Feb 11, 2020 god is not great, by christopher hitchens, for instance, is a good place to start. Whether youre a lifelong believer, a devout atheist, or someone who remains uncertain about the role of religion in our lives, this insightful manifesto will engage you with its provocative ideas. I readily grant that we have cognitive limitations. The case against the book of first enoch a modern guide.
The case against god is an accessible, scholarly philosophical book that makes compelling arguments against the concept of a supreme being. A christian and an agnostic debated about whether the sixday creation model is scientifically viable, bringing forth strong arguments on either side. With a close and studied reading of the major religious texts, christopher hitchens documents the ways in which religion is a manmade wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion. Is actually an improper summary of the statements made by jc holdingsor whoever he took the idea of them from against secular humanist arguments against innerantist christianity. Religious topics abound on listverse and they are frequently the most commented upon. Here we present five arguments in favor of the existence of god, and the counterargument for it. Many of the authors reproaches against believers of all religions the book treats islam no better than christianity, which shows considerable courage on the part of the author are well founded, and must be taken seriously so that the same errors of the past are not repeated in the future.
The arguments for evolution are based on evidence, not philosophy, and can be comprehended by the average person. How to argue that god does not exist with pictures wikihow. The truth about how the bible came together is not as messy and contentious as some would suggest. Feel free to comment on the veracity or your opinion of each but. A journalists journey with the new calvinists, and host of the gospelbound podcast. Dear dr dawkins, we are getting closer to your proof that god is a delusion.
Yhwh told jonah to go to the great 4 city of nineveh 5, and to cry against it because their wickedness has come up. If you think this godastheconditionofexistence argument is rubbish. Is it even possible for all these arguments to be stated clearly and fully so that the magnitude of what is at stake could be fully established. A few hours ago i had the opportunity to debate christopher hitchens on the subject of his recent bestseller. For such a rabid godhater, christopher hitchens has a very pious background. Belief in god is too important to be determined by default cultural circumstances.
This book refuses to deal with the nuances of religious thought. The best arguments for gods existence dont challenge. Ken ham, founding president and ceo of answers in genesis, went headtohead with bill nye, known popularly as the science guy for his scientific kids show. He writes that the proof claimed by new atheists is not new at allbut rather, recycled claims already disproven by christian thinkers of the past. The case against religion and in the united states by twelve as god. It should be noted that he does not question whether religion is right or wrong. It was originally published in the united kingdom by atlantic books as god is not great. As shermer points out, if the first point were true, you would have to add the false, ignoble, and worst, all of which would also be god. The problem with the problem of evil is that if god does not exist, there can be no real evil to object to. I think many arguments for the existence of a god depend on the insufficiencies of human cognition.
A response to hitchens god is not great catholic online. The book is partly intended as a response to god is not great, a book written by his brother christopher hitchens in 2007. The case against the book of first enoch hi im guy malone and im paradox brown and we are both known in the past as proponents, to one extent or another, of the book of 1st enoch, and of accepting it as probably inspired by god, and to some extent possibly useful for doctrine. They believe that because the writers of the bible lived in an unenlightened era, the book contains many errors and harmful.
As such, it an essential read to both believer and nonbeliever as hitch examines how religions and religious leaders function, or rather dont function, when examined from the perspective of a calm, rational mind. God is not great sometimes stylized as god is not great is a 2007 book by angloamerican author and journalist christopher hitchens, in which he makes a case against organized religion. Now some of the jews thought that the destruction of herods army came from god, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against john, that was called the baptist. The great advantage of a print book is not its portability, durability, autonomy or close relationship with our processes of memorizing and learning, but the fact that it is permanently disconnected. So far, weve been talking about arguments for the existence of god. An excerpt from michael shermers book, why darwin matters. Your next book is the reality of god and the problem of evil by brian davies. The best books on the existence of god five books the.
