The Worldview of Atheism by Jensen DG. Manebog

The Worldview of Atheism, Jensen DG. Manebog. self-published, 2013. e-book, 47 pps.

     Jensen De Guzman Manebog, from Repúblika ng Pilipinas, has written a booklet which pretty much accuses atheism in what he views as its many forms of failing at morality. He makes a case against relativism as a working morality and he charges atheism with this relativism. Being good without any gods does not seem to hold threats of eternal damnation or rejection above the heads of the human puppets. Ergo, atheists lack morals because any morality that atheists do have depend upon human law-making rather than divine law-giving.

     It is indeed troubling in this day and age that atheist and atheist organizations should be continually called upon to refute such charges. Morality can and does arise in social groups without the use of or reinforcement by [christian] religious influence. Although The Worldview of Atheism employs logical fallacies extensively in its pages, the central message that non-theists are not getting through to believers that we too, as social animals, certainly do have principles is one that atheists ought to take to heart. A dialogue between believers of all ilk and freethinkers ought to take place with its central aim as clearing up such misunderstandings. I personally do not hold out much hope for such an event, since we are often subject to debates with each side winning points instead of to honest and open communication.

sapphoq reviews says: This book is full of poor arguments favoring Christianity. Doggerel which merely repeats that atheism is not logical fills up the pages of The Worldview of Atheism. Christian apologist C.S. Lewis is quoted extensively here. Both he and Humes make for much better reading for christians and others who are seeking out more intelligent thought. Skip this one.

Why Are You Atheists So Angry? by Greta Christina

Why Are You Atheists So Angry?: 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, Greta Christina. San Francisco: Dirty Heathen Publishing, 2012. e-book, 366 pps.

     Anger has been given a bad rap. In some recovery rooms, it is popular to claim that anger is a "secondary emotion." If one is angry, then somehow one is "less spiritual." Or at the very least, something is wrong with the way that one is working the program. Some christians lay the charge of anger at the feet of atheists. Similar to recovering people everywhere, the validity of anger is not recognized.

     Greta Christina gives atheist and believer alike a solid list of reasons why many of the us in the no-gods camp are angry. She addresses fundamentalists, progressives, new age woo-woo followers, ecumenicals, and even those who claim to be spiritual but not religious. She wraps up her tome with some reasons why she does not believe in any gods-- solid references to current events-- and then exhorts atheists to get involved with atheist activism. A solid list of resources round out the book.

sapphoq reviews says: Greta Christina has penned a thought-provoking book. Why Are You Atheists So Angry? should be read by all christians. Atheists too will like the succinct writing that expresses what is at the heart of atheist anger so well. Highly recommended.

     

Daylight Atheism by Adam Lee

Daylight Atheism, Adam Lee.  self-published via Smashwords.com under Bigthink.com, 2012.  e-book, 609 pps., with footnotes beginning on page 532.

note: Adam Lee's blog can currently be found here at:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/
and Adam Lee himself can be found on Twitter as @DaylightAtheism.


Atheists certainly aren't winning any popularity contests [as of yet].  There is an assumption that only a belief in a deity can provide an individual with a moral compass; that the atheist is void of any sense of goodness or direction.  Atheists are denied the right to run for public office in some places, and sentenced to death in others.  The atheist knows that false perceptions are harmful.  Adam Lee has a blog from the perspective of an atheist and has followed up with a book by the same name.

Here in Adam Lee's own words, on pages 6 -7 from the Prologue of Daylight Atheism, are what an atheist is and what an atheist is not:
   
          Yes, I am an atheist.  No, I don't kick puppies or steal
    candy from babies.  I don't hate God, but I don't have
    any secret desire to worship him either.  Nor do I worship
    Satan.  I haven't had any bad personal experiences with a
    church, nor did a religious person do something to hurt me
    at some time in the past, nor did I have a bad relationship 
    with my father.  I don't hate any country, and I'm not a
    communist, an anarchist, a nihilist, or a moral relativist.
    I don't want to outlaw religion.  I'm not angry or depressed.
    In fact, I'm a person just like you.  You probably wouldn't
    recognize me as an atheist if you passed me on the street.

       But I am indeed an atheist.  What this means, very simply,
    is that I don't believe in any gods. ...they're all imaginary--
    mere products of the human imagination and nothing more. 

Adam Lee goes on to address the objections to atheism-- apologetics, superstition, synchronicity of all belief systems into an uneasy product and why that fails, which god, facts and interpretations, logical fallacies-- and also the advantages and hope that atheism holds out to the world.  It is heady stuff.  Adam Lee handles many threads of information rather well.  His arguments are logical and easily understood.  He is knowledgeable about both religions and atheism.

sapphoq reviews says: Fans of Adam Lee's blog Daylight Atheism will feel quite at home here with his book.  Those who tend toward fundamentalism more than likely will not find anything good in its pages and that is a pity.  Those mystics who scour the internet for references to Jesus and anti-Jesus in order to defend their god against "personal" attacks will likely want to stage a book burning with this book as the center.
     Folks who might be interested in gaining a better understanding of what it is like to be an atheist in today's present-day society would do well to read this book.  Common myths are easily shattered.  The disadvantages to using mysticism as a basis for belief along with literal interpretations of old texts are carefully delineated here.  
    Atheists as a whole tend to be well-informed about various religious teachings and sects and their sacred books-- sometimes better informed than the believers.  There is no use of ad hominem in Daylight Atheism.  Athough some believers on Twitter and elsewhere degenerate into name-calling on a regular basis, Adam Lee sticks to arguments from reason.
     Highly recommended for thinking high school students on up to the most ardent believer and the most dedicated atheist alike.