TonyMayer Posted April 3, 2012 #1 Share Posted April 3, 2012 hey everyone. I'm a new convert to atheims. I was googoing atheism and spirituality and religion and my search sent me here. My parents are uber christians i discovered richard dawkings and the other 3 athiests. I have not read much but they are so enlightening. I see there are many atheists here and I wanted to know if you knew the best books by dawkings and his partners. I want to read their books so i can explain my beliefs to my parents at some point. Thank you my friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommunitarianKevin Posted April 3, 2012 #2 Share Posted April 3, 2012 hey everyone. I'm a new convert to atheims. I was googoing atheism and spirituality and religion and my search sent me here. My parents are uber christians i discovered richard dawkings and the other 3 athiests. I have not read much but they are so enlightening. I see there are many atheists here and I wanted to know if you knew the best books by dawkings and his partners. I want to read their books so i can explain my beliefs to my parents at some point. Thank you my friends. Wow...that is a first post...glad to have you here. I assume you are talking about Richard Dawkins. If you like Dawkins I would suggest The Greatest Show on Earth. Personally, I would look into Thomas Negal and Alister McGrath. They have some good stuff. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arbenol Posted April 3, 2012 #3 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Welcome Tony. If you want to really offend your parents then "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins and "God Is Not Great" by Chris Hitchens should do it. Anything by Michael Shermer ("Why Smart People Believe Weird Things" and "Why Darwin Matters") tends to be less confrontational. If Science and Evolution interests you, then Hutton is right about "The Greatest Show On Earth". In fact anything by Dawkins or Stephen Jay Gould should make for some good reading. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a vampire wears my boxers Posted April 3, 2012 #4 Share Posted April 3, 2012 hahaha! so the only ahteists are yourself, Dawkins, and three other guys? LOL just kidding. welcome to the jungle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldorado Posted April 3, 2012 #5 Share Posted April 3, 2012 hey everyone. I'm a new convert to atheims. I was googoing atheism and spirituality and religion and my search sent me here. My parents are uber christians i discovered richard dawkings and the other 3 athiests. I have not read much but they are so enlightening. I see there are many atheists here and I wanted to know if you knew the best books by dawkings and his partners. I want to read their books so i can explain my beliefs to my parents at some point. Thank you my friends. Speak from the heart and you won't need any books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckys_Mom Posted April 3, 2012 #6 Share Posted April 3, 2012 (edited) Not buying the OP I feel it is a joke... Most likely because it is noted that we are over run with Atheist threads... I feel this is someone pulling your legs. I mean come on my atheist brothers? I need to google info on Atheism? And the 1st part of the sentence is -> I'm a new convert to atheims <-- Convert to spelling it right would be a start..I know we should not point out spelling but I feel he spelt it like that for a laugh..... This has to be a joke ..lol If it is for real and not a joke, then I will be surprised.. but it is not the 1dt time someone made up another ID to trick so many on here for laughs...Multi ID's seem to go on a lot ... And If someone was googling Atheism.. it is no wonder it came up as top search choice results.. the amount of Atheist threads on here is more than I have ever seen... Oh and If I ma wrong about the OP being a joke.. so be it. I apologise in advance...but I have a weird feeling Edited April 3, 2012 by Beckys_Mom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayMark Posted April 3, 2012 #7 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I find it quite funny to see that you "converted to atheism". As far as I know, atheism is not a religion or even a philosophy. It is simply not beleiving in a God/deity/creator etc. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+HerNibs Posted April 3, 2012 #8 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Not buying the OP I feel it is a joke... Most likely because it is noted that we are over run with Atheist threads... I feel this is someone pulling your legs. I mean come on my atheist brothers? I need to google info on Atheism? And the 1st part of the sentence is -> I'm a new convert to atheims <-- Convert to spelling it right would be a start..I know we should not point out spelling but I feel he spelt it like that for a laugh..... This has to be a joke ..lol If it is for real and not a joke, then I will be surprised.. but it is not the 1dt time someone made up another ID to trick so many on here for laughs...Multi ID's seem to go on a lot ... And If someone was googling Atheism.. it is no wonder it came up as top search choice results.. the amount of Atheist threads on here is more than I have ever seen... Oh and If I ma wrong about the OP being a joke.. so be it. I apologise in advance...but I have a weird feeling I'm with you BM. Strikes me as very odd. If I'm wrong - apologies