Disbelief 101 by Chris Edwards

Disbelief 101: A Young Person's Guide to Atheism, Chris Edwards / S.C. Hitchcock. Tucson AZ: See Sharp Press, 2009.


     Disbelief 101 was written for teens, although adults new to atheism or endeavoring to find clear info on atheism will also benefit from this book. S.C. Hitchcock presents arguments for and against the existence of a god. The first chapter takes a page from various parody religions and presents the Invisible Flying Clown. [The flying spaghetti monster and the invisible pink unicorn bless her holy hooves immediately came to my mind]. 

     Leslie White provided the cartoon at the end of each chapter. They are well-drawn and funny. I was delighted to find the first one, and each subsequent one.

     The rest of the book takes issue with the idea that "atheism is a religion," intelligent design, survivor special-ness, the role of feelings in belief, and religious indoctrination of children.

     Also included is a bibliography.


sapphoq reviews says: It is rather unfortunate that the last chapter of Disbelief 101 takes on religious indoctrination of children as an example of child abuse. This I think is the author's weakest argument. The author states that the teens reading this book ought not to openly rebel against their parents over this. The author may have also been remiss by not encouraging teens to learn about the religion of their family and other religions.  
     It might have been better if the author had pointed out that the United States did not sign the U.N. Rights of a Child document. Therefore, in the U.S.A., it is the parents who have charge of their children's religious or non-religious upbringing.
     I have had the privilege of being close with two sets of parents who are atheists. One set took their brood to the Unitarian Church when questions of "What religion are we?" came up. At that particular congregation, the kids learned about evolution in Sunday School and also about different cultures and religions. The second set of parents said to their kids when confronted with proselytizing peers, "Your mom and dad are atheists. When you are an adult, you can decide those things for yourselves."
     I think there is great value in teaching kids [and those adults who don't know it] the various cognitive fallacies and how to construct a sound argument. Whether children decide to stick with familial religious practices or familial atheism, or pick something else as adults, logical thinking is one skill that serves all of us well.
     Disbelief 101 is a valuable book for those teens who have already decided that they do not believe in any gods. Other teens may feel brow-beaten by the continuous assertions that there is no god. Because I cannot endorse children or teens reading books that their parents do not approve of, recommended with reservations.
     

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True, Guy P. Harrison.  New York, Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2012.  e-book, 473 pps.

http://www.prometheusbooks.com

http://www.guypharrison.com/

@Harrisonauthor on Twitter

If you are an atheist and you are unfamiliar with Prometheus Books, you owe it to yourself to check out their catalogue.  The publisher focuses on books written by and for freethinkers and cover a variety of topics.  The catalogue itself is organized; something that I very much appreciate.

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True is also very organized.  Guy P. Harrison employed subheadings in order to organize his subjects.  The subheadings read: Magical Thinking, Out There, Science and Reason, Strange Healings, Lure of the Gods, Bizarre Beings, Weird Places, and Dreaming of the End.  Each belief has its' own chapter.  At the end of each chapter is a reference list of other books and websites if the reader wishes to explore a particular topic in-depth.  The author takes on predictable topics-- creationism, astrology, my god is better than your god, and the end is near.  There are a few topics which are not so predictable-- "All Scientists Are Geniuses and Science Is Always Right" and "Biological Races Are Real" are two examples of those.

sapphoq reviews says:  Guy P. Harrison exhibits the best of rational thinking in 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True.  This is an engaging book especially for those who are new to skepticism.  Freethinkers who have been around for awhile may want to also check out this book.  I did.  Highly recommended. 

Only a Theory by Kenneth R. Miller

Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul, by Kenneth R. Miller. 2008: New York, Penguin/Viking. hardcover. 244 pp. inc. index.

Kenneth R. Miller, a biology prof at Brown U., testified on behalf of evolution in a DeKalb County, Georgia courtroom. He also met with a certain Kansas school board regarding intelligent design and had some doings in Dover, Pennsylvania. Unlike the more controversial Richard Dawson, Miller is a monotheist.

The book is written in understandable English and includes a few scattered black and white illustrations. Miller covers the plagiarism inherent in Intelligent Design (I.D.), recounts the history behind the phrase "intelligent design," the distancing of most proponents of I.D. from the young earthers, and attacks the fallacious 'logic' behind the famous mousetrap argument. He also explains where the artifacts are for a particular enzyme whose lack forces humans (and closest primate relatives) to consume vitamin C rather than produce it naturally in the liver, where the artifacts are for the two clotting factors missing from those humans who have hemophilia A or B, and the evolutionary descent of horses.

Miller does not hesitate to plunge into the factors which have contributed to the in-fighting between Americans and I.D. vs. evolution in public school science classes. As an expert witness, his job was to build a case for evolution in the courtroom. Miller has penned a comprehensible book which answers many questions from a scientific standpoint. Particularly refreshing is his willingness to take on Intelligent Design as a serious theorem for the origins of life. Those who are proponents of I.D. probably will not come away converted. The average layperson who views evolution as the basis for all modern scientific understanding will come away better able to refute the claims of the most ardent in the I.D. camp.

sapphoq reviews