# Asking for reccomended reading for Atheists. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456 "2005-04-27T23:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/21 "2005-04-28T14:08:06Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > Why? > > –Cliffy Why not? In fact there are probably many reasons; in a debate, it helps - not only because you understand where your opponent might be coming from, but also you might be more likely to notice it when they are being inconsistent to their own core beliefs merely to win the argument. And like it or not, religion plays a big part in the way the human world works; it helps to understand this as fully as you can, even if you don’t personally subscribe to it. Further suggestions for reading: _Straight and crooked thinking_ by Robert H. Thouless (if you can find a copy) _Water Logic_ by Edward De Bono. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/22 "2005-04-28T15:05:22Z")
How about [God?: A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0195165993/qid=1114700912/sr=8-4/ref=pd_csp_4/102-8255303-1139324?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)? You can get it for cheap at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/23 "2005-04-28T15:14:34Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > You should be familiar with the holy books of all the major world religions–so the Bible, the Qur’an, the Tao, etc. If this suggestion interests you, then you might want to pick up [God’s Breath](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1569246181/qid=1114701418/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-3723748-7000844). ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/24 "2005-04-28T15:19:54Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > Why? In addition to what **Mangetout** said, there’s some wisdom in each book, and it’s good for general cultural literacy. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/25 "2005-04-28T16:58:37Z")
On the fiction front, you should read just about anything by Rob Morrow, but especially _Towing Jehovah_ and _Blameless in Abaddon_. Not precisely atheistic, since God is a character in them, but pretty stridently anti-faith. Also, just damned good books. For a lighter touch, check out Parke Godwin’s _Waiting for the Galactic Bus_, which posits God and Satan as bored extraterrestrial schoolboys who create life on Earth as a lark after being stranded here by their prankish schoolmates. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/26 "2005-04-28T18:09:36Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > In addition to what **Mangetout** said, there’s some wisdom in each book, and it’s good for general cultural literacy. These are reasons why _everyone_ should be familiar with world religions, though. Not just an atheist. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/27 "2005-04-28T19:43:59Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > What should an Atheist read that is relevant to atheism? > > I own ‘Origin of Species’ Hijack: I haven’t actually read _Origin of Species_, but I was under the impression that it was a scientific work about, well, the evolution of species. Does it actually talk about the existence of God? ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/28 "2005-04-28T19:48:18Z")
I don’t see many bible bashers reading other religions books… 🙂 Plus the bible is so boring… ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/29 "2005-04-28T19:56:10Z")
Martin Gardner’s [The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312206828) is wonderfully written. Gardner, best known for his long-running column “Mathematical Games” in _Scientific American_, tackles many thorny philosophical issues, including the existence and nature of God. Rather surprisingly, Gardner turns out not to be an atheist. He describes himself as a “fideist.” The book’s a gem. I would recommend this for any person who has a mind and enjoys using it. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/30 "2005-04-28T20:27:20Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > In addition to what **Mangetout** said, there’s some wisdom in each book, and it’s good for general cultural literacy. I found that learning the world’s major religions helped me to reaffirm my atheism. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EmeraldGrue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@EmeraldGrue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmeraldGrue)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/31 "2005-04-28T21:01:32Z")
You may already own this, **Lobsang** (just a wild guess :)), but Terry Pratchett’s _Small Gods_ offers an irreverent opinion on the nature of gods, if not exactly an atheistic one. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/32 "2005-04-28T21:26:16Z")
A small complaint regarding the OP. I don’t see why _The Origin of Species_ is regarded as an atheist book. It’s a scientific book. It has no more to do with the existence of God than Newton’s _Principia_ or Lavoisier’s _Elements of Chemistry_. Granted it establishes that the structure and diversity of living things can be explained without reference to a deity, but any scientific theory explains phenomena without refrence to a deity. Numerous Christians see no conflict between their faith and evolution. IIRC, The official stance of the Catholic Church is to accept evolution, as long as evolution isn’t framed to rule god out. Many mainstream churches accept evolution, and their are even some evangelicals who do. I assume one could also find Rabbis and Imams who accept evolution, as well as Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, Confucianists, Zoroastrians, Ba’hais, Shintoists, Animists, Wiccans, Scientologists, New-Agers, and Philosophical Deists. Claiming Darwin as a sort of atheist saint is not only silly but counterproductive. Darwin belongs to everyone, and the theory of evolution is valid for everyone. Claiming Darwin for Atheism only excacerbates a conflict that shouldn’t exist at all. I don’t mean to jump on **Lobsang** specifically. This is something that’s been irritating me for a while. I don’t like the Darwin fish, and I don’t like it that some Atheists tried to proclaim “Darwin Day” as an atheist celebration. my $0.02 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/33 "2005-04-29T00:46:18Z")
‘The Origin of Species’ is not an atheist book. I merely mention it because it is _relevant_ to atheism (It is rival to the fundementalist’s view that God created Man in his image). I will explain no further as I am already intoxicated. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/34 "2005-04-29T01:17:10Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > ‘The Origin of Species’ is not an atheist book. I merely mention it because it is _relevant_ to atheism (It is rival to the fundementalist’s view that God created Man in his image). I will explain no further as I am already intoxicated. True enough. Sorry to jump on you, but I’ve just noted that some atheists seem to be claiming Darwin for atheism, which strikes me as wrong-headed. You didn’t do that. Also, I would recommend Bertrand Russell’s _Why I am not a Christian_. Russel’s an excellent writer in addition to being a top-notch philosopher, and the book is scathing and sometimes quite funny. (On preview I note **Voyager** has already recommended this book, so let this count as a second.) Also, check out Voltaire if you can get a good anthology. Have fun tonight. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/35 "2005-04-29T05:21:07Z")
I see several recommendations for **The Demon-Haunted World** and I totally agree that you should get this book. But one of Sagan’s books I do not see recommended is **Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors**. This book will really put it all into perspective for you. It doesn’t mention God or religion much at all, but it lays it all out for you in black and white and astonishes you with facts about the known world you may be unaware of. From beginning to end, a fascinating book that should be required reading in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/36 "2005-04-29T07:41:41Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > I don’t see many bible bashers reading other religions books… 🙂 > > Plus the bible is so boring… I thought the whole point is that atheists _aren’t like_ Bible-bashers. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456/37 "2005-04-29T09:07:43Z")
How about **Well That About Wraps It Up For God** by Oolon Colluphid? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asking-for-reccomended-reading-for-atheists/301456.md?page=1)