He lays out extensive research on the evidence for Jesus and the origins of Christianity and poses the key questions that must now be answered if the historicity of Jesus is to survive as a dominant paradigm.Carrier contrasts the most credible reconstruction of a historical Jesus with the most credible theory of Christian origins if a historical Jesus did not exist. Such a theory would posit that the Jesus figure was originally conceived of as a celestial being known only through private revelations and hidden messages in scripture; then stories placing this being in earth history were crafted to communicate the claims of the gospel allegorically; such stories eventually came to be believed or promoted in the struggle for control of the Christian churches that survived the tribulations of the first century.Carrier finds the latter theory more credible than has been previously imagined. He explains why it offers a better explanation for all the disparate evidence surviving from the first two centuries of the Christian era. He argues that we need a more careful and robust theory of cultural syncretism between Jewish theology and politics of the second-temple period and the most popular features of pagan religion and philosophy of the time.For anyone intent on defending a historical Jesus, this is the book to challenge.

     The Scathing Atheist is a weekly podcast about religion that uses all the expletives the subject deserves. In its first year of production, host Noah Lugeons has earned a reputation for vindictive wit that is on full display in these fifty essays; each an expanded version of a tirade that first appeared on the podcast. More than a third of the book is all new material so whether you're a fan of The Scathing Atheist podcast or just a fan of vulgar and blasphemous wordplay, these bite-sized nuggets of vitriolic rationality are the perfect catharsis for atheists who are too polite to tell people what they really think.

    awkward! There are verses we'd like to forget or that have been changed throughout the centuries. There are many verses you've never heard before in church, let alone seen in your average children's Bible! Not to mention the verses that have been added over the centuries!Most people were raised in the faith chosen by their family. Young children learn a few Bible stories taken out of context and accept them without question. (On what basis could they possibly question their parents or church leaders?) After decades of repetition and tradition, it's understandable that we might put our beliefs on auto-pilot and just nod as a pastor repeats the verses and ideas that are already familiar and comfortable to us. It's no wonder that recent studies show an incredible lack of Biblical knowledge among Christians - 55% unable to even name the four Gospels of the New Testament - the very foundation of Christianity!The Goal? Awkward Moments encourages readers to really understand what is in their Bibles and think for themselves about the context of Biblical teaching. The 32 color illustrations and included commentaries will likely challenge some readers to reflect on how religion continues to shape the lives and culture of future generations. If readers happen to laugh out loud in the mean time - it's just an added bonus!Skeptical about a verse? Crack open your favorite Bible and read along to share the Good News with friends!REMEMBER: Don't blame us, it's in the Bible!

       The contributors begin by dissecting the many problematic aspects of religious faith generally. They repeatedly demonstrate that, with faith as a foundation, almost anything can be believed or denied. And almost any horrific deed can be committed. The authors then take a good hard look at many of the most important political, institutional, scientific, social, and moral harms committed in the name of Christianity. These range from the historical persecutions of the Inquisition and witch hunts to the current health hazards of faith healing. Finally, the authors answer three common Christian retorts to criticisms from nonbelievers: (1) that atheists cannot judge a harmful action without an objective moral standard; (2) that atheists need faith to solve the world’s problems; and (3) that atheists cannot live a good life without faith. Loftus and the contributors generally conclude that, given both the well-documented historical record and ongoing problems raised by the faith, Christianity decisively fails empirical tests of its usefulness to humanity.

    A collection of uplifting quotations from some of mankind’s most important philosophers, scientists, writers, and even comedians, THE INSPIRATIONAL ATHEIST will be a treasured daily companion for the growing demographic of humanists who  believe that life has meaning when we live it meaningfully, independent of the existence of a higher power. With words from Carl Sagan, D. H. Lawrence, Julia Child, Douglas Adams, Charlotte Bronte, Bertrand Russell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Carlin, Joan Didion, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Thomas Jefferson and dozens of others on topics ranging from Love and Nature to Wisdom and Beauty, this book is a celebration of the sublime without the divine.

