Are there any good books on Atheism?

[amrchaos]

A couple of days ago, I came across a person that claimed my "beliefs" were influenced by other Atheists thinkers. That led me to think--'why not read books by atheists thinkers?'

I do not think they have the answer to the question I want--what is the true purpose of religion. But It could be a riot. So I ask--do anyone know of any good Books by Atheists that deals with Atheism?

By the way, I decided to look at "The God Delusion" by R. Dawkins. Open to all suggestions.

 

[midcan5]

Check out Dan Dennett, always fair and thoughtful.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Dangerous-Idea-Evolution-Meanings/dp/068482471X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248717526&sr=1-3]Amazon.com: Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life (9780684824710): Daniel C. Dennett: Books[/ame]

Interesting video.

Dan Dennett's response to Rick Warren | Video on TED.com

 

[Amanda]

Dawkins is a solid choice.

 

[Anguille]

Open to all suggestions.

Julia Sweeney's - Letting Go of God

It will make you laugh too.

 

[editec]

A couple of days ago, I came across a person that claimed my "beliefs" were influenced by other Atheists thinkers. That led me to think--'why not read books by atheists thinkers?'

Possible because there really isn't all that much to write about atheism, is there?

Here I'll write one for ya...

There is no God

The end​

 

[eagleseven]

Love the ex-Trotskyist Christopher Hitchens.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/God-Not-Great-Religion-Everything/dp/0446697966/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/185-7112372-4727848"]God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything [/ame]

 

[xsited1]

This company sells several:

Blank Books from BookFactory

 

[eagleseven]

And here's a pretty funny movie...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geRUTfgTQlo&feature=related]YouTube - Letting go of God - Trailer[/ame]

 

[Chris]

A couple of days ago, I came across a person that claimed my "beliefs" were influenced by other Atheists thinkers. That led me to think--'why not read books by atheists thinkers?'

Possible because there really isn't all that much to write about atheism, is there?

Here I'll write one for ya...

There is no God

The end​

Exactly.

Madalyn Murray OHair ended up being murdered over some gold coins....

On August 27, 1995, O'Hair, Jon, and Robin suddenly vanished.[2] The door to the office of American Atheists was locked with a typewritten note attached (apparently with Jon's signature), stating "The Murray O'Hair family has been called out of town on an emergency basis. We do not know how long we will be gone at the time of the writing of this memo." When O'Hair's home was entered, breakfast dishes were sitting on the table,[2] her diabetes medication was on the kitchen counter, and her beloved dogs had been left behind with no caregiver.[8]

In phone calls a few days later, the trio claimed they were on "business" in San Antonio, Texas.[2] A few days later, Jon ordered US$600,000 worth of gold coins from a San Antonio jeweler but took delivery of only $500,000.[14]

Until September 27, American Atheist employees and friends received several phone calls from Robin and Jon, but neither would explain why they left or when they would return; while they said nothing was amiss, their voices sounded strained and disturbed.[2] After September 28, no further communication came from any of the O'Hairs.


[edit] Speculations
Speculation abounded on the cause and meaning of O'Hair's disappearance.[15] Some hypothesized that the O'Hairs had abandoned American Atheists and fled with the money. One investigator working for Vanity Fair, after looking at evidence presented to him by former employee David Roland Waters, concluded they had gone to New Zealand.[8]

Exactly one year after the disappearance, William Murray filed a missing persons report.[2] He had previously stated he would not file such a report due to the inevitable media attention it would bring. He also noted the lack of evidence of foul play, stating, "I don't want to search for people who don't want to be found."[16] The O'Hairs were declared legally dead, and many of their assets were sold to clear up their debts.[17]


[edit] Murder
Ultimately, a murder investigation focused on Waters, who had worked as a typesetter for American Atheists and was the organization's office manager at the time the three vanished. Not only did Waters have previous convictions for violent crimes, there were several suspicious burglaries during his tenure, and he pleaded guilty earlier in 1995 to stealing $54,000 from American Atheists.[18]

