In my brother the Atheist’s book, “the why do I have toenails?” he’s got several pithy comments about Christianity. He’s got quite a few cartoons about old and new testament historical figures and stories. But in all of his discussions he doesn't bother to take on Islam – not even one cartoon making light of the extremists he’s concerned about. I find it interesting that while he’s railing on all things Christian, he skips Muslim’s completely. Heck, the Dane’s published a cartoon of Mohammad (http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=12146&offer=&hidebodyad=true), and several newspapers got together to defend the artist. If all religions are dangerous, as stated in his book, then why not take on the Muslim’s that are touting fear and killing based on their religious beliefs? Mock Mohammad! Question the church leaders in Muslim countries for not stopping the madness! Ask hard questions about why they believe that Mohammad had a vision, the way he asks how anyone can believe that Joseph Smith had a vision. Why leave this large (and growing) religion off the table? I’m OK with asking questions, questioning beliefs, and disagreeing with my beliefs. But the more I dig into this book the more I think the subtitle should be “How to be the best non-Christian you can be”, vs “How to be the best Atheist you can be”.
And since we’re asking the question about Muslim’s, what about Scientologist's and L. Ron Hubbard? He was a wacky sci-fi writer who came up with a religion on his own. Something about space ships coming to earth and dropping people off near a volcano (sorry to paraphrase, but you can visit http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/what-cos.htm or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology for more details). Doesn't this sound like something you can really make fun of? South Park mocked them quite a bit (one of my brother the Atheists favorite shows). I’m sure other people have taken shots at them. But not this book. Why?
So after rereading the first couple of chapters I'm starting to conclude that my brother the Atheist might not believe in any supreme being, but he's really mad at Christianity. I'll need to look deeper into this as I read and talk to him, to gauge what this is all about. Although it's reminding me of the anger some people felt when George Bush was elected last time - there was this weird anger at all republicans and people who voted for him. Not disappointment in not having John Kerry win, or frustration with the process, but an out and out anger at people (including little George) over the results. Is there a link here, or is this a coincidence?
Showing posts with label Atheist book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Atheist book. Show all posts
Friday, March 7, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
The book has arrived!
That's right - after the long wait it's finally here. You can order it through Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1434830241) or through my brother the Atheists' website (http://toenailsbook.com/). It's a fast read (200 pages) but it's chock full of interesting thoughts and ideas. I read it last week and am reading it again to process through it a little more. I'm going to start with my impressions under a separate entry - hopefully others will read the book and comment or at least reply to my entries. A little teaser - he is definitely not a believer in Christianity or Judaism. Read the next entry for more...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
What is an Atheist?
Here is the definition from dictionary.com:
a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
—Synonyms: Atheist, agnostic, infidel, skeptic refer to persons not inclined toward religious belief or a particular form of religious belief. An atheist is one who denies the existence of a deity or of divine beings. An agnostic is one who believes it impossible to know anything about God or about the creation of the universe and refrains from commitment to any religious doctrine. Infidel means an unbeliever, especially a nonbeliever in Islam or Christianity. A skeptic doubts and is critical of all accepted doctrines and creeds.
Hmmm - sounds like my brother. Do you know anyone like this? Is this definition accurate?
a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
—Synonyms: Atheist, agnostic, infidel, skeptic refer to persons not inclined toward religious belief or a particular form of religious belief. An atheist is one who denies the existence of a deity or of divine beings. An agnostic is one who believes it impossible to know anything about God or about the creation of the universe and refrains from commitment to any religious doctrine. Infidel means an unbeliever, especially a nonbeliever in Islam or Christianity. A skeptic doubts and is critical of all accepted doctrines and creeds.
Hmmm - sounds like my brother. Do you know anyone like this? Is this definition accurate?
A book for all people?
My brother has written a book. I'm not sure if it's a good book or not. I've seen excerpts, seen the front and back cover, the table of contents, etc. It's supposed to be humorous - which I don't doubt - he's a funny guy (a favorite past time at family gatherings is for he and I to get everyone else laughing so hard tears are flowing and "accidents" might be happening).
He's an atheist - is that supposed to be capitalized, like Muslim or Christian? I don't know, so to prevent anyone from getting upset with me I'll capitalize it from now on.
OK, he's an Atheist. So, what's the big deal? Not much - unless you're worried about his eternal soul. Obviously I'm a Christian - my wife and I are the only ones in my immediate family. Again, not a big deal for our regular interactions - we love them and have no doubt they love us. We don't agree on some things, we agree on others. Our core difference is a big one.
So this book he's written - it's funny (I hope). It's not a slam on Christianity specifically - it's a humorous poke at all religions. Islam - he mocks it. Scientology - he mocks it. Judaism - he mocks it. Christianity - he mocks it. The list goes on and on. Some might be over the line, some might be funny. But he's also raises hard questions - many that most of us believers (regardless of what we believe in) probably don't want to address.
It seems like the kind of book where in one chapter I'll be cheering him on, while in another I'll be railing against him. Discussion is bound to be spurred on by my Atheist brother.
His book will be available within a week. You can visit his website at http://toenailsbook.com/. I've put some of the content up on this site as well. Comments and feedback are appreciated - of course if you read his book I'll value your feedback a little more!
I'm trying to get some pages posted, along with the cover art and table of contents. I'm having trouble with the TOC, but the rest should help you better understand what we're getting into. WHen the book is published I'll get a few more pages online. But you can always buy the book yourself to read it in its entirty -like reading any book you'll want to get the complete view before commenting too much. And I'll review the comments - not for content but for spam - before allowing them to post. No point in letting the spam machines fill up the cyberspace any more than they already do!
He's an atheist - is that supposed to be capitalized, like Muslim or Christian? I don't know, so to prevent anyone from getting upset with me I'll capitalize it from now on.
OK, he's an Atheist. So, what's the big deal? Not much - unless you're worried about his eternal soul. Obviously I'm a Christian - my wife and I are the only ones in my immediate family. Again, not a big deal for our regular interactions - we love them and have no doubt they love us. We don't agree on some things, we agree on others. Our core difference is a big one.
So this book he's written - it's funny (I hope). It's not a slam on Christianity specifically - it's a humorous poke at all religions. Islam - he mocks it. Scientology - he mocks it. Judaism - he mocks it. Christianity - he mocks it. The list goes on and on. Some might be over the line, some might be funny. But he's also raises hard questions - many that most of us believers (regardless of what we believe in) probably don't want to address.
It seems like the kind of book where in one chapter I'll be cheering him on, while in another I'll be railing against him. Discussion is bound to be spurred on by my Atheist brother.
His book will be available within a week. You can visit his website at http://toenailsbook.com/. I've put some of the content up on this site as well. Comments and feedback are appreciated - of course if you read his book I'll value your feedback a little more!
I'm trying to get some pages posted, along with the cover art and table of contents. I'm having trouble with the TOC, but the rest should help you better understand what we're getting into. WHen the book is published I'll get a few more pages online. But you can always buy the book yourself to read it in its entirty -like reading any book you'll want to get the complete view before commenting too much. And I'll review the comments - not for content but for spam - before allowing them to post. No point in letting the spam machines fill up the cyberspace any more than they already do!
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