    This remarkable book provides a critical overview of Christian beliefs and the evidence for them. Where did these beliefs come from? Are there good reasons to believe Christianity is true? Bill Zuersher clearly explains each of Christianity's major beliefs. He then proceeds to demonstrate significant difficulties with each of them. The book tackles these beliefs in a logical order, beginning with the problems at the root of virtually all religions, suffering and death, and culminating in their supposed resolution through Jesus. Mr. Zuersher also examines the evidence for Christianity, namely religious writings and the historical fact of the early Jesus movement. He makes the case that this evidence does not support the religion's claims and he provides naturalistic alternative explanations for how its core beliefs arose. In these pages we see the coalescence of Jewish and Zoroastrian religious ideas with those of Greek philosophy and mystery cults, to form the belief system we recognize as Christianity today. The result, Mr. Zuersher argues, is not revealed truth, but rather a human patchwork which contains unwarranted assumptions and logical flaws, all founded upon questionable evidence. Entertaining throughout, it is must-reading for skeptics, apologists, and anyone interested the world's largest religion or the culture wars behind today's politics - an invaluable resource for students and teachers, writers and debaters.

    So what are the chances of survival for the ultimate mixed marriage--one between religious and nonreligious partners? Nearly 20 percent of Americans now self-identify as nonreligious, including millions who are married to religious believers. Despite the differences, many of these marriages succeed beautifully. In this landmark book, popular author and secular humanist Dale McGowan explores some of the stories of these unions, whose very endurance flies in the face of conventional wisdom, including his own marriage to a believing Christian--a loving partnership that remains strong after three kids and 22 years. Drawing on sociology, psychology, and real-life experience, he shares: ● Negotiation tips that set the stage for harmonious relationships ● Strategies for dealing with pressure from extended family ● Profiles of families who have successfully blended different world views ● Insights for helping kids make their own choices about religious identity ● Advice for handling holidays, churchgoing, baptism, circumcision, religious literacy, and more The first book of its kind, In Faith and In Doubt helps partners navigate the complexities of their situation while celebrating the extraordinary richness it affords their relationship, their children, and those around them.

    It makes life better for you, for other atheists, and for the world. But telling people you’re an atheist can be risky. What are the best ways to do it? And how can we help each other take this step? In this compassionate, friendly, down-to-earth how-to guide, popular author of Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless and blogger Greta Christina, offers concrete strategies and guiding philosophies for coming out as an atheist. Based on hundreds of coming-out stories, the book offers a map of the territory atheists are likely to encounter and ideas on how to pick the path that’s best for you. Inspiring and realistic, kind and powerful, Coming Out Atheist is the much-needed guidebook atheists have been waiting for. Author Greta Christina is donating 10 percent of her income from this book to atheist organizations, charities, and projects.

    Victor Stenger reviews the key developments in the history of science that led to the current consensus view of astrophysicists, taking pains to explain essential concepts and discoveries in accessible terminology. The author shows that science’s emerging understanding of the multiverse—consisting of trillions upon trillions of galaxies—is fully explicable in naturalistic terms with no need for supernatural forces to explain its origin or ongoing existence. How can conceptions of God, traditional or otherwise, be squared with this new worldview? The author shows how long-held beliefs will need to undergo major revision or otherwise face eventual extinction.

    This is especially true in developed nations, where in some societies nonbelievers now outnumber believers. Unless religion collapses completely, or undergoes a remarkable resurgence, countries across the globe must learn to carefully and effectively manage this societal mix of religious and irreligious. For in a world already deeply riven by sectarian conflict, this unprecedented demographic shift presents yet another challenge to humanity. Writing in an engaging, accessible style, philosopher and lawyer Ronald A. Lindsay develops a tightly crafted argument for secularism—specifically, that in a religiously pluralistic society, a robust, thoroughgoing secularism is the only reliable means of preserving meaningful democracy and rights of conscience. Contrary to certain political pundits and religious leaders who commonly employ the term secularism as a scare word, Lindsay uses clear, concrete examples and jargon-free language to demonstrate that secularism is the only way to ensure equal respect and protection under the law—for believers and nonbelievers alike. Although critical of some aspects of religion, Lindsay neither presents an antireligious tirade nor seeks to convert anyone to nonbelief, reminding us that secularism and atheism are not synonymous. Rather, he shows how secularism works to everyone’s benefit and makes the definitive case that the secular model should be feared by none—and embraced by all.<!--?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /-->

