Atheism Memoir

In his classic Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor offered a profound, secular approach to the teachings of the Buddha that struck an emotional chord with Western audiences. Now, with the same brilliance and boldness of thought, he paints a groundbreaking portrait of the historical Buddha—told from the author's unique perspective as a former Buddhist monk and modern seeker.

Raised in a militant atheist family, Sy Garte fell in love with the factual world of science. He became a respected research biochemist with an anti-theistic worldview to bolster his work—and he had no intention of seeking a God he didn't believe in. That is, until the very science he loved led him to question the validity of an atheistic worldview.

Atheism is often considered to be a negative, dark, and pessimistic belief which is characterized by a rejection of values and purpose and a fierce opposition to religion. Atheism: A Very Short Introduction sets out to dispel the myths that surround atheism and show how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral. It also confronts the failure of officially atheist states in the 20th century. The book presents an intellectual case for atheism that rests as much upon positive arguments for its truth as on negative arguments against religion.

Part 1 of Godless, "Rejecting God", tells the story of how I moved from devout preacher to atheist and beyond. Part 2, "Why I Am an Atheist", presents my philosophical reasons for unbelief. Part 3, "What's Wrong with Christianity", critiques the bible (its reliability as well as its morality) and the historical evidence for Jesus. Part 4, "Life Is Good!", comes back to my personal story, taking a case to the United States Supreme Court, dealing with personal trauma, and experiencing the excitement of Adventures in Atheism.

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.

In this hugely entertaining sequel to the New York Times best-selling memoir An Appetite for Wonder, Richard Dawkins delves deeply into his intellectual life spent kick-starting new conversations about science, culture, and religion and writing yet another of the most audacious and widely read books of the 20th century - The God Delusion.

Brad Warner was initially interested in Buddhism because he wanted to find God, but Buddhism is usually thought of as godless. In the three decades since Warner began studying Zen, he has grappled with paradoxical questions about God and managed to come up with some answers. In this fascinating search for a way beyond the usual arguments between fundamentalists and skeptics, Warner offers a profoundly engaging and idiosyncratic take on the ineffable power of the "ground of all being."

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 his first memoir, Richard Dawkins shares a rare view into his early life, his intellectual awakening at Oxford, and his path to writing The Selfish Gene. This is an intimate memoir of the childhood and intellectual development of the evolutionary biologist and world-famous atheist and how he came to write what is widely held to be one of the most important books of the 20th century.

When Alice Greczyn's parents felt called by God to exchange worldly employment for heavenly provision, they followed their faith into homelessness with five children and a cat in tow. Homeschooled and avowed never to kiss a man until her wedding day, Alice had plans to escape by becoming a missionary nurse—plans that were put on hold with the opening of an unexpected door: the opportunity to be a Hollywood actress. What followed was a test of faith unlike any she had prepared for, one that forced her to learn to survive without the only framework for life she had ever known.

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.

Joe Armstrong spent nine years studying for the Catholic priesthood. He no longer believes in God. This is his acclaimed, searingly honest coming-of-age memoir of his nine years in the Marist Fathers seminary in 1980s Dublin, Ireland. This is a rare authentic insight into the true lives of celibate seminarians and priests. It is also of interest to those struggling with co-dependency, giving a frank portrayal of a complex relationship with a dysfunctional mother. It is also a fascinating portrayal of an experience with counseling, and how it can help us to break destructive patterns...

At the time of his death, Christopher Hitchens was the most notorious atheist in the world. And yet, all was not as it seemed. "Nobody is not a divided self, of course," he once told an interviewer, "but I think it's rather strong in my case." Hitchens was a man of many contradictions: a Marxist in youth who longed for acceptance among the social elites; a peacenik who revered the military; a champion of the Left who was nonetheless pro-life, pro-war-on-terror; and, after 9/11, something of a neocon.

When she arrived in the New World at 18, Anne Bradstreet was a reluctant passenger: Her old, comfortable lifestyle in England was quickly dashed against the rocks of the Massachusetts Bay. While the wilderness of America and the drama of establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony at times overwhelmed her, she always took refuge in the belief that it was God’s plan. Anne respected the Puritan teachings and followed them her entire life, always searching for God’s hand in everything around her.

This third book in a series chronicling a young doctor in rural mountain practice immerses us once again in the lives of Dr. Walt Larimore and his family as an unexpected turn of events compels them to leave Bryson City.

This succinct and gripping new account of Sgt. York’s remarkable life includes details from exclusive interviews with the sergeant’s three surviving children and information drawn from battlefield eyewitness reports and original film studio archives: fresh reminders of the legacy of one of America’s great Christian patriots.

In January 1983 Burt Folsom read a story in Time about Mitch Rutledge, a man on death row with an IQ of 84 who said he was sorry for what he did. "Forget him", the last line of the story read. But Burt wrote Mitch a letter and discovered a man more interesting and intelligent than the article revealed. Burt and his wife, Anita, began a friendship with Mitch and saw him become a leader and role model for others in prison.

A biographical exposé of the dark side of modern corporate religion, as told by a former Evangelical fundamentalist Christian minister turned gay activist. Says Tom, "How did I ever fall for it? When I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Lord and savior, I went all in. Years later I had to struggle to find a way to get out of both the ministry and the closet as well. I was a gay man trapped in the ranks of the Fightin' Fundies - constantly mentally recording their every word."

In this deeply revealing and engaging autobiography, Herb Silverman tells his iconoclastic life story. He takes the listener from his childhood as an Orthodox Jew in Philadelphia, where he stopped fasting on Yom Kippur to test God's existence, to his adult life in the heart of the Bible Belt, where he became a legendary figure within America's secular activist community and remains one of its most beloved leaders. Never one to shy from controversy, Silverman relates many of his high-profile battles with the Religious Right.

Doug Seegers left New York for Nashville in search of every songwriter's dream. When he didn't find success, he fell into a state of loneliness that fed an addiction he had battled since adolescence. Soon he was homeless, playing his guitar on the street with a cardboard sign asking for money. But then he cried out to God in repentance and need, and God graciously met him. Doug then found sobriety, regained some footing, and was discovered outside a food pantry by a Swedish musician and documentarian.