Best of
Skepticism

2017

Blood-Soaked Buddha/Hard Earth Pascal


Noah Cicero - 2017
    Rather than entertain dogma, Cicero approaches a discussion of Buddhism from the refreshing perspective of the everyman, providing a profound spiritual analysis as well as a sharp critique of capitalism. There are even some pretty good ghost stories. Introduction by Brad Warner.

All That's Wrong with the Bible: Contradictions, Absurdities, and More


Jonah David Conner - 2017
    With insightful commentary concerning frequent rebuttals used by apologists, it makes a solid case against evangelical claims to inerrancy. This 2nd edition has a much improved third chapter, providing several more examples of scribal changes to the New Testament, as well as a completely new section on textual differences in Greek manuscripts. The format of the paperback version has been adjusted in order to keep sale cost as low as possible.

Would You Believe It?: Mysterious Tales From People You'd Least Expect


Karen Stollznow - 2017
    And they happen to people you'd least expect, even notable scientists and skeptics. This collection features personal stories and experiences of the mysterious, as told by Banachek, Susan Blackmore, Joe Nickell, Eugenie Scott, Chris French, Ken Feder, George Hrab, Brian Regal, Steve Cuno, Ray Hyman, and many others, with a foreword by James Randi and an afterword by James Alcock. These are tales about a wide range of extraordinary experiences, including ghost and UFO sightings, alien abduction, Bigfoot encounters, faith healing, seances, superstitions, coincidences, demonic possession, out-of-body-experiences, past lives, episodes of missing time and one case where time stood still. You will read about a poltergeist in a bakery, a genius baby, a haunted concert hall, a stone carving that vanishes and reappears mysteriously, a one-time palm reader, and a former Mormon missionary who once believed he healed a woman of a brain tumor. Sometimes the authors have explanations for their strange experiences. Sometimes they don't. Whether you believe or not, sit back and enjoy reading this collection of mysterious tales from people you'd least expect...

Food Truths from Farm to Table: 25 Surprising Ways to Shop & Eat Without Guilt


Michele Payn - 2017
    Authored by Michele Payn, a leading farm and food advocate with an in-depth understanding of both sides of the plate, this intriguing book helps readers understand how food is really produced, answers food critics, and points out how food marketing and labels are often half-truths or even "less-than-half truths."These 25 food truths enable an understanding of how food is grown, providing a transparent window into today's farming and ranching practices that empowers you to make informed personal choices and determine what is right for your family. Each chapter presents a farm or ranch story, answers questions around a major issue, provides science-based information, and includes a sidebar section of food truths and myths.Readers will gain insights from a food expert who offers a viewpoint that stands in stark contrast to the typical sensationalist and often negative perspective on fashionable food accurate information that will help you to better trust the intentions and processes in farming and ranching. The revelations in this book will simplify food shopping, reduce guilt about being a consumer, and give you the freedom to enjoy your food again."

How to be Reasonable: By Someone who Tried Everything Else


Rebecca Fox - 2017
    

The Oxford Handbook of Secularism


Phil Zuckerman - 2017
    National borders and traditional religions cannot keep people in tidy boxes as political struggles, doctrinal divergences, and demographic trends are sweeping across regions and entire continents. And secularity is increasing in society, with a growing number of people in many regions having no religious affiliation or lacking interest in religion. Simultaneously, there is a resurgence of religious participation in the politics of many countries. How might these diverse phenomena be better understood? Long-reigning theories about the pace of secularization and ideal church-state relations are under invigorated scrutiny by scholars studying secularism with new questions, better data, and fresh perspectives.The Oxford Handbook of Secularism offers a wide-ranging and in-depth examination of this global conversation, bringing together the views of an international collection of prominent experts in their respective fields. This is the essential volume for comprehending the core issues and methodological approaches to the demographics and sociology of secularity; the history and variety of political secularisms; the comparison of constitutional secularisms across many countries from America to Asia; the key problems now convulsing church-state relations; the intersections of liberalism, multiculturalism, and religion; the latest psychological research into secular lives and lifestyles; and the naturalistic and humanistic worldviews available to nonreligious people.

The Loch Ness Mystery Reloaded


Ronald Binns - 2017
    Over three decades later it remains both influential and a source of fierce debate. In this new book Binns takes a fresh look at Nessie in the light of later evidence and recent analysis of the classic sightings, phoptpraphs and film.He also scrutinises the role played by central figures in the Loch Ness story such as Rupert Gould, Tim Dinsdale and Ted Holiday. Ronald Binns is a former member of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau. he has made numerous trips to the loch in search both of the Monster and a greater understanding of this enduring phenomenon.