Download or read book Atheism written by George H. Smith and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2010-11-02 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Does a god exist? This question has undoubtedly been asked, in one form or another, since man has had the ability to communicate. . . Thousands of volumes have been written on the subject of a god, and the vast majority have answered the questions with a resounding 'Yes!' " "You are about to read a minority viewpoint." With this intriguing introduction, George H. Smith sets out to demolish what he considers the most widespread and destructive of all the myths devised by man - the concept of a supreme being. With painstaking scholarship and rigorous arguments, Mr. Smith examines, dissects, and refutes the myriad "proofs" offered by theists - the defenses of sophisticated, professional theologians, as well as the average religious layman. He explores the historical and psychological havoc wrought by religion in general - and concludes that religious belief cannot have any place in the life of modern, rational man. "It is not my purpose to convert people to atheism . . . (but to) demonstrate that the belief in God is irrational to the point of absurdity. If a person wishes to continue believing in a god, that is his prerogative, but he can no longer excuse his belief in the name of reason and moral necessity."
Download or read book The Jefferson Bible written by Thomas Jefferson and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-03-02 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jefferson regarded Jesus as a moral guide rather than a divinity. In his unique interpretation of the Bible, he highlights Christ's ethical teachings, discarding the scriptures' supernatural elements, to reflect the deist view of religion.
Download or read book The Real Face of Atheism written by Ravi Zacharias and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2004-09 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This analysis of atheism, drawn from a wide range of philosophy and history, exposes its flaws while defending the purpose and meaning that Christ brings to one's life.
Download or read book I Don t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist written by Norman L. Geisler and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2021-05-17 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To some, the concept of having faith in a higher power or a set of religious beliefs is nonsensical. Indeed, many view religion in general, and Christianity in particular, as unfounded and unreasonable. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek argue, however, that Christianity is not only more reasonable than all other belief systems, but is indeed more rational than unbelief itself. With conviction and clear thinking, Geisler and Turek guide readers through some of the traditional, tested arguments for the existence of a creator God. They move into an examination of the source of morality and the reliability of the New Testament accounts concerning Jesus. The final section of the book deals with a detailed investigation of the claims of Christ. This volume will be an interesting read for those skeptical about Christianity, as well as a helpful resource for Christians seeking to articulate a more sophisticated defense of their faith.
Download or read book The Christian Atheist written by Craig Groeschel and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010-04-06 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you putting your whole faith in God but still living as if everything is up to you? You may believe in God, attend church, and generally treat people with kindness…but are you living as if God doesn't exist? Have you surrendered to God completely, living every day depending upon the Holy Spirit? Pastor and bestselling author Craig Groeschel will lead you on a personal journey toward an authentic, God-honoring life. This honest, hard-hitting, and eye-opening look into the ways people believe in God but live as if he doesn't exist is a classic of discipleship training. Groeschel's personal journey will help you break down your own barriers between simple belief and a more intentional faith. This book will help you: Let go of the shame of your past and know that you’re forgiven. Embrace Christ’s profound love for you. Believe in the power of prayer. Give up control when life doesn't seem fair. Trust God with all your anxious thoughts, heartache, struggles, and pain. From the author of Winning the War in Your Mind, The Christian Atheist is a rallying cry to get honest with God, shed the self-sufficiency and the hypocrisy, and live a life that truly brings glory to Christ.
