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Our selection of books and associated reviews. Each cover is an affiliate link to Amazon for purchase.
Freethinkers : A History of American Secularism
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 […]
god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Book Description Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world. In the tradition of Bertrand Russell’s Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris’s recent bestseller, The […]
Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions
This was the standard reference for Christian apologists and debaters before Geisler produced the Baker Encyclopedia. However, these authors approach their material from a more ecumenical attitude, and their treatment of several issues is notably different. Since many Christians still use this reference instead of Geisler’s, and its content is slightly different, it is still […]
How to Think Straight: An Introduction to Critical Reasoning
Practical reasoning and clear thinking are essential for everyone if we are to make sense of the information we receive each day. Being able to quickly know the difference between valid and invalid arguments, the contradictory versus the contrary, vagueness and ambiguity, contradiction and self-contradiction, the truthful and fallacious separates clear thinkers from the crowd. […]
If You Had to Choose, What Would You Do?
Presents a number of thought-provoking scenarios involving ethical dilemmas and asks the reader to decide what to do. The scenarios are fun to read and are followed by questions to facilitate discussion. Helps you talk to your child about social and moral issues in a natural and nonthreatening way.
Introduction to Western Philosophy
Clearly Antony Flew was on a mission when he wrote his Introduction to Western Philosophy. It is very carefully crafted, providing an unparalleled introduction not only to Western philosophers and their ideas, but also to approaches to philosophical thought. Flew assumes that his readers are willing to try to think like philosophers, and he provides […]
Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don’t Know About Them)
Description Picking up where Bible expert Bart Ehrman’s New York Times bestseller Misquoting Jesus left off, Jesus, Interrupted addresses the larger issue of what the New Testament actually teaches–and it’s not what most people think. Here Ehrman reveals what scholars have unearthed: The authors of the New Testament have diverging views about who Jesus was […]
Leaving the Fold
If you are a former believer searching for a new beginning (or a current believer just starting to have doubts), this book is for you. A former fundamentalist herself, Winnell’s book is a heart-felt discussion on the impact a dogmatic, unquestioning faith can have on a person’s life.
Man a Machine
Synopsis Unavailable
Mormon Polygamy: A History
An informative outline of the secret origins of Mormon polygamy, the peculiarities of the early practice, “unofficial” polygamous marriages at the turn-of-the-century and present-day fundamentalist Mormon groups which still practice polygamy.
No Sense of Obligation: Science and Religion in an Impersonal Universe
Book Description Rejecting belief without evidence, a scientist searches the scientific, theological, and philosophical literature for a sign from God–and finds God to be an allegory. This remarkable book, written in the layperson’s language, leaves no room for unproven ideas and instead seeks hard evidence for the existence of God. The author, a sympathetic critic […]
Ontological Arguments and Belief in God
This book is a unique contribution to the philosophy of religion. It offers a comprehensive discussion of one of the most famous arguments for the existence of God: the ontological argument. The author provides and analyzes a critical taxonomy of those versions of the argument that have been advanced in recent philosophical literature, as well […]
Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction
One of the most respected scholars in the field, William L. Rowe offers a well-balanced, understandable introduction ot the central topics in philosophy of religion. With a clarity praised by reviewers, the author helps introductory students assess the sorts of reasons that thoughtful people have advanced for and against religious belief. Topics include: differing conceptions […]
Rama II
Years ago, the enormous, enigmatic alien spacecraft called Rama sailed through our solar system as mind-boggling proof that life existed — or had existed — elsewhere in the universe. Now, at the dawn of the twenty-third century, another ship is discovered hurtling toward us. A crew of Earth’s best and brightest minds is assembled to […]
Religious Liberty and State Constitutions
The fact is sometimes overlooked that the state constitutions, some of which were written written before the federal Constitution, include explicit protections of religious liberty and church-state separation, some even more comprehensive and specific in their guarantees and prohibitions than the U.S. Constitution. All of the state constitutions deal with religious freedom and all support […]
Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam
For a generation, Muslim extremists have targeted Americans in an escalation of terror that culminated in the September 11 attacks. Our shared confusion — Who are the attackers? Why are we targets? — is cleared away in a book as dramatic as it is authoritative. Updated with new chapters on Afghanistan and the the broader […]
Secular Wholeness: A Skeptic’s Paths to a Richer Life
Can a skeptic the benefits of a religious practice? When you can’t abide ideas of the supernatural, when no religious account of the world satisfies, how can you satisfy the need for depth, engagement, serenity in life? Davd Cortesi, well-known as a writer on technical subjects, brings a programmer’s bent for logic and scholar’s research […]
Spiritual Warfare
Diamond traces the history of the extreme Religious Right and its forays into international military actions and domestic suppression. The documentation in this book is thorough and reputable. Make no mistake, this book is not for everyone: she’s writing for academians and is not aiming for entertainment. However, the book, at times, is riveting in […]
Taking Responsibility: Self-Reliance and the Accountable Life
The bestselling author of The Psychology of Self-Esteem presents an illuminating guide to self-realization through self-reliance and a vision of a society transformed by a new ethical individualism.
