by thedepressedsoul 26 Replies latest watchtower bible
Science books are great and if you are interested in science then you are better off reading other science books alongside Dawkins mythology - Ruby
What has Dawkins written about science that you would categorise as mythology? - Cofty
please read his intro in The God Delusion - Ruby
The God Delusion is not a science book. Your referred to Dawkins science books as mythology. I asked you for examples.
Also how can atheist writers be labelled as "christian"?
viva - I'll put that on my list.
thedepressed soul - any book by Karen Armstrong is great - she has such a zest for humanity. I spent ages wondering how she could call herself an atheist and still be so open minded about religion.
I recommend "Paul and Jesus - How the apostle transformed christianity" by James D. Tabor and "Jesus, Interrupted", by Bart Ehrman.
It will establish firmly that what we know as "christianity" today wasn't the message of Jesus, but essentially a Pauline creation. Jesus was a radical apocalyptic prophet / Jewish rabbi with no intention to establish a new religion and with a very specific concern with his time, not the distant future. Which raises the question: If Jesus wasn't what the Bible tells us he was, did and said, why bother with things like the Heavenly Kingdom of God, the Armageddon, The Paradise on Earth, the Original Sin, the Ransom, Resurrection and Eternal Life. It made me re-think my whole take on christianity itself.
Eden
Some good books for you to consider:
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins (A clear and persuasive description of evolution)
The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture by Bart Ehrman (This is Ehrman's first popular book and in many ways his best. Talks about how the text of the NT was altered at the very earliest stages)
The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker (Everyone leaving JWs should read this book because it dispels the myth than humanity is going to hell in a handcart. I've not managed to read all this book, it's very long, but Pinker is easy to read and the points he makes are valid)
The Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement by Andrew Holden (gives a social science explanation of the phenomenon of JWs as well as those who leave, good for giving perspective)
Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan (good for understanding how control techniques used by JWs are common to other groups)
Ruby I've never read anything by Badiou I should definitely do that. Zizek refers to him a lot.
Zizek is excellent. I liked his book Living in the End Times. But it's only for people who are happy with the idea that good writing raises more questions than it answers.
Ruby456
viva - I'll put that on my list.
thedepressed soul - any book by Karen Armstrong is great - she has such a zest for humanity. I spent ages wondering how she could call herself an atheist and still be so open minded about religion.
I appreciate this suggestion Ruby. One of the things that makes exploring the idea of atheism more laborious is the dogmatism one encounters along the way.
The lack of easy conversation on the topic exceeds that of so called "religious" people in its zealous close minded-ness.
I really was surprised by that. I thought atheists would be easier to talk to than religious people but so far its like a new religion in how it affects many.
"If you dont accept MY view of things YOU are an idiot" is exactly like thte JWs and not an appealing approach to people who are raw and healing and wanting to just look at new ideas.
I will check out your suggested author. Open mindedness is refreshing.
thank you Millie
such atheists are referred to as secular fundamentalists by scholars as many intellectual left wingers are represented in this group and they come out chanting freedom freedom of speech yet don't allow others this right. But I don't want to sound dismissive - I just treat their pov with skepticism.
depressedsoul the book of nature is a great book for feeling moments of truth and reality.