Download or read book The Christian View of the Old Testament written by Frederick Carl Eiselen and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Judas of Nazareth written by Daniel T. Unterbrink and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-03-24 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An investigation into the historical Jesus and the veracity of the Gospels • Reveals the biblical Jesus as a composite figure, a blend of the political revolutionary Judas the Galilean and Paul’s divine-human Christ figure • Matches the events depicted in the New Testament with historically verifiable events in Josephus’ history, pushing Jesus’ life back more than a decade • Demonstrates how each New Testament Gospel is dependent upon Paul’s mythologized Christ theology, designed to promote Paul’s Christianity and serve the interests of the fledgling Gentile Christian communities Scholars have spent years questioning aspects of the historical Jesus. How can we know what Jesus said and did when Jesus himself wrote nothing? Can we trust the Gospels, written by unknown authors 40 to 70 years after Jesus’ death? And why do other sources from the time not speak of this messianic figure known as Christ? Drawing on the histories of Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Daniel Unterbrink contends that the “Jesus” of the Bible was actually a composite figure, a clever blend of the Jewish freedom-fighter Judas the Galilean and Paul’s divine-human Christ figure created in the middle of the first century CE. Revealing why Paul was known as a liar, enemy, and traitor in other Jewish literature, he shows that the New Testament Gospels are not transcripts of actual history but creative works of historical fiction designed to promote Paul’s Christianity and serve the interests of the fledgling Gentile Christian communities. He demonstrates how each Gospel is written in light of the success of Paul’s religion and dependent upon his later perspective. Matching the events depicted in the New Testament with the historically verifiable events in Josephus’ history, Unterbrink pushes the dating of Jesus’ life back nearly a generation to a revolutionary time in ancient Judea. He shows that the real historical Jesus--the physical man behind the fictional stories in Paul’s Gospels--was Judas the Galilean: a messianic pretender and Torah-observant revolutionary bent on overthrowing the Roman government and galvanizing the Jewish people behind his vision of the coming Kingdom of God. In the greatest cover-up of history, this teacher of first-century Israel was replaced by the literary creation known as Jesus of Nazareth.
Download or read book Atheist Universe written by David Mills and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-08-04 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using logic, common sense, philosophy, ethics, history, and science, the author rebuts every argument that claims to “prove” the existence of God. IS THERE REALLY A GOD? OR DOES GOD EXIST ONLY IN OUR HEADS? IS THE BIBLE TRULY GOD’S WORD? OR IS IT A JUMBLE OF FANCIFUL MYTHS? Atheist Universe details why God is unnecessary to explain the universe’s diversity, organization and beauty. Using simple, straightforward logic, this book rebuts every argument that claims to “prove” God’s existence. A comprehensive primer for countering today’s religious dogma, Atheist Universe addresses all the historical and scientific questions, including: •What is atheism, and why is it so misunderstood? •If God is a myth, then how did the universe appear? •Without God, is there an objective “right” and “wrong”? •What is the meaning of life without God? •Is there evidence of Jesus’s miracles and resurrection? •Can atheists explain “near death” experiences and medical miracles? •Can science and the Bible realistically be reconciled? •What is the behind-the-scenes relationship between politics and religion? “An admirable work.” —Richard Dawkins “David’s work will be very useful for anyone combating harmful religious beliefs. Honest, frank, and right to the point!”—Albert Ellis, Ph.D., father of modern psychotherapy, author of A Guide to Rational Living
Download or read book The Most Reluctant Convert written by David C. Downing and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2021-05-07 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his teens, a young man wrote, “I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them.” After serving in the trenches of WW1, the same young man said, “I never sank so low as to pray.” To a religious friend, he wrote impatiently, “You can’t start with God. I don’t accept God!” This young man was C. S. Lewis, the “foul-mouthed atheist” who would become one of the most eloquent Christian writers of the twentieth century. David C. Downing offers a unique look at Lewis’s personal journey to faith and the profound influence it had on his life as a writer and eventual follower of Christ. This is the first book to focus on the period from Lewis’s childhood to his early thirties, a tumultuous journey of spiritual and intellectual exploration. It was not despite this journey but precisely because of it that Lewis understood the search for life’s meaning so well.
Download or read book The X rated Bible written by Ben Edward Akerley and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incest, rape, adultery, exhibitionism, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, mate swapping, bestiality -- it's all there in the book held sacred by three of the world's major religions. Originally published to reveal the hypocrisy of fundamentalists' attempts to censor and suppress the kind of material found throughout their own scriptures, The X-Rated Bible quickly became the American Atheist Press's most notorious and best-selling book. It garnered media attention due to its title, subject matter (with chapters like "Lot Knocks Up Both His Daughters," and "Noah Gets Drunk and Exposes Himself"), and association with publisher Madalyn Murray O'Hair, famous atheist and publicity hound. This redesigned, corrected, and expanded edition will reintroduce the controversial publication that unblushingly confronts the dirty parts of the Holy Bible.
