God Is Not Great

Author: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 1551991764
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world. In the tradition of Bertrand Russell’s Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris’s recent bestseller, The End Of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope’s awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix.

The Rage Against God

Author: Peter Hitchens
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310320313
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
Partly autobiographical, partly historical, "The Rage Against God," written by the brother of prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens, assails several of the favorite arguments of the anti-God battalions and makes the case against fashionable atheism.

Theists and Atheists

Author: Thomas Steven Molnar
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 9789027977885
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Book Description
Sinceits founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.

Letters to a Young Contrarian

Author: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 078673907X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 159

Book Description
From bestselling author and provocateur Christopher Hitchens, the classic guide to the art of principled dissent and disagreement In Letters to a Young Contrarian, bestselling author and world-class provocateur Christopher Hitchens inspires the radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, and angry young (wo)men of tomorrow. Exploring the entire range of "contrary positions"—from noble dissident to gratuitous nag—Hitchens introduces the next generation to the minds and the misfits who influenced him, invoking such mentors as Emile Zola, Rosa Parks, and George Orwell. As is his trademark, Hitchens pointedly pitches himself in contrast to stagnant attitudes across the ideological spectrum. No other writer has matched Hitchens's understanding of the importance of disagreement—to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress, to democracy itself.

God: The Failed Hypothesis

Author: Victor J. Stenger
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 161592003X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310

Book Description
Throughout history, arguments for and against the existence of God have been largely confined to philosophy and theology, while science has sat on the sidelines. Despite the fact that science has revolutionized every aspect of human life and greatly clarified our understanding of the world, somehow the notion has arisen that it has nothing to say about the possibility of a supreme being, which much of humanity worships as the source of all reality. This book contends that, if God exists, some evidence for this existence should be detectable by scientific means, especially considering the central role that God is alleged to play in the operation of the universe and the lives of humans. Treating the traditional God concept, as conventionally presented in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, like any other scientific hypothesis, physicist Stenger examines all of the claims made for God's existence. He considers the latest Intelligent Design arguments as evidence of God's influence in biology. He looks at human behavior for evidence of immaterial souls and the possible effects of prayer. He discusses the findings of physics and astronomy in weighing the suggestions that the universe is the work of a creator and that humans are God's special creation. After evaluating all the scientific evidence, Stenger concludes that beyond a reasonable doubt the universe and life appear exactly as we might expect if there were no God. This paperback edition of the New York Times bestselling hardcover edition contains a new foreword by Christopher Hitchens and a postscript by the author in which he responds to reviewers' criticisms of the original edition.

Why Orwell Matters

Author: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0786725893
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 120

Book Description
"Hitchens presents a George Orwell fit for the twenty-first century." --Boston Globe In this widely acclaimed biographical essay, the masterful polemicist Christopher Hitchens assesses the life, the achievements, and the myth of the great political writer and participant George Orwell. True to his contrarian style, Hitchens is both admiring and aggressive, sympathetic yet critical, taking true measure of his subject as hero and problem. Answering both the detractors and the false claimants, Hitchens tears down the façade of sainthood erected by the hagiographers and rebuts the critics point by point. He examines Orwell and his perspectives on fascism, empire, feminism, and Englishness, as well as his outlook on America, a country and culture toward which he exhibited much ambivalence. Whether thinking about empires or dictators, race or class, nationalism or popular culture, Orwell's moral outlook remains indispensable in a world that has undergone vast changes in the seven decades since his death. Combining the best of Hitchens' polemical punch and intellectual elegance in a tightly woven and subtle argument, this book addresses not only why Orwell matters today, but how he will continue to matter in a future, uncertain world.

The Digested Read

Author: John Crace
Publisher: RDR Books
ISBN: 9781571431592
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Book Description
Literary ombudsman John Crace never met an important book he didn't like to deconstruct. From Salman Rushdie to John Grisham, Crace retells the big books in just 500 bitingly satirical words, pointing his pen at the clunky plots, stylistic tics and pretensions of Big Ideas, as he turns publishers' golden dream books into dross.

God Is Great: Bible Rebuttal to Christopher Hitchens

Author: Peter James
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781649998606
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 156

Book Description
This book is for the millions of people who bought or listened online to Christopher Hitchens' book "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" and hundreds of millions of people worldwide who've witnessed a multitude of world-renowned intellectuals and religious leaders fail to combat the late and great Christopher Hitchens with any scriptural evidence. With Bible citations provided to support each assertion, author Peter James utilizes his 4-decade long study of biblical scripture and presents a genuinely authentic "why not let the Bible speak for itself" approach to answering the questions and accusations brought up by Christopher Hitchens in his book and debates. This book will evoke feelings that are not for the faint of heart and easily offended. Starting from the introduction, the author challenges his readers to open their bibles regardless of faith or lack thereof, to take on Christopher Hitchens with scriptural evidence rather than man-made interpretation and opinion. With the absence of a religious agenda, doctrine, and personal bias, "God Is Great: Bible Rebuttal to Christopher Hitchens" will leave you questioning everything you've ever known about religion, the bible, and god.

Atheism Explained

Author: David Ramsay Steele
Publisher: Open Court
ISBN: 0812697030
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 341

Book Description
Atheism Explained explores the claims made both for and against the existence of God. On the pro side: that the wonders of the world can only be explained by an intelligent creator; that the universe had to start somewhere; telepathy, out-of-body experiences, and other paranormal phenomena demonstrate the existence of a spirit world; and that those who experience God directly provide evidence as real as any physical finding. After disputing these arguments through calm, careful criticism, author David Ramsay Steele presents the reasons why God cannot exist: monstrous, appalling evils; the impossibility of omniscience; and the senseless concept that God is a thinking mind without a brain. He also explores controversial topics such as Intelligent Design, the power of prayer, religion without God, and whether a belief in God makes people happier and healthier. Steele’s rational, easy-to-understand prose helps readers form their own conclusions about this eternally thorny topic.

Is Christianity Good for the World?

Author: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: Canon Press & Book Service
ISBN: 1591280532
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 74

Book Description
"This debate appeared originally in Christianity today, and is re-printed in this format with permission"--T.p. verso.