Hi, everybody:
I wanted to let you know about a book that has just been published, that is getting terrific reviews, and that looks to be an important addition to the atheism literature. The book is called The Atheist’s Way: Living Well Without Gods and itÂ’s written by Eric Maisel, known for his many books in the creativity field.
David Mills, author of Atheist Universe, endorsed The Atheist’s Way this way: “I find Maisel’s writings more witty than Hitchens, more polished and articulate than Harris, and more informative and entertaining than Dawkins. A 5-star read from cover to cover!” John Allen Paulos, author of Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just DonÂ’t Add Up, wrote: “How do you bravely face the world as it is and create meaning for yourself without the crutch of a divine benefactor? The AtheistÂ’s Way is a wonderful resource for your quest.” The Atheist’s Way has gotten many more endorsements like these and I’m also recommending it to you.
Here is the link to Amazon.
Later this month, I’ll be posting more about this book as part of the author’s blog book tour.
Added to my Amazon wishlist. I have a Christian friend who I do exchange-reads with (I have given him The God Delusion and God Is Not Great to read, and I am about to read his copy of Foxe’s Book Of Martyrs) and this one will be a nice addition. :o)
I’ve heard Xians say things to atheists like, “How do you get up in the morning?” Personally, I’ve never been upset or depressed bc there is no god– like many people, I find it a very liberating “loss.” Nevertheless, I know many atheists do feel a sense of loss, and this book would be great for them.
I’m working on a book about the personal experiences of atheists in America. Please visit my site, Not My God, at
http://www.sarahtrachtenberg.com
I look forward to hearing anything you have to say.
Yours,
Sarah
@Not My God:
Caffeinated tea within reach of the bed helps.
“How do you bravely face the world as it is and create meaning for yourself without the crutch of a divine benefactor?”
I imagine the book finds ways to stretch this out, but “You just sort of manage to,” seems like a reasonable answer to that. It’s not like we have a biological need for religion, it’s just a bad habit.
Many people seem to have a psychological need for meaning and purpose.
I want to want to read it more than I do, but I don’t seem to have any trouble getting up in the morning, so long as my espresso machine is working. It sounds like a good read, though, and will probably add some sophistication to my thinking and arguing.
@writerdd:
With that in mind, should any individual evangelise against relgion on an individual basis?
@cgmasson: I personally don’t care for evangelizing for or against religion.
I’m glad to see a book like this being published. We atheists need to explain to the rest of the world that we can and do live good and rich lives without needing to draw on a god or gods.
Last year I responded to a number of Eric’s questions or challenges as he gathered material for this book. Later, Eric begin inviting (bugging is not too strong a word) many people to write blog entries to help him publicize his book. I passed on that.
I guess I’ll buy and read this book, and measure it against Guy P. Harrison’s book on the “fair and accessible” scale. But I have never been convinced of what seems to be one of Eric Maisel’s key premises — that there is something fundamentally different about how atheists think or solve problems.
— Jeff D
There certainly is: We don’t pray or use a holy book or magic to make our decisions. We don’t ignore our problems because we don’t believe in a utopian afterlife, so we work on fixing things in the here and now. I think these are gigantic differences between the way believers and unbelievers think and solve problems. I can’t think of any difference that could be more significant.
I should have been clearer in my previous comment. I think that when one (1) takes the average human being who claims to be religious and to believe in one or more gods, and (2) removes or inactivates the superstition + prayer + belief in an afterlife, what remains is (3) the same basic toolkit of rationality with which all human beings are born, and that can be honed and sharpened through learning and practice. In other words, atheists and non-believers think differently not because of something that atheism adds, but because of what has been removed or inactivated.
Futher, I know quite a few fundamentalist and evangelical Christians. When they deal with some important problem or crisis in daily life, what they seem to be doing (sometimes in contrast to what they say they are doing) is making the most rational decision they can, based on the evidence. They may well pray, but most of the time they don’t sit back and wait for god to address the problem; they address the problem themselves, almost as if they assume that god didn’t hear the prayer or can’t be counted on to do anything. Are these Christians that I know as adept at critical thinking as the atheists I know? Generally no, but that’s because critical thinking is a skill that can be improved through practice.