    Leaving god and religion behind can be a challenging experience, sometimes even a painful one. Individuals have to consider the impact on family, friends, jobs, and many other aspects of life. This anthology consists of sixteen personal stories by people, from all walks of life, who have made the journey from a life steeped in religion to a life without it. In sharing these heartfelt stories with others, we hope to give those who have questions, who may be on the fence, or who have recently gone through similar experiences a sign that they are not alone. Within these pages you will find hope and inspiration, and perhaps a better understanding of what it means to take brave strides toward living a life without god and religion. “Beyond an Absence of Faith has the potential to reach those powerful social dimensions of the believer’s mind, while at the same time comforting those who have recently suffered the social and psychological agony of leaving their religions.” — Michael Sherlock, author of I Am Christ: The Crucifixion–Painful Truths “A beautiful and highly recommended collection of very moving accounts...” — James A. Lindsay, author of Dot, Dot, Dot: Infinity Plus God Equals Folly

    They were lying in a circle, holding hands and wearing plastic fairy wings.Years later, on the other side of the country, no one in the southern city of Jefferson is concerned about fairies or fairy-worshiping suicide cults. Except for Candy. She might not have proof, but she s damn sure it s going to happen again. The problem is, Candy is a coke-dealing stripper and the only person who will listen to her is an alcoholic mall Santa named Hank, who s only listening because, well she s hot. There are seven days until the next eclipse.

    Even in our modern world, countless people believe that without God, one’s life has no purpose or meaning — that the lives of atheists are devoid of joy and happiness because they are not religious. Starting out as one of the highest-grossing publishing projects on Kickstarter, A Better Life highlights the various ways that those who are not religious find joy, meaning, and purpose in life. Photographer Chris Johnson spent two years traveling the world speaking with and photographing atheists from all walks of life to create this hardcover photography coffeetable book.

    Shapiro are proud to announce the release of Bedtime Bible Stories-EXPLICIT! a true, though sometimes comedic take that exposes the ugly side of the Bible. Stamped with a "Parental Advisory" warning, this wonderfully illustrated compilation contains actual scripture and anecdotal musings about how misguided Christians ignore the horrible truth that the Bible is filled with unspeakable acts of violence and hate that are supposedly God's will.Bedtime Bible Stories - Explicit! exposes the Bible that the Christian fundamentalist do not want to be seen.Bedtime Bible Stories - EXPLICIT! was hatched out of an exasperation with how America's religious leaders manipulate the media and the public for their own ends. It's a game in which they act as both the bully and the victim. What's worse is that these Christian activists play a role in electing government officials that perpetuate their hateful and prejudiced views and pass laws that discriminate against those whom they have judged as inferior.Bedtime Bible Stories - EXPLICIT! explains how these Christians use some passages of the Bible that fit their fundamentalist agenda and ignore other passages that clearly show the Bible as filled with inhumanity. Through this process of cherry picking passages they justify their hatred and condemnation of any group they see as unworthy or not following their beliefs.Bedtime Bible Stories - EXPLICIT! is for anyone who wants to understand what the Bible really says and not be deceived by those who want to control others for their own purposes. This book will open the eyes of both believers and non-believers alike to the terrible truth about this so called holy book. Only through a thorough understanding of the Christian Bible can the real teachings of Christianity be known.

    Hud Hudson provides a two-stage illustration of this claim with respect to the putativeinconsistency between the doctrines of The Fall and Original Sin and the deliverances of contemporary science. The tension in question emerges through a study of the many forms the religious doctrines have assumed over the centuries and through a review of some well-established scientific lessons onthe origin and history of the universe and of human persons.The first stage: After surveying various paths of retreat which involve reinterpreting and impoverishing Original Sin and minimizing and dehistoricizing The Fall, one version of moderate realism about the doctrines is articulated, critically evaluated, and found both consistent with contemporaryscience and suitable to play a crucial role in the theist's confrontation with the Problem of Evil.The second stage: Recent work in the philosophy of time and in the philosophy of religion provides intriguing support for a Hypertime Hypothesis (a species of multiverse hypothesis), distinctive for positing a series of successive hypertimes, each of which hosts a spacetime block.After arguing that the Hypertime Hypothesis is a genuine epistemic possibility and critically discussing its impact on a number of debates in metaphysics and philosophy of religion, Hudson reveals a strategy for unabashed, extreme literalism concerning The Fall and Original Sin which neverthelesshas the extraordinary and delightful feature of being thoroughly consistent with the reigning scientific orthodoxy.

