Product Description

Many books that challenge religious belief from a sceptical point of view take a combative tone that is almost guaranteed to alienate believers or they present complex philosophical or scientific arguments that fail to reach the average reader. Journalist Guy P Harrison argues that this is an ineffective way of encouraging people to develop critical thinking about religion. In this unique approach to scepticism regarding God, Harrison concisely presents fifty commonly heard reasons people often give for believing in a God and then he raises legitimate questions regarding these reasons, showing in each case that there is much room for doubt.Whether you're a believer, a complete sceptic, or somewhere in between, you'll find Harrison's review of traditional and more recent arguments for the existence of God refreshing, approachable, and enlightening. From religion as the foundation of morality to the authority of sacred books, the compelling religious testimony of influential people, near-death experiences, arguments from "Intelligent Design", and much more, Harrison respectfully describes each rationale for belief and then politely shows the deficiencies that any good sceptic would point out.As a journalist who has travelled widely and interviewed many highly accomplished people, quite a number of whom are believers, Harrison appreciates the variety of belief and the ways in which people seek to make religion compatible with scientific thought. Nonetheless, he shows that, despite the prevalence of belief in God or religious belief in intelligent people, in the end there are no unassailable reasons for believing in a God. For sceptics looking for appealing ways to approach their believing friends or believers who are not afraid to consider a sceptical challenge, Harrison's book makes for very stimulating reading.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #279254 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 354 pages

Review
"Harrison has hit the right mix. One can almost imagine that he is smiling as he writes - not a sardonic smile but a real, life-affirming, comfortable-with-who-I-am smile. His joyful embrace of the natural world and humanity in all its triumphs along with low points and his admission that he does not understand everything he encounters makes this author's atheism a very happy state of being." -Free Inquiry, Vol. 29, No. 1, December 2008/ January 2009 "In this thought-provoking book, Harrison makes a powerful case against religion without the need for name-calling, contempt or condescension." --The Herald, Glasgow, Scotland, Ron Ferguson opinion article, October 27, 2008

Nick Wynne, PhD; Executive director of the Florida Historical Society
"Guy P. Harrison has written a persuasive and frequently humorous book about an important topic . . .This thoughtful work should be read by religious practitioners, political leaders, and the general public and should be taught as a foundation for explaining the role of religion in society. I recommend it heartily."

James A. Haught, author of 2,000 Years of Disbelief and editor of West Virginia's largest newspaper, The Charleston Gazette
"Deep wisdom and patient explanations fill this excellent book. The author--a journalist with worldwide experience and thorough scientific knowledge--doesn't ridicule supernatural beliefs. He seems fond of believers. But he quietly employs logic to show that invisible gods, devils, heavens, hells, miracles and the like belong in the superstitious past, and cannot be taken seriously by educated modern people."

Customer Reviews

Mind Opening
It seems such a responsibility to be writing the first review of a book! It is innovative in style, starting from the reasons people give for believing in a god/christianity/other religions. Interestingly, the final reason, no 50, isn't a reason anyone actually gave Harris, but which he thinks they would have liked to. The statement is "I am afraid of not believing" - I agree with Harris that this is very likely a true reason and we could speculate why it was never given, but maybe believers just find it shameful to admit - not as "noble" a reason as some of the others?

I'm not sure now, but I think Harris doesn't claim to be an atheist, but an agnostic veering towards secular humanism. Maybe this is why his book doesn't come across as belligerent, antagonistic and anti-god as some others? There is also nothing to indicate that Harris ever had a strong faith and rejected it which is often, I think, why people seem to get so vitriolic in their attacks on religion - like they were somehow "duped" into believing. I have always been surprised at the number of hostile atheist websites - what are they trying to prove? None of them is going to convince any ardent believer to give up his faith (assuming h/she bothers to read it) any more than reading a biblical, evangelistic website would persuade me to change my beliefs. I agree with Harris when he says that believers' belief is not based on anything rational and reasonable, so why should they be "converted" by something that is? Personally I cannot imagine any point in asking my "born again" daughter to read this book - she would refuse and probably say it was inspired by the devil.