Download or read book Drunk with Blood written by Steve Wells and published by Sab Books. This book was released on 2013-07-16 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Completely Revised Second Edition with 23 new killings from the Apocrypha. Drunk With Blood includes a separate account for each of God's 158 killings. These stories fill the pages of the Bible, yet they are seldom read in church and are ignored by most Bible believers, which is a shame because God is so proud of his killings: "I kill ... I wound ... I will make mine arrows drunk with blood and my sword shall devour flesh." Deuteronomy 32:39-42 You've probably hear of a few of God's killings. Noah's Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, David and Goliath, maybe. But there are over 150 others that are unknown to pretty much everyone, believer and nonbeliever alike. Did you know, for example, that God: *Forced friends and family to kill each other for dancing naked around Aaron's golden calf? *Burned Aaron's sons to death for offering him strange fire? *Burned complainers to death, forced the survivors to eat quail until it literally came out their noses, sent "fiery serpents" to bite people for complaining about the lack of food and water, and killed 14,700 for complaining about his killings? *Buried alive those that opposed Moses (along with their families)? *Burned 250 men to death for burning incense? *Rewarded Phinehas for throwing a spear though the bellies of an inter-tribal couple while they were having sex? *Ordered, assisted in, or approved of dozens of complete genocides? *Accepted human sacrifice in the cases of Jephthah's daughter and Saul's seven sons? *Helped Samson murder thirty men for their clothes, slaughter 1000 with the jawbone of an ass, and kill 3000 civilians in a a suicide terrorist attack? *Smote the Philistines of several cities with hemorrhoids in their secret parts? *Killed a man for trying to keep the ark of the covenant from falling and 50,070 for looking into the ark? *Approved when David bought his first wife with 200 Philistine foreskins? *Killed King Saul for not killing every Amalekite as he told him to do? *Slowly killed a baby to punish King David for committing adultery? *Killed 70,000 because David had a census that he (or Satan) told him to do? *Sent a lion to kill a prophet for believing another prophet's lie, another lion to kill a man for not smiting a prophet, and some more lions to kill people that didn't fear him enough? *Killed 450 religious leaders who lost a prayer contest with Elijah and burned 102 men to death for asking Elijah to come down from his hill? *Sent two bears to rip apart 42 boys for making fun of Elisha's bald head? *Killed 27,000 Syrians by having a wall fall on them, sent an angel to kill 185,000 sleeping soldiers, interfered in human battles to kill a half million Israelite and a million Ethiopian soldiers? *Killed King Ahab for not killing a captured king, and then sent King Jehu on a series of mass murders to kill all of Ahab's family and friends who had ever "pissed against a wall?" *Killed Jehoram by making his bowels fall out? *Killed Job's ten children in a bet with Satan? *Killed Ezekiel's wife and told him not to mourn her? *Killed Ananias and Sapphira for not giving Peter all their money? *Killed King Herod by feeding him to worms? All of these killings, and more, are found in the Bible, and their stories are told in the 2nd Edition of Drunk With Blood.
Download or read book The Case for Christ written by Lee Strobel and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book consists primarily of interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger. Each interview is based on a simple question, concerning historical evidence (for example, "Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted?"), scientific evidence, ("Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?"), and "psychiatric evidence" ("Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?"). Together, these interviews compose a case brief defending Jesus' divinity, and urging readers to reach a verdict of their own.
Download or read book Jesus written by Bart D. Ehrman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1999-09-23 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this highly accessible discussion, Bart Ehrman examines the most recent textual and archaeological sources for the life of Jesus, along with the history of first-century Palestine, drawing a fascinating portrait of the man and his teachings. Ehrman shows us what historians have long known about the Gospels and the man who stands behind them. Through a careful evaluation of the New Testament (and other surviving sources, including the more recently discovered Gospels of Thomas and Peter), Ehrman proposes that Jesus can be best understood as an apocalyptic prophet--a man convinced that the world would end dramatically within the lifetime of his apostles and that a new kingdom would be created on earth. According to Ehrman, Jesus' belief in a coming apocalypse and his expectation of an utter reversal in the world's social organization not only underscores the radicalism of his teachings but also sheds light on both the appeal of his message to society's outcasts and the threat he posed to Jerusalem's established leadership.