Shortly after his theft of the $54,000 was discovered, O'Hair wrote a scathing article in the 'Members Only' section of the American Atheists newsletter exposing Waters, the theft and Waters's previous crimes,[8] including a 1977 incident in which Waters allegedly beat and urinated upon his mother.[18] Waters's girlfriend later testified that he was enraged by O'Hair's article, and that he fantasized about torturing her in gruesome ways.[18]

Police concluded that Waters and his accomplices had kidnapped all three O'Hairs, forced them to withdraw the missing funds, went on several huge shopping sprees with the O'Hairs' money and credit cards, and then murdered all three people. Danny Fry, an accomplice, was murdered a few days after the O'Hairs; his body was found on a riverbed with its head and hands severed, but his remains were unidentified for three and a half years. Waters eventually pleaded guilty to reduced charges.

In January 2001, Waters informed the police that the O'Hairs were buried on a Texas ranch, and he subsequently led them to the bodies.[8][14] When the police excavated there, they discovered that the O'Hairs' bodies had been cut into dozens of pieces with a saw. The remains exhibited such extensive mutilation and successive decomposition that identification had to be made through dental records, by DNA testing and, in Madalyn O'Hair's case, by her prosthetic hip.[19]

The gold coins extorted from the O'Hairs were put in a storage locker rented by Waters's girlfriend.[8] Waters had taken out $80,000 and partied with his girlfriend for a few days, but upon his return he discovered that the remaining $420,000 had been stolen. A group of thieves operating in that area had a master key to the type of lock which Waters used to secure the locker. In the course of their activities, they came across the locker, used the master key to open it, and found a suitcase full of gold coins. They eventually spent all but one, which the police recovered.[8]

Waters was found guilty of kidnapping, robbery, and murder in the O'Hair case, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.[20] In addition, he was also ordered to pay back a total of $543,665 to the United Secularists of America and the estates of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Jon Garth Murray, and Robin Murray-O'Hair. It is unlikely that any of these debts were paid, as Waters had no ability to earn money while in prison. Waters died in prison of lung cancer on January 27, 2003.[8]

Madalyn Murray O'Hair - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Fatality]

So I ask--do anyone know of any good Books by Atheists that deals with Atheism

yes but all the pages are blank

 

[editec]

They eventually spent all but one, which the police recovered.[8]

All but the one coin needed to prove they were guilty?

How convenient.

 

[Grigorio]

Here I'll write one for ya...

There is no God

The end​

Technically, that should read "There is no evidence for the existence of God" in order to avoid a fallacious claim to gnosticism.

 

[Anguille]

And here's a pretty funny movie...

YouTube - Letting go of God - Trailer

I saw her show live. It was hysterical.

 

[Coloradomtnman]

Dawkins' book is good, but he doesn't deal with what I believe to be the biggest reason why people DO believe in a supernatural creator: emotion.

Also, humanist texts are great. Same with the philosophers like Hume, Nieztche, etc.

True buddhism deals with how to live without referring to a creator or higher power. It deals more with the human spirit instead of spirituality.

And there are lots of others.

 

[Chris]

Dawkins' book is good, but he doesn't deal with what I believe to be the biggest reason why people DO believe in a supernatural creator: emotion.

Also, humanist texts are great. Same with the philosophers like Hume, Nieztche, etc.

True buddhism deals with how to live without referring to a creator or higher power. It deals more with the human spirit instead of spirituality.

And there are lots of others.

People believe in a creator because there is a creator.

 

[Grigorio]

there is a creator.

evidence?

 

[Chris]

there is a creator.

evidence?

The Universe itself.

 

[Amanda]

there is a creator.

evidence?

I wouldn't normally wade into this kind of discussion but I'm bored, so...

Look around you, all this came from somewhere or something. Science tells us matter can't just wink into existence, thus science proves there is a creator.

 

[hjmick]

Magic.

 

[Grigorio]

there is a creator.

evidence?

The Universe itself.

Proves nothing other than that there appears to be a universe.

Care to try again?

there is a creator.

evidence?

I wouldn't normally wade into this kind of discussion but I'm bored, so...

Look around you, all this came from somewhere or something.

Evidence?

Science tells us matter can't just wink into existence, thus science proves there is a creator.

Your ignorance is astounding... unless this was an attempt at satire?