My reason for only awarding the book 4 stars instead of 5 is that I began to find it gets more and more repetitive as it goes along. Although the reasons for belief were different, many of the ways Harris dealt with them was very similar. And to me, as someone who has looked into various religions and atheism over many years, some of the reasons given were ones I had already thought about and dismissed as puerile. Harris is, at the very least, obsessed with science, and for me there was just too much of it in his refutations. Still, as Amazon don't give you the opportunity to "search inside" this book prior to buying, I thought I would give you a flavour of some of the 50 "reasons"

"Faith is a good thing"
"Our world is too beautiful to be an accident"
"Believing in my god makes me happy"
"A sacred book proves my god is real"
"My god sacrificed his only son for me"
"Without my god we would have no sense of right or wrong"
"Millions Of people can't be wrong"
"No-one has ever disproved the existence of my god"
"My god changes lives"
"The End Is Near"

Finally, if you are a Brit reading this book (as opposed to an American), prepare to be astonished at the level of hostility and discrimination shown to those in the US who are brave enough to declare their non belief! I mean there we have a country which would not vote for an atheist to be President. In the UK of course, we probably wouldn't vote for a right-wing evangelical who talked about his beliefs as part of his/her campaign to be Prime Minister! I glad I live here!

Finally, each chapter is headed by some pithy, witty comment by various people throughout the ages, and I can do no better than to quote one of the author's own, found at the beginning of the Introduction: -

"No gods were harmed in the making of this book" Enjoy!

With or without faith - This book is for you.
I have read a number of books that challenge religious belief from a skeptical perspective. Some take a tenacious and combative tone that would be off-putting to believers; some describe the popular but nevertheless complicated apologetic and counter-apologetic arguments. Such arguments are more palatable to theologians, philosophers, perhaps those who are questioning the efficacy of their beliefs, and those theists and atheists alike who believe their arguments are above reproach.

However whilst I do believe these books are indeed essential given the contest between religious and non-religious outlooks is such an important one, a matter of literally life and death.
It's possible such books will fail to reach the average reader. Neither perhaps would believers find them a comfortable read.
The reason being the vast majority of religious folk believe in something far more basic, traditional, cultural and social than the logic and inventions offered by philosophy and theology.
People trust in their religious beliefs without question, they find comfort and solace in their faith. Most are simply absorbed by the dominate religion within their personal locality. This audience will not be drawn naturally to any book that directly attacks their faith.

Here's why I felt Guy P. Harrison's book is different. Put simply, it's a book that any person of faith can indeed read and appreciate; it's a book that can be handed to a believer by a non-believer without any smugness or arrogance. It's a book that both believers and non-believers will savour equally and find captivating and relevant.
Harrison is certainly uncompromising in his skepticism but is never guilty of being conceited or displaying contempt towards his audience. If you are content within your religious comfort zone but do not necessarily know why then this book will provoke thought, is your religious commitment rational and intrinsically deserving of respect? Is your religion immune from criticism and ridicule?

If you welcome a book that can be read, understood and enjoyed regardless of your religious or non-religious persuasion then this is a book for you. I highly recommend it.

50 reasons to read this book...I cannot list them all.
This book is fantasitc.

It is very informative, but also very polite, so it can be read by every believer and non-believer alike. Unlike many ohter religious polemics it addresses personal arguments and not academic arguments for the existence of a god; this is why I found the books' contents more easy to relate to. Harrisson is yet another proponent of healthy skepticism and scientific inquiry...it is this philosophy which will improve our world and the minds of the people which inhabit it. Only praise can be given for the over all message of the book.

Question anything based on faith or authority. Evidence is the ultimate criterion when it comes to making any claim about the natural world. Belief about a god must testify to this criterion if it is to be truly meaningful.

Reading the book is more like having an informed conversation than a dry academic debate, and this is why the style of the book is so attractive.