Download or read book From Jesus to Christ written by Paula Fredriksen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study."—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay of the Kingdom he had preached. This edition includes an introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on Jesus and its implications for both history and theology. "Brilliant and lucidly written, full of original and fascinating insights."—Reginald H. Fuller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This is a first-rate work of a first-rate historian."—James D. Tabor, Journal of Religion "Fredriksen confronts her documents—principally the writings of the New Testament—as an archaeologist would an especially rich complex site. With great care she distinguishes the literary images from historical fact. As she does so, she explains the images of Jesus in terms of the strategies and purposes of the writers Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor
Download or read book Battling the Gods written by Tim Whitmarsh and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2015-11-10 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How new is atheism? Although adherents and opponents alike today present it as an invention of the European Enlightenment, when the forces of science and secularism broadly challenged those of faith, disbelief in the gods, in fact, originated in a far more remote past. In Battling the Gods, Tim Whitmarsh journeys into the ancient Mediterranean, a world almost unimaginably different from our own, to recover the stories and voices of those who first refused the divinities. Homer’s epic poems of human striving, journeying, and passion were ancient Greece’s only “sacred texts,” but no ancient Greek thought twice about questioning or mocking his stories of the gods. Priests were functionaries rather than sources of moral or cosmological wisdom. The absence of centralized religious authority made for an extraordinary variety of perspectives on sacred matters, from the devotional to the atheos, or “godless.” Whitmarsh explores this kaleidoscopic range of ideas about the gods, focusing on the colorful individuals who challenged their existence. Among these were some of the greatest ancient poets and philosophers and writers, as well as the less well known: Diagoras of Melos, perhaps the first self-professed atheist; Democritus, the first materialist; Socrates, executed for rejecting the gods of the Athenian state; Epicurus and his followers, who thought gods could not intervene in human affairs; the brilliantly mischievous satirist Lucian of Samosata. Before the revolutions of late antiquity, which saw the scriptural religions of Christianity and Islam enforced by imperial might, there were few constraints on belief. Everything changed, however, in the millennium between the appearance of the Homeric poems and Christianity’s establishment as Rome’s state religion in the fourth century AD. As successive Greco-Roman empires grew in size and complexity, and power was increasingly concentrated in central capitals, states sought to impose collective religious adherence, first to cults devoted to individual rulers, and ultimately to monotheism. In this new world, there was no room for outright disbelief: the label “atheist” was used now to demonize anyone who merely disagreed with the orthodoxy—and so it would remain for centuries. As the twenty-first century shapes up into a time of mass information, but also, paradoxically, of collective amnesia concerning the tangled histories of religions, Whitmarsh provides a bracing antidote to our assumptions about the roots of freethinking. By shining a light on atheism’s first thousand years, Battling the Gods offers a timely reminder that nonbelief has a wealth of tradition of its own, and, indeed, its own heroes.
Download or read book Not God s Type written by Holly Ordway and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2014-07-29 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of a glorious defeat. Ordway, an atheist academic, was convinced that faith was superstitious nonsense. As a well-educated college English professor, she saw no need for just-so stories about God. Secure in her fortress of atheism, she was safe (or so she thought) from any assault by irrational faith. So what happened? How did she come to “lay down her arms” in surrender to Christ and then, a few years later, enter the Catholic Church? This is the moving account of her unusual journey. It is the story of an academic becoming convinced of the truth of Christianity on rational grounds — but also the account of God’s grace acting in and through her imagination. It is the tale of an unfolding, developing relationship with God — told with directness and honesty — and of a painful surrender at the foot of the Cross. It is the account of a lifelong, transformative love of reading and the story of how a competitive fencer put down her sabre to pick up the sword of the Spirit. Above all, this book is a tale of grace, acting in and through human beings but always issuing from God and leading back to Him. And it is the story of a woman being brought home.
Download or read book Contending with Christianity s Critics written by Paul Copan and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contending with Christianity’s Critics is book two in a series on modern Christian apologetics that began with the popular Passionate Conviction. This second installment, featuring writings from eighteen respected apologists such as Gary Habermas and Ben Witherington, addresses challenges from noted New Atheists like Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and other contemporary critics of Christianity concerning belief in God, the historical Jesus, and Christianity’s doctrinal coherence. Contending with Christianity's Critics and Passionate Conviction are the result of national apologetics conferences sponsored by the Evangelical Philosophical Society (www.epsociety.org).
