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 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 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 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 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 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 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 The Last Priest written by David Walter Hall and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2008 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hall2s play involves Jean Meslier, the 17th-century French Catholic cleric who became a prime mover of French revolutionary idealism.
Download or read book For and Against the Bible A Translation of Sylvain Mar chal s Pour et Contre la Bible 1801 written by Sheila Delany and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-06-02 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In For and Against the Bible (1801), Sheila Delany translates Sylvain Maréchal’s rationalist commentary on Jewish and Christian scripture. Atheist and supporter of the French Revolution, Maréchal hoped his text might remind compatriots of the values for which they had recently fought.
Download or read book Testament written by Jean Meslier and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A forerunner of later critiques of religion, a methodical deconstruction of Christianity and the governments that support it, "Testament" defends the human rights of liberty, equality, and pursuit of happiness. Now translated in English for the first time.
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 Hope after Faith written by Jerry DeWitt and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Atheism's leading lights have long been intellectuals raised in the secular and academic worlds: Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens. By contrast, Jerry DeWitt was born and bred into the church and was in fact a Pentecostal preacher before arriving at atheism through an extraordinary dialogue with faith that spanned more than a quarter of a century. Hope After Faith is his account of that journey. DeWitt was a pastor in the town of DeRidder, Louisiana, and was a fixture of the community. In private, however, he'd begun to question his faith. Late one night in May 2011, a member of his flock called seeking prayer for her brother who had been in a serious accident. As DeWitt searched for the right words to console her, speech failed him, and he found that the faith which once had formed the cornerstone of his life had finally crumbled to dust. When it became public knowledge that DeWitt was now an atheist, he found himself shunned by much of DeRidder's highly religious community, losing nearly everything he'd known. DeWitt's struggle for identity and meaning mirrors the one currently facing millions of people around the world. With both agnosticism and atheism entering the mainstream—one in five Americans now claim no religious affiliation, according to a recent study—the moment has arrived for a new atheist voice, one that is respectful of faith and religious traditions yet warmly embraces a life free of religion, finding not skepticism and cold doubt but rather profound meaning and hope. Hope After Faith is the story of one man's evolution toward a committed and considered atheism, one driven by humanism, a profound moral dimension, and a happiness and self-confidence obtained through living free of fear.
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 From Apostle to Apostate written by Catherine Dunphy and published by Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA). This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when your entire life and career are constructed around a religious faith that you no longer possess? Do you continue to promote a gospel that you have intellectually and emotionally rejected to maintain your livelihood and the support and respect you receive from your community? Or do you renounce your faith to your congregation and the public at large, putting yourself and your family at risk? From Apostle to Apostate offers a comprehensive introduction to the Clergy Project, established in 2011 to provide a safe space where clergy who have lost their faith can connect with others facing the exact same questions—often alone and in isolation. Charting the origins, growth, and goals of the project, the book draws on the author's own experience as a founding project member and on interviews with its founders. It also reveals the troubles and triumphs experienced by many of its members, whose numbers have grown from just over 50 to more than 500 in a few short years. As the book movingly demonstrates, despite the substantial personal and professional challenges nonbelieving clergy face, for many, a loss of faith has turned out not to be a loss at all—but a gain of newfound community, self-respect, and honesty with themselves and others.