to the OP. Nibs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie333 Posted April 3, 2012 #9 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Welcome Tony. If you want to really offend your parents then "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins and "God Is Not Great" by Chris Hitchens should do it. Anything by Michael Shermer ("Why Smart People Believe Weird Things" and "Why Darwin Matters") tends to be less confrontational. If Science and Evolution interests you, then Hutton is right about "The Greatest Show On Earth". In fact anything by Dawkins or Stephen Jay Gould should make for some good reading. Good Luck If "converting" to having an atheist belief is his goal of higher meaning then why would the act of "offending your parents" be so important. Would you not consider this a childish statement for us adults to read? Just a question not meant to offend but I find the reasoniing difficult to understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arbenol Posted April 3, 2012 #10 Share Posted April 3, 2012 If "converting" to having an atheist belief is his goal of higher meaning then why would the act of "offending your parents" be so important. Would you not consider this a childish statement for us adults to read? Just a question not meant to offend but I find the reasoniing difficult to understand. You read too much into my comments. I'm often not entirely serious about what I write. I do it cos I find it amusing how you can often write a (sometimes lengthy) post and the response you get is someone picking out one word, or correcting your grammar and ignoring what's actually been said. So, there's no reasoning to understand - just a bit of devilment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambelamba Posted April 3, 2012 #11 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Hey, nice to see ya. I tried atheism but didn't work for me. Still, I agree with atheists on many issues. Welcome aboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommunitarianKevin Posted April 3, 2012 #12 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Hey, nice to see ya. I tried atheism but didn't work for me. Still, I agree with atheists on many issues. Welcome aboard. Ron Jeremy...awesome... I agree with many of you. This thread does appear to be a joke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted April 4, 2012 #13 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Welcome to UM TonyMayer. Take off your coat and sit a spell...you'll enjoy it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowSot Posted April 4, 2012 #14 Share Posted April 4, 2012 If you're serious, I'd actually recommend a book of essays by Robert Ingersoll. While Hitchens, Dawkins, Dennet, and Harris are more relevant, muchof what's to be said about religion has already been said (Though I do enjoy Hitchen's word use, personally.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZaraKitty Posted April 4, 2012 #15 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Is this just a rebellion against your 'uber Christian' parents? You can't convert to atheism as its not a religion. Read up on some evolution book and science stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie333 Posted April 4, 2012 #16 Share Posted April 4, 2012 You read too much into my comments. I'm often not entirely serious about what I write. I do it cos I find it amusing how you can often write a (sometimes lengthy) post and the response you get is someone picking out one word, or correcting your grammar and ignoring what's actually been said. So, there's no reasoning to understand - just a bit of devilment. Sorry, I am not that bright so you will have to excuse me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhen Posted April 5, 2012 #17 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Never mind the "Four Horsemen" (Dawkins, Dennet, Harris and Hitchens). A better read would be from a former insider, Bart Ehrman and his book God's Problem; How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer. So many theologians and textual experts, like Ehrman, get wrapped up in subtle, nuanced problems, while the 800 lb Gorilla is sitting in the corner; the evidential problem of natural evil. Ehrman is one of the few academics who lifted his head from his books and looked around at the world, and concluded that evidence does not support a "kind and loving God". Here's a series of interviews on Youtube , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion6969 Posted April 8, 2012 #18 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I find it quite funny to see that you "converted to atheism". As far as I know, atheism is not a religion or even a philosophy. It is simply not beleiving in a God/deity/creator etc. Peace. Well off the mark - no pun intended! Atheism is just a dogmatic and philosophical as any other religion. But you won't here that from atheists here, their band wagon atheists....jumped on for the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion6969 Posted April 8, 2012 #19 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Never mind the "Four Horsemen" (Dawkins, Dennet, Harris and Hitchens). A better read would be from a former insider, Bart Ehrman and his book God's Problem; How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer. So many theologians and textual experts, like Ehrman, get wrapped up in subtle, nuanced problems, while the 800 lb Gorilla is sitting in the corner; the evidential problem of natural evil. Ehrman is one of the few academics who lifted his head from his books and looked around at the world, and concluded that evidence does not support a "kind and loving God". Here's a series of interviews on Youtube , Lmao!!! Natural problem of evil? What evil son? Is there some objective evil in the world? