.

Download or read book The Dawkins Delusion written by Alister McGrath and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2011-05-18 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath present a reliable assessment of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, famed atheist and scientist, and the many questions this book raises--including, above all, the relevance of faith and the quest for meaning.

Download or read book Atheist Delusions written by David Bentley Hart and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religious scholar Hart argues that contemporary antireligious polemics are based not only upon conceptual confusions but upon facile simplifications of history and provides a powerful antidote to the New Atheists' misrepresentations of the Christian past.

Download or read book The Delusion written by Laura Gallier and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2018 Christy Award winner! By March of Owen Edmonds’s senior year, eleven students at Masonville High School have committed suicide. Amid the media frenzy and chaos, Owen tries to remain levelheaded—until he endures his own near-death experience and wakes to a distressing new reality. The people around him suddenly appear to be shackled and enslaved. Owen frantically seeks a cure for what he thinks are crazed hallucinations, but his delusions become even more sinister. An army of hideous, towering beings, unseen by anyone but Owen, are preying on his girlfriend and classmates, provoking them to self-destruction. Owen eventually arrives at a mind-bending conclusion: he’s not imagining the evil—everyone else is blind to its reality. He must warn and rescue those he loves . . . but this proves to be no simple mission. Will he be able to convince anyone to believe him before it’s too late? Owen’s heart-pounding journey through truth and delusion will force him to reconsider everything he believes. He both longs for and fears the answers to questions that are quickly becoming too dangerous to ignore.

Download or read book The Christian Delusion written by John W. Loftus and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2010-04-20 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this anthology of recent criticisms aimed at the reasonableness of Christian belief, a former evangelical minister and apologist, author of the critically acclaimed Why I Became an Atheist, has assembled fifteen outstanding articles by leading skeptics, expanding on themes introduced in his first book. Central is a defense of his "outsider test of faith," arguing that believers should test their faith with the same skeptical standards they use to evaluate the other faiths they reject, as if they were outsiders. Experts in medicine, psychology, and anthropology join Loftus to show why, when this test is applied to Christianity, it becomes very difficult to rationally defend. Collectively, these articles reveal that popular Christian beliefs tend to rely on ignorance of the facts. Drawing together experts in diverse fields, including Hector Avalos, Richard Carrier, David Eller, and Robert Price, this book deals a powerful blow against Christian faith.

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 Not the Impossible Faith written by Richard Carrier and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2009-01-27 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr. Richard Carrier is an expert in the history of the ancient world and a critic of Christian attempts to distort history in defense of their faith. Not the Impossible Faith is a tour de force in that genre, dissecting and refuting the oft-repeated claim that Christianity could not have succeeded in the ancient world unless it was true. Though framed as a detailed rebuttal to Christian apologist J.P. Holding (author of The Impossible Faith), Carrier takes a general approach that educates the reader on the history and sociology of the ancient world, answering many questions like: How did Christians approach evidence? Was there a widespread prejudice against the testimony of women? Was resurrection such a radical idea? Who would worship a crucified criminal? And much more. Written with occasional humor and an easy style, and thoroughly referenced, with many entertaining "gotcha!" moments, Not the Impossible Faith is a must-read for anyone interested in the origins of Christianity.

Download or read book Is Faith Delusion written by Andrew Sims and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2009-05-09 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How, in a scientifically and technologically advanced age, can people still believe in God? Andrew Sims examines both the connection and the division between Christian faith and psychiatry.

Download or read book Darwin s Cathedral written by David Wilson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2003-10 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the great intellectual battles of modern times is between evolution and religion. Until now, they have been considered completely irreconcilable theories of origin and existence. David Sloan Wilson's Darwin's Cathedral takes the radical step of joining the two, in the process proposing an evolutionary theory of religion that shakes both evolutionary biology and social theory at their foundations. The key, argues Wilson, is to think of society as an organism, an old idea that has received new life based on recent developments in evolutionary biology. If society is an organism, can we then think of morality and religion as biologically and culturally evolved adaptations that enable human groups to function as single units rather than mere collections of individuals? Wilson brings a variety of evidence to bear on this question, from both the biological and social sciences. From Calvinism in sixteenth-century Geneva to Balinese water temples, from hunter-gatherer societies to urban America, Wilson demonstrates how religions have enabled people to achieve by collective action what they never could do alone. He also includes a chapter considering forgiveness from an evolutionary perspective and concludes by discussing how all social organizations, including science, could benefit by incorporating elements of religion. Religious believers often compare their communities to single organisms and even to insect colonies. Astoundingly, Wilson shows that they might be literally correct. Intended for any educated reader, Darwin's Cathedral will change forever the way we view the relations among evolution, religion, and human society.

Download or read book The Atheist Delusion written by Fernandes and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2009-04 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Christianity Is Not Great written by John W. Loftus and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2014-10-21 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new anthology critiquing Christianity, John Loftus—a former minister and now a leading atheist—has brought together an outstanding group of respected scholars who focus on the harms caused by the world’s leading religion. The contributors begin by dissecting the many problematic aspects of religious faith generally. They repeatedly demonstrate that, with faith as a foundation, almost anything can be believed or denied. And almost any horrific deed can be committed. The authors then take a good hard look at many of the most important political, institutional, scientific, social, and moral harms committed in the name of Christianity. These range from the historical persecutions of the Inquisition and witch hunts to the current health hazards of faith healing. Finally, the authors answer three common Christian retorts to criticisms from nonbelievers: (1) that atheists cannot judge a harmful action without an objective moral standard; (2) that atheists need faith to solve the world’s problems; and (3) that atheists cannot live a good life without faith. Loftus and the contributors generally conclude that, given both the well-documented historical record and ongoing problems raised by the faith, Christianity decisively fails empirical tests of its usefulness to humanity.

