A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian

A Manual for Creating Atheists, Peter Boghossian. Durham N.C.: Pitchstone Publishing, 2013. e-book, 224 pps.


A Manual for Creating Atheists in its basic form utilizes the Socratic Method in order to talk people into basing their lives on reason rather than upon faith. This idea of converting people to atheism is a foreign one to me at best and not something that I have attempted to do in any way, shape, or form. Nevertheless, I did read through the entire book.

What I found was more than a bit of repetition which I could have done without, some antidotes which didn't peak my interests, and some clear definitions of terminology. While I appreciated the latter and the amount of research which went into A Manual for Creating Atheists, the premise wasn't my cup of tea. My preference is for each individual adult to believe and put into practice what makes sense to them without the rest of us always having to have an opinion about it. The same objections that I have to street evangelism hold true regardless of the topic being pushed.

sapphoq reviews says: The most valuable point in A Manual for Creating Atheists was the differentiating between faith and reason. Faith works backwards from the conclusion. Reason [and science] works forward from the evidence. I like scholarly attempts but this one by Peter Boghossian falls way short. The most strident atheists among us will appreciate this book and maybe even enact some of the conversation suggestions. The rest of us will shrug our shoulders. And the religious among us will not find anything valuable here. Not recommended.

Red Neck, Blue Collar, Atheist by Hank Fox

Red Neck, Blue Collar, Atheist: Simple Thoughts About Reason, Gods and Faith, Hank Fox.  [self-published]: Hank Fox Books, 2011.  e-book, 498 pps.


http://www.HankFoxBooks.com


http://www.Blue-Collar-Atheist.com


Hank Fox has written a most practical and excellent book.  Red Neck, Blue Collar, Atheist offers up a simple autobiography and then immediately plunges into explanations sprinkled liberally with gems of wisdom.  Twenty five chapters delve into such topics as morality [the thing that atheists are routinely charged with not having], what the costs are of believing, and why having "respect" for the beliefs of others isn't such a great idea after all.  Along the way are easy-to-understand analogies and explanations of a few common cognitive fallacies.

sapphoq reviews says:  Hank Fox is the common man's Richard Dawkins.  Red Neck, Blue Collar, Atheist deserves a place along side the more scholarly atheist volumes in any freethinker's library. Highly recommended without hesitation.