Jan 17, 2014 the arguments for evolution are based on evidence, not philosophy, and can be comprehended by the average person. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. One probable biblical description casts god not as the creator of the universe ex nihilo, but as a god who fashioned the earth to rise out of the seas in divine conflict with the dragon sea god, sometimes called rahab, as in job 26. Hitchens was also a political observer, whose bestselling books the most famous being god is not great made him a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits. Jan 14, 2014 what if most modern arguments against religious belief have been attacking the wrong god all along. Hitchens and i stood toetotoe electronically speaking on the hugh hewitt show, a talkradio program. In the tradition of bertrand russells why i am not a christian and sam harriss recent bestseller, the end of faith, christopher hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. Arguments against gods existence backyard skeptics. For further information or to subscribe to the christian research journal go to. For such a rabid godhater, christopher hitchens has a. Its a book that offers cogent arguments to the question of god in a logical manner. Twelve good arguments atheists advance against christianity. From their perspective, the books of the bible were chosen by people and not god. From robert lawrence kuhn, host and creator of closer to truth.
This is a thread for listingexplaining arguments and not a thread fortheists and atheists to arguerebuttals to the atheist arguments insulting a particular theist or religion you simply put your argument forward and explain it. This model, which i call theoneurology, proposes that god communicates with someone experiencing prophecy through alterations in brain function, and that dmt may play a. What if most modern arguments against religious belief have been attacking the wrong god all along. They are convinced the book was written solely by humans in an ignorant, superstitious, and cruel age. Jul 01, 2014 arguments against god in my upcoming book, dmt and the soul of prophecy park street press, 2014, i present a new model for a particular type of spiritual experience. Hitchens, unequipped to deal with other expressions of religious belief, tries vainly to argue against their authenticity. The book describes hitchenss journey from atheism, farleft politics, and bohemianism, to christianity and conservatism, detailing the influences on him that led to his conversion. The case against religion and for humanism view on amazon view on itunes the debate between proponents of rational thought and defenders of intelligent design has been getting more furious in recent years. They believe that because the writers of the bible lived in an unenlightened era, the book contains many errors and harmful teachings. In the tradition of bertrand russells why i am not a christian and sam harriss recent bestseller the end of faith, christopher hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. Logical arguments attempt to show that the concept of god is selfcontradictory or logically inconsistent with some known fact. The fields of philosophy of religion and analytic theology show a great amount of sophistication and conceptual richness, so why arent the new atheists engaging with these arguments.
My biggest fear is not that there is no god, but that i may fool myself into believing, falsely, that there is a god, when, truly, there is no god. But before you come on to your big argument you try in this chapter to deal with some of the arguments that theists put forward for the existence of god. Collin hansen serves as editorial director for the gospel coalition. If that is the case, fesers contingency argument will not go through. Oct 23, 2015 in the books he investigates 10 arguments for the existence of god. It has been some time since the last one so it seems like the time is ripe for another and this one is a great one for discussion. Specifically, feser needs to consider the principle of material causality. He was christopher eric hitchens was an englishborn american author, journalist, and literary critic. In professor louis markos new book, atheism on trial.
How religion poisons everything paperback april 6, 2009. The god delusion, by richard dawkins, is another excellent source of rational arguments against the existence of a religious deity. What are the best arguments against god, given that god. He earned an mdiv at trinity evangelical divinity school and an undergraduate degree in journalism and history from northwestern university. In the god delusion, dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that belief. Thats not to say that i think everything is within the scope of human knowledge. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a manmade wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and. The case against intelligent design, from chapter 4. This 355page book is composed of the following four parts.
These letters have now been published in a slightly revised form in the dawkins letters. A library of the best 40 atheist arguments against god. The best books on the existence of god ed feser on five. Feb 25, 2014 surely there are things not dreamt of in our philosophy, not to mention in our science but that fact is not a reason to believe in supernatural beings.
