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Religious Book Store > Religious books beginning with A
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The Atheist's Bible: An Illustrious Collection of Irreverent Thoughts |
Author: Joan Konner
Published: 2007-06-01 |
List price: $16.95
Our price: $12.38
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As of: January 06th, 2009 05:53:58 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Assembling the dissenters
Producing books on "a-theism" has become something of a cottage industry. There are scholars such as Atran, Boyer and Lewis-Williams examining how humans deal with the spiritual realm. General science has finally entered the fray by demonstrating the lack of evidence for gods with Richard Dawkins' recent book. And philosophers have at last conceded religion is a proper topic for research investigation. Nearly all these works are by individual writers and an anthology of those works is now overdue.
This little tome offers readers a different tack, both in approach and style. On the bookstore shelf, the first thing one notices is the lack of an editor's credit. Fitting, as it's in line with the example set by its predecessor. There is no opening essay to explain or justify the publication of the book. A short disclaimer notes that some citations are from works of fiction and that authors don't always use fabricated characters as a mouthpiece for their own views. This, of course, immediately raises the question of out of context quotes. Each citation must, therefore, be considered on its face value.
The citations, which are derived from a broad chronology of human expressions, are arranged in "Books of" with a particular topic or individual as the focus. Some, such as "Genesis", bear little resemblance to the original model. Neither whipping up a universe, staffing it with an "Original Couple", and human submission to divine wrath appears. Instead, the issue of whether that scenario, or the idea that humans create their own gods should prevail is the central theme.
Other Books are more tightly focussed. One is given over to examining the role given women by the original combined with declarations of women over the years concerning that role. Several Books are lists of quotes by particular authors, notably Ambrose Beirce, Mark Twain and Robert Ingersoll - leading commentators on the topic. Konner has thoroughly combed the literature to glean a fine harvest of material for this book. Its slim size must not deceive the potential reader into thinking there's little of convincing value here. Quite the reverse. Anyone wondering why there is such a thing as "a-theism" should consider taking this up - a treasure of answers will bring Enlightenment [p. 16]. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
 Meh...makes a good coffee table book.
The entire thing consists of just quotes. I'm sorry to say I spend about $17 on this. On the plus side, I guess it makes an execellent bathroom or coffee table book.
Quote Mining for Non-believers
A book that carries the title of "The Atheist's Bible" sure sounds interesting. Based on the title alone, one might surmise that it is an epic treatise on atheism. One also might guess it will be something, well, biblical in grandeur. Prepare to be disappointed. Amazon doesn't delve into too much detail describing the book and sadly, I didn't do much research on it before buying it. It is nothing more than quote mining. Literally nothing but quotes, with no commentary on the quotes themselves and no information on the people (or fictional charcters) that uttered or wrote the words. There is no insight into the context of these quotes or the societal conditions of when they materialized. That's too bad because it seems there was a missed oppurtunity here.
That being said, the quotes are quite good and entertaining, but as another reviewer suggested, this book is a perfect ultra-light read while sitting upon a porcelain throne.
A Great Source of Wisdom and Insight
I really enjoyed this book for what it is, a collection of quotes and thoughts from famous atheists and other writers (not all of the quotes reflect the authors true feelings and beliefs as some were taken from works of fiction).
I ordered this for my Kindle and read it the first time in only two days. Then I reread it slowly, this time saving the quotes with the Kindle's built in notes feature. I have read many of these quotes before, but I did find at least ten excerpts that I had never heard before and that I will memorize and use them when the time is right.
I do wish that this book was a little more academic. There were many times that I was puzzled that the author did not include some important and well known quotes on a particular subject. For instance, Mark Twain was once asked if he was afraid of death. He reportedly answered "I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." I also thought that the structure of the book (the order of the chapters and the names of them) were a little weak. Other than that, I endorse this book and recommend it to others who are looking for this type of reference.
A valuable collection of quotes
This is an excellent collection of quotes. Some stir deep thoughts while others bring laughs.
I recommend this book but I do question the title. It seems to suggest that it is something more than a book of quotes. If you don't expect anything more than that, however, you are likely to be happy with the book.
--Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God
I also recommend these books:
The Quotable Atheist: Ammunition for Non-Believers, Political Junkies, Gadflies, and Those Generally Hell-Bound
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
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