    In this book Graham Oppy undertakes a careful study of attributes which are commonly ascribed to God, including infinity, perfection, simplicity, eternity, necessity, fundamentality, omnipotence, omniscience, freedom, incorporeality, perfect goodness and perfect beauty. In a series of substantial chapters, he examines divine attributes one by one, and relates them to a larger taxonomy of those attributes. He also examines the difficulties involved in establishing the claim that understandings of divine attributes are inconsistent or incoherent. Intended as a companion to his 2006 book Arguing about Gods, his study engages with a range of the best contemporary work on divine attributes. It will appeal to readers in philosophy of religion.

    In fact half the homosexual population moves towards heterosexuality in the natural course of life—it’s just that very few people ever hear about it . This clear, comprehensive and accessible book takes an objective and orthodox look at over 10,000 scientific papers and draws the only conclusion possible: any biological contribution to homosexuality is weak and indirect. But that doesn’t mean homosexuality is a choice; rather it is discovered to exist within oneself. It is overwhelmingly the cumulative result of personal responses to life events—as many human predicaments are. But people with same-sex attraction are no more the victim of their orientation than anybody else mastered by a deep-seated and powerful set of responses that are environmental in essence. Answers and relief are possible where there is informed assistance. Neil and Briar Whitehead have been researching homosexuality for 30 years. Neil is a research scientist with a PhD in biochemistry. Briar is a writer.

    You may not know it, but you do. Many atheists are closeted because of the social and familial stigma that comes with being an open atheist in a society full of religious believers. Often referred to as the fastest growing demographic in America, those with no religious affiliation make up about 10-15% of the US population. That means it's likely that 1 out of every 10 people you know either doesn't subscribe to an organized religion or doesn't believe in a supreme being at all.Understanding an Atheist is a book written by Kevin Davis, head writer at the popular blog DividedUnderGod.com. This book was written for anyone who knows a nonbeliever, whether they're open about their beliefs or not. In it, Kevin takes you through his own experiences, raised Catholic, once devout Christian, then closeted atheist, now openly a nonbeliever and active in the atheist community. Through this journey, readers will gain an understanding of what it's like for someone to abandon faith in the supernatural and gravitate toward evidence-based reasoning, ultimately facing the taboo of being a nonbeliever.The purpose of this book is not to tear down religion or the religious, but to bring to light the issues facing your atheist friends and family. If you have a friend or family member who is an atheist you might have thought, Is it ok to pray at meals when they're over for dinner? Why do they hate God? What do they think happens when we die? Should I bring up their atheism in conversation or just ignore it? Why don't they just go to church 'just in case'? Understanding an Atheist will attempt to answer these questions for you, by giving you some insight into how the mind of an atheist operates, what they stand for, what prejudices they face, and how they feel, surrounded by religion every day.

    Although a disconcerting notion to some, a galaxy of ancient artifacts reveals that goddess worship existed in Ancient Israel and that Asherah was but one of Yahweh s wives. Following a trail of archaeological discoveries, the forgotten story of God s wife, the quintessential Hebrew Mother Goddess Asherah, is slowly reconstructed in this extensive study with over 550 archaeological drawings and 1,183 references. Mentioned over 40 times in the Hebrew Bible, the archaeological evidence identifies Asherah as Yahweh s primary wife and reveals she is the only surviving goddess in Palestine by the end of the 7th-6th centuries BCE. Asherah s stunning history unfolds as the shovels of archaeology resurrect what the pens of history forgot. *A subject pioneered by Raphael Patai s The Hebrew Goddess (1967) and William G. Dever s Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel (2005).

    Richard Miller contends that the earliest Christians would not have considered the New Testament accounts of Jesus' resurrection to be literal or historical, but instead would have recognized this narrative as an instance of the trope of divine translation, common within the Hellenistic and Roman mythic traditions. Given this framework, Miller argues, early Christians would have understood the resurrection story as fictitious rather than historical in nature. By drawing connections between the Gospels and ancient Greek and Roman literature, Miller makes the case that the narratives of the resurrection and ascension of Christ applied extensive and unmistakable structural and symbolic language common to Mediterranean translation fables, stock story patterns derived particularly from the archetypal myths of Heracles and Romulus. In the course of his argument, the author applies a critical lens to the referential and mimetic nature of the Gospel stories, and suggests that adapting the translation fable trope to accounts of Jesus' resurrection functioned to exalt him to the level of the heroes, demigods, and emperors of the Hellenistic and Roman world. Miller's contentions have significant implications for New Testament scholarship and will provoke discussion among scholars of early Christianity and Classical studies.