Download or read book God Is No Delusion written by Thomas Crean and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richard Dawkins, biologist and best-selling author, claims that belief in God is a "delusion" and that "religion" harms society. Dawkins contends that he has reason and evidence on his side, and he dismisses faith as unfounded, even irrational. Dominican Thomas Crean tackles Dawkins' claims head-on. He presents straightforward arguments for God's existence, and he uses reason and evidence to defend such things as miracles and the authority of the Bible. He also shows how God is important for a coherent understanding of morality, and why Dawkins' approach winds up reducing morality to the individual's subjective likes and dislikes. By demonstrating how Dawkins' criticisms rest on misunderstandings, superficial readings, poor argumentation, a lack of historical awareness, and not a little prejudice, Crean reveals Dawkins to be out of his philosophical and theological depth, and his case against God to be fundamentally flawed.

Download or read book Deluded by Dawkins written by Andrew J. Wilson and published by Kingsway Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his book The God Delusion, prominent atheist Richard Dawkins has brought together the many arguments against the likelihood of God's existence. This challenging book sold 50,000 copies in hardback within a few weeks of publication, and a paperback is set to follow. In Deluded by Dawkins?, Andrew Wilson subjects these arguments to rigorous analysis. First he clarifies those which are unsubstantiated or irrelevant, and then he acknowledges the many points with which Christians can actually agree. From here he examines eight arguments over which Christians must differ, and explains why. Easy to read and follow, this is for any believer who wishes to see through the rhetoric to the real issues at stake.

Download or read book The Devil s Delusion written by David Berlinski and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2009-08-26 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Biblical Christianity Truth Or Delusion written by Mark M. Hanna and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2011-09 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to recent polls, the number of atheists and agnostics has more than doubled in the United States in the last twenty years. A coterie of their intellectual spokesmen have mounted a multifaceted attack on the Christian faith in a book entitled The Christian Delusion, which the atheist philosopher, Michael Martin, described as "arguably the best critique of the Christian faith the world has ever known." Dr. Hanna dismantles their arguments one by one, not only clearly exposing the fallaciousness of their contentions but also indicating how their failed case carries implications that furnish positive support for biblical Christianity. This book is more than a set of refutations; it provides a wide-ranging theological and philosophical purview that both biblical theists and anti-Christians need to take seriously, not only in order to understand the current debates but also to reflect on crucial issues relevant to one's own life and destiny. _______________________________________________________________________ Mark M. Hanna, now devoting full time to writing, was a professor of philosophy for many years at California State University and Talbot School of Theology. He also taught at the University of Southern California, where he earned M.A. degrees in philosophy and world religions and a Ph.D. in philosophy. He lived in the Middle East for four years, earning his B.A. at the American University in Beirut. He has lectured in numerous universities and theological schools around the world. He is the author of Crucial Questions in Apologetics and The True Path: Seven Muslims Make Their Greatest Discovery. *************** "This is masterly and brilliant...." --Norman L. Geisler, Ph.D. "A devastating critique of the critics...." --Gary R. Habermas, Ph.D. "A stunning achievement...It is a model of irenic, tough-minded, well-informed argumentation...." --J. P. Moreland, Ph.D. "Give this book a careful reading ...." -- Dallas Willard, Ph.D

Download or read book The Joshua Delusion written by Douglas S Earl and published by James Clarke & Company. This book was released on 2011-06-30 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many Christians wrestle with biblical passages in which God commands the slaughter of the Canaanites - men, women, and children - and the book of Joshua in particular showcases the genocidal violence which saturates the Old Testament. The issue of the morality of the God portrayed in these passages is one of the major challenges for faith today, leading many Christians to cast doubt over what, if any, theological value can be gleamed from such accounts and how they can even be called Holy Scripture. In this bold and innovative book Douglas Earl grasps the bull by the horns and guides readers to new and unexpected ways of looking at the book of Joshua.

Download or read book Jesus from Outer Space written by Richard Carrier and published by Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA). This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The earliest Christians believed Jesus was an ancient celestial being who put on a bodysuit of flesh, died at the hands of dark forces, and then rose from the dead and ascended back into the heavens. But the writing we have today from that first generation of Christians never says where they thought he landed, where he lived, or where he died. The idea that Jesus toured Galilee and visited Jerusalem arose only a lifetime later, in unsourced legends written in a foreign land and language. Many sources repeat those legends, but none corroborate them. Why? What exactly was the original belief about Jesus, and how did this belief change over time? In Jesus from Outer Space, noted philosopher and historian Richard Carrier summarizes for a popular audience the scholarly research on these and related questions, revealing in turn how modern attempts to conceal, misrepresent, or avoid the actual evidence calls into question the entire field of Jesus studies--and present-day beliefs about how Christianity began.