The god delusion is a 2006 book by english biologist richard dawkins, a professorial fellow at new college, oxford, and former holder of the charles simonyi chair for the public understanding of science at the university of oxford. Christopher hitchens might be right to denounce religion in god is not great, but in toppling one god, he replaces him with another himself, says mary riddell. God is not great, by christopher hitchens, for instance, is a good place to start. Contrary to popular belief, the problem of evil is not a good argument against god. The word of yhwh came to jonah commanding him to go to the great city of nineveh in order to cry against it because god had seen its evil 1.
Apr 04, 2018 in my new book from harvest house, atheism on trial. Mar 04, 2010 thats why i focus on arguments against god. From aristotle through aquinas to the present, professor ed feser gives an indepth look at arguments for the existence of god. Theyll frequently bring up apocryphal books that didnt make it into scripture, or historical arguments against the books that did. Humanists reject the claim that the bible is the word of god. But it seems that the problem of evil in its various forms is the most prominent argument against gods existence. A digital billboard, sponsored by the american atheists organization, on display in new york. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a manmade wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the. In addition to researching arguments in favor of atheism, investigate the rebuttals or justifications from the religious perspective. What are the strongest arguments against the existence of. Its that hes making a case thats usually never addressed by atheists at all.
What are the best arguments against god, given that god is. Arguments are a hedge against naive assumptions about reality. Dec 08, 2006 these letters have now been published in a slightly revised form in the dawkins letters. What is the best argument an atheist has against the existence of god. The one theology book all atheists really should read. What are the most powerful arguments for the existence of god. Examining all the arguments for and against religion and religious beliefacross the range of reasons and motives that people have for being religious and how they stand up to scrutinythe god argument is a landmark book in the ongoing debate about the place of religion and secularism in our world. Markos confronts the modernday atheists claims that new evidence disproves the existence of god. Christopher hitchens, in his book god is not great, has conflated religion with tribalism. Feel free to comment on the veracity or your opinion of each but remember to. In the books he investigates 10 arguments for the existence of god. What are the strongest arguments against the existence of god.
This is about as accurate a reflection of the secular humanist argument as a statement saying that the teleological argument is simply. Thats why i must explore with all honesty the strong views of those who conclude with confidence that god does not exist. Dec 03, 2017 if that is the case, fesers contingency argument will not go through. Here are some reasons one might wish to question the existence of god, assuming this god is the one you are considering. This biblical god is merely the god of the gods, who like the other gods had a body that needed to rest on. In my upcoming book, dmt and the soul of prophecy park street press, 2014, i present a new model for a particular type of spiritual experience. Surely there are things not dreamt of in our philosophy, not to mention in our science but that fact is not a reason to believe in supernatural beings. Some reasons why humanists reject the bible american. All these dating methods actually give all sorts of different dates, even different dating methods on the same rock, the creationist said. Understanding and refuting the arguments for god big think. Ham addressed the common arguments against a sixday creation and a literal worldwide flood. Since i can hear atheist eyeballs rolling backwards in their sockets with scorn, its worth saying again. Hence, feser needs to weigh the plausibility of those arguments against his argument from contingency. Evidential arguments attempt to show that certain known facts that are consistent with theism nevertheless provide evidence against it.
Feser admits that god does not exist out of logical necessity. The one theology book all atheists really should read news. This is a thread for listingexplaining arguments and not a thread fortheists and atheists to arguerebuttals to the atheist argumentsinsulting a particular theist or religion you simply put your argument forward and explain it. He argued against the methods of dating which many scientists use to support an old earth. The word of yhwh came to jonah 2 the son of amittai 3 1. Sommer introduction humanists reject the claim that the bible is the word of god. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a manmade wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins. For example, if i were to say that god is not great offers several arguments that are valid and many that are invalid, which i do in fact believe, this thesis would take quite a bit of effort to. They should assess both the strong attacks of atheists and the counterattacks of scholarly believers who try to rebut nonbelievers.