The Anthropic Cosmological Principle
Is there any connection between the vastness of the Universe and the existence of life within it on a small planet out in the suburbs of the Milky Way? Could there be other universes? How large is the range of conceivable universes that can give rise to living observers? What is the past history and […]
The Big Domino in the Sky
The Big Domino in the Sky and Other Atheistic Tales is a fun and thought-provoking collection of short stories in the form of science fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy. There is no other book like it on the market.
The Castle
Kafka’s existential insight is still as poignant today as it was in the late nineteenth-century when he wrote. The Castle addresses the modern problem of the enormous gulf that separates us from God. Instead of a clearly accessible God, there exists a no-man’s land of shadow and illusion, in which roam clerics and bureaucrats that […]
The Dark Side of Christian History
Over a period of nearly two millennia, the Christian Church has oppressed and brutalized millions of individuals. Meticulously researched and courageously written, The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerbe examines the Church’s devastating impact upon human freedom, dignity and spirituality. Written for the lay reader, this controversial book is especially relevant today as […]
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
An impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith. This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today’s world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind’s willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify […]
The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein
The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein gives newer SF readers and fans a less-known side of his work and opportunity to savor crisp sentences filled with telling detail, sardonic observations of character, and engrossing tales. The stories, originally published in the 1940s and ’50s, showcase Heinlein’s science-fictional approach to fantasy. Though magic works and the […]
The Godless Constitution: The Case Against Religious Correctness
The word God does not appear in the U.S. Constitution. Kramnick and Moore remind us why it does not and also how efforts to insert it have been staved off. They take us back to radical Christian Roger Williams’ influential insistence upon a religiously neutral polity for Rhode Island and to the British roots of […]
The Illusion of Immortality
The Illusion of Immortality details the often ignored scientific evidence against life after death. Lamont first outlines different historical views of immortality, presents the scientific evidence from mind-brain dependence against the immortality of the soul, considers the problem of what an afterlife environment could possibly be like, and evaluates arguments that immortality must be guaranteed […]
The Last Three Minutes
Subtitled “Conjectures About the Ultimate Fate of the Universe” from the Science Masters Series, Davies presents various alternatives for what happens when the universe reaches its final destiny. The only downside is that this book, dating from 1997, predates the recent discovery of facts tending to lead to the conclusion of a positive cosmological constant, […]
The Martian Way and Other Stories
Still thinking like an Earthling? Get out of your rut,open your mind – there’s a whole universe waiting. It’s waiting for peoplewho aren’t afraid of thinking in new ways, of doing new things. Can you imagine… …mining the skies for water?…building a new world beneath the surface of a strangeplanet?…making pets out of alien explorers?…putting […]
The Myth of Free Will
Book Description (Revised and Expanded Edition) Illuminating, uplifting and lighthearted, the second edition of The Myth of Free Will expands on the powerful ideas in the first edition by offering fifty additional pages of quotes and short essays on free will. The book strives to answer the question: “Who is saying we don’t have free […]