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybele Posted April 8, 2012 #20 Share Posted April 8, 2012 (edited) Lmao!!! Natural problem of evil? What evil son? Is there some objective evil in the world? Replace "evil" with "suffering", then. Way to blow off a very important theological issue. As for the OP, if you need to read books to explain why you have no faith in God's existence, then you really haven't thought about the issue enough. This is a personal choice. Why do you no longer believe in a God? Or is this just some rebellious phase you're going through? Think for yourself rather than relying on the works of dogmatic and abrasive individuals such as Dawkins. Furthermore, I would encourage you to avoid terms like "atheist brothers" in the future. It sickens me to see how some like to turn atheism into some sort of dogmatic, rebellious comradeship. Edited April 8, 2012 by Cybele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Walker Posted April 8, 2012 #21 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Is this just a rebellion against your 'uber Christian' parents? You can't convert to atheism as its not a religion. Read up on some evolution book and science stuff Atheism is a belief based ideology, even if a fairly "limited one" in terms of content. You can convert to atheistic belief, just as you can to theistic belief; or to socialist or secular humanist beliefs. The act of conversion is an exchange, not necessarily anything to do with religion. eg you convert from miles per hour to kilometres per hour, from fahrenheit to celcius, from pounds to kilograms, and from dollars to rubles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommunitarianKevin Posted April 8, 2012 #22 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Maybe this was a joke...He hasn't been back since... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Posted April 8, 2012 #23 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Atheism is just a dogmatic and philosophical as any other religion. But you won't here that from atheists here, their band wagon atheists....jumped on for the ride. As an atheist, I'll let you off the hook for that comment if you can correctly identify just one single relevant dogmatic belief that I hold. What would you say if you couldn't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Walker Posted April 8, 2012 #24 Share Posted April 8, 2012 As an atheist, I'll let you off the hook for that comment if you can correctly identify just one single relevant dogmatic belief that I hold. What would you say if you couldn't? If you are an a theist, then do you not hold a dogmatic belief that god(s) do not exist? dogma: A principle or belief or a group of them: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present" (Abraham Lincoln). I do accept that there are many varying definitions of dogma. Some say it is an "arrogant belief" but that is not necessarily so. dogmatism1. a statement of a point of view as if it were an established fact http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dogmatism dog·ma :a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle: the classic dogma of objectivity in scientific observation. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dogma Definition of DOGMA1a : something held as an established opinion; especially : a definite authoritative tenet http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dogma So, if you hold strongly to a belief, especially one without evidence for that belief, you have a dogmatic belief. That includes a belief such as atheism, or that god(s) do not exist. I expect that, as a consequence of a disbelief in god(s), you hold other dogmatic beliefs which naturally follow from that, e.g. That prayer does not work, or that miracles do not occur, or that you are not able to access the power of god, or that people who believe in god(s) are at best mistaken, and at worst delusional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Right Wing Posted April 8, 2012 #25 Share Posted April 8, 2012 hey everyone. I'm a new convert to atheims. I was googoing atheism and spirituality and religion and my search sent me here. My parents are uber christians i discovered richard dawkings and the other 3 athiests. I have not read much but they are so enlightening. I see there are many atheists here and I wanted to know if you knew the best books by dawkings and his partners. I want to read their books so i can explain my beliefs to my parents at some point. Thank you my friends. There is a problem with Dawkins and people such as Hawking. Theoretical physics isnt reality its a collection of mathmatic models which are supposed to represent it. These type of characters have convinced themselves that those models are reality which is why they dont believe in God. They are the prisoner of their own perceptions and have locked themselves into a train of thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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