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Tags: freethinkers

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  The God Delusion

  by Richard Dawkins

  Also published in German as "Geschichte vom Ursprung des Lebens"A preeminent scientist -- and the world's most prominent atheist -- asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11. With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still... (more)
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  Letter to a Christian Nation

  by Sam Harris

  “Thousands of people have written to tell me that I am wrong not to believe in God. The most hostile of these communications have come from Christians. This is ironic, as Christians generally imagine that no faith imparts the virtues of love and forgiveness more effectively than their own. The truth is that many who claim to be transformed by Christ’s love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism.... (more)
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  The End of Faith

  Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason

  by Sam Harris

  Natalie Angier wrote in The New York Times: " The End of Faith articulates the dangers and absurdities of organized religion so fiercely and so fearlessly that I felt relieved as I read it, vindicated....Harris writes what a sizable number of us think, but few are willing to say." This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world. Harris offers a... (more)
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  Breaking the Spell

  Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

  by Daniel C. Dennett

  An innovative thinker tackles the controversial question of why we believe in God and how religion shapes our lives and our future For a growing number of people, there is nothing more important than religion. It is an integral part of their marriage, child rearing, and community. In this daring new book, distinguished philosopher Daniel C. Dennett takes a hard look at this phenomenon and asks why. Where does... (more)
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  Why I Am Not a Muslim

  by Ibn Warraq

  Those who practice the Muslim faith have resisted examinations of their religion. They are extremely guarded about their religion, and what they consider blasphemous acts by sceptical Muslims and non-Muslims alike has only served to pique the world's curiosity. This critical examination reveals an unflattering picture of the faith and its practitioners. Nevertheless, it is the truth, something that has either been... (more)
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  A Devil's Chaplain

  Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love

  by Richard Dawkins

  The first collection of essays from renowned scientist and best-selling author Richard Dawkins is an enthusiastic declaration, a testament to the power of rigorous scientific examination to reveal the wonders of the world. In these essays Dawkins revisits the meme, the unit of cultural information that he named and wrote about in his groundbreaking work The Selfish Gene. Here also are moving tributes to friends... (more)
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  The Blind Watchmaker

  Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design

  by Richard Dawkins

  Patiently and lucidly, this Los Angeles Times Book Award and Royal Society of Literature Heinemann Prize winner identifies the aspects of the theory of evolution that people find hard to believe and removes the barriers to credibility one by one. "As readable and vigorous a defense of Darwinism as has been published since 1859."--The Economist.
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  God Is Not Great

  How Religion Poisons Everything

  by Christopher Hitchens

  In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent bestseller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity,... (more)
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  Atheist Universe

  The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism

  by David Mills, Dorion Sagan

  Clear, concise, and persuasive, Atheist Universe details exactly why God is unnecessary to explain the universe and life's diversity, organization, and beauty. The author thoroughly rebuts every argument that claims to "prove" God's existence — arguments based on logic, common sense, philosophy, ethics, history and science. Atheist Universe avoids the esoteric language used by philosophers and presents its... (more)
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  Everything You Know About God Is Wrong

  The Disinformation Guide to Religion

  by Russ Kick

  In the new mega-anthology from best-selling editor Russ Kick, more than fifty writers, reporters, and researchers invade the inner sanctum for an unrestrained look at the wild and wooly world of organized belief. Richard Dawkins shows us the strange, scary properties of religion; Neil Gaiman turns a biblical atrocity story into a comic (that almost sent a publisher to prison); Erik Davis looks at what... (more)
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  Infidel

  by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  In this profoundly affecting memoir from the internationally renowned author of The Caged Virgin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her astonishing life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West. One of today's most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan Hirsi... (more)
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  Freethinkers

  A History Of American Secularism

  by Susan Jacoby

  At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby paints a striking portrait of more than two hundred years of secularist... (more)
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  Kingdom Coming

  The Rise of Christian Nationalism

  by Michelle Goldberg

  "A potent wakeup call to pluralists in the coming showdown with Christian nationalists."—Publishers Weekly, starred review Michelle Goldberg, a senior political reporter for Salon.com , has been covering the intersection of politics and ideology for years. Before the 2004 election, and during the ensuing months when many Americans were trying to understand how an administration marked by cronyism, disregard for... (more)
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  The Quotable Atheist

  Ammunition for Non-Believers, Political Junkies, Gadflies, and Those Generally Hell-Bound

  by Jack Huberman

  Surprisingly, no book of quotations on God and religion by atheists and agnostics exists. Luckily, for the millions of American nonbelievers who have quietly stewed for years as the religious right made gains in politics and culture, the wait is over. Bestselling author Jack Huberman's zeitgeist sense has honed into the backlash building against religious fundamentalism and collected a veritable treasure trove of... (more)
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  Your Religion Is False

  by Joel Grus

  The funniest book ever written about why your religion is false! Whether you're a Christian or a Jew, a Muslim or a Hindu, a Rasta or a Jain, an Environmentalist or a Cheondoist, a Scientologist or a Giant Stone Head Worshipper, your religion is false. But don't feel bad -- so is everyone else's! When you want to know what not to believe, this is the only book you need. In addition, you'll learn * Why... (more)
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  God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of The Bible

  by CJ Werleman

  'God Hates You, Hate Him Back' makes the ultimate case for the claim that the God of the Bible is the most wicked character in the pages of history. With a wit as dry as a martini, and the cross examination techniques of a seasoned lawyer, CJ Werleman lays out all sixty-six chapters of the Bible to present an irrefutable argument that indeed God hates us all. If you have never read or never fully understood The... (more)
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  The Selfish Gene

  by Richard Dawkins

  Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands of readers to rethink their beliefs about life. In his internationally bestselling, now classic volume, The... (more)
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  Unweaving the Rainbow

  Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder

  by Richard Dawkins

  Did Newton "unweave the rainbow" by reducing it to its prismatic colors, as Keats contended? Did he, in other words, diminish beauty? Far from it, says acclaimed scientist Richard Dawkins; Newton's unweaving is the key to much of modern astronomy and to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. Mysteries don't lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution often is more beautiful than the puzzle,... (more)
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  Climbing Mount Improbable

  by Richard Dawkins

  A brilliant book celebrating improbability as the engine that drives life, by the acclaimed author of The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker. The human eye is so complex and works so precisely that surely, one might believe, its current shape and function must be the product of design. How could such an intricate object have come about by chance? Tackling this subject--in writing that the New York Times called... (more)
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  Under the Banner of Heaven

  A Story of Violent Faith

  by Jon Krakauer

  Brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty insist they were commanded to kill by God. Krakauer's investigation is a meticulously researched, bone-chilling narrative of polygamy, savage violence and unyielding faith: an incisive, gripping work of non-fiction that illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behaviour. 'A provocative look at the twisted roots of American fundamentalism' - Will Self, "Evening Standard... (more)