Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4508 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-04
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Dorion Sagan, science writer, son of Carl Sagan
With impeccable logic, intellectual bravery, and professional clarity Mills points the way past religion.

Albert Ellis, Ph.D., father of modern psychotherapy, author of 'A Guide to Rational Living' and 54 other books
David's work will be very useful for anyone combating harmful religious beliefs. Honest, frank, and right to the point!

From the Publisher
Is there really a God? Or does God exist only in our heads? Is the Bible truly God's Word, or a jumble of fanciful myths? THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING BOOK ON ATHEISM is your front-row ticket to mankind's most enthralling debate.

Among the intriguing questions addressed in this all-inclusive volume:

* What, precisely, is atheism, and why is it misunderstood so thoroughly?

* If God is a myth, then did the universe appear from nothing?

* Does the meticulous clockwork of planetary motion result from mindless random forces?

* Do atheists believe that human beings evolved through blind accident from lifeless matter?

* Do the splendor and intricacy of life on Earth reveal evidence of intelligent design by a supernatural Creator?

* Can atheists prove that God does NOT exist?

* What about Creation Science, and the popular new movement to reconcile Scripture and science?

* Have recent scientific discoveries pointed to God's governance of the cosmos?

* Did Albert Einstein believe in God?

* Does the fact that energy cannot be destroyed lend credibility to a belief in eternal life?

* Without God, can there be a valid system of ethics or an objective "right" and "wrong"?

* Does religion encourage moral conduct and civilized behavior? Is the Golden Rule really such a bad idea?

* What is the meaning of life without God?

* When we die, are we simply dead like dogs?

* Did atheists suffer a trauma in childhood that warped them into blasphemous rebellion?

* Because of ubiquitous injustice on Earth, is an afterlife required to redress the imbalance, where evil is ultimately punished and virtue rewarded?

* Is atheism just another crackpot religion?

* What's the harm in a person's private spirituality? Does humanity have everything to gain, and nothing to lose, through belief in God (even if He's only imaginary)?

* Apart from the Bible, is there secular historical evidence of Jesus' miracles and resurrection?

* How do atheists explain "near death" experiences and medical miracles which amaze even skeptical doctors?

* Why should a tiny minority of atheists be able to force their opinions on everyone else by banning prayer in public schools?

* Since "there are no atheists in foxholes," have famous nonbelievers recanted on their deathbeds?

* Did Old and New Testament prophecies correctly predict events which actually unfolded during our own lifetimes?

* What about the Shroud of Turin and the discovery of wood fragments from Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat in Turkey?

* Does the Law of Entropy (or the "running down" of the universe) contradict evolutionary theory, which asserts that Nature's complexity is increasing?

* Is there absolute proof that man evolved from a lower form of life?

* Even if you believe that all life evolved from a single cell, how could complex cellular life originate without a Creator?

* Is atheism a totally negative philosophy, leading only to cynicism and despair?

* Does communism's past embrace of atheism prove that atheism is an evil and failed philosophy?

* Was America really founded upon Christian principles by Christian believers?

* What is the true, behind-the-scenes relationship between politics and religion in 21st-century America?

All of these questions — and hundreds of others — are fully confronted and methodically answered in the riveting pages of Atheist Universe. It's all here for you in one richly entertaining, comprehensive, and easy-to-read volume. Few other books provide such spellbinding inquiry and arrive at such a controversial and well-documented conclusion.

Customer Reviews

Atheist Universe
When I read this email I was sure that you had somehow made a mistake, because I did not (knowingly) purchase the book, "Atheist Universe" and was fairly certain that I had never even seen it. Then, this morning, I was going through a pile of stuff on my desk and there was the book in question, apparently never opened by me. Am I going nuts? Did some supernatural force put the book there? Does God exist and He wants me to read this book?

I have been researching the absurd idea that the Christian God's book, the Bible, could somehow be in conflict with the very nature that He created. I do believe in God, but see very clear problems with today's Christianity, fundamentalism, and young earth malarkey, and have a completed book on the subject. I say, "completed" with resevations. There isn't a day goes by that I don't come acoss something that should or could be added. There seems to be no end to how far off course a religion can go when left up to the tinkering of man. At the moment, I am searching for a Literary Agent with an interest in promoting a book about a subject that needs to be heard by the very people who don't want to hear it. If you have any ideas that might help, I'd be quite open to them.

Anyway, here I am with another book that was evidently given to me without any solicitation on my part whatsoever. I now have eight books that were just given to me out of the blue about various aspect of the subject I am researching. The other seven do come from known sources. Since you are asking for a review, I suspect that you might know, at least in part, just how this book got on my desk. Could you please help solve this mystery for me? I would be happy to read the book, do a review, and could have it back to you in a few weeks. Would there be any time constraints? Should I do this?



Curious Ray



Ray Moody

firemanmoody@yahoo.com

Godless Heathen Tells All
Be sure to order this book with a plain brown wrapper so your believer friends won't report you to the Inquisition! Believers won't buy this book, but those seeking a popularist justification for atheism will be pleased.

David Mills' greatest asset is a clear writing style. I read his book after finishing Susan Jacoby's "Age of American Unreason" and found his style refreshingly simple. Part of the fun of Mills' book is his willingness to excoriate persons on the other side of the church aisle. He is especially hostile when it comes to those espousing "intelligent design."

While Mills adds some logical support for atheism (is there a faith-based way to do it?), you probably already believe what he says -- you just want more reasons or added explanation. He'll give it to you. However, Mills seems to take for granted the "scientific" evidence he provides in a basic form. While much of what he says would probably count as generally accepted science, there isn't much rigor in backing it up -- you'll need to take it on faith. It is a telling omission that Mills' biography inside the back of the book mentions nothing about having a PhD in philosophy or logic, or a degree of any kind (not on his web site either). As a result, you get a "pop science" perspective on atheism -- more entertaining than erudite. Read some of the 1 star ratings to get more on this perspective.

The nutshell of the book is the logical problem of an irreducible first cause. Religion gives it a masculine anthropomorphic character in Christianity and Judaism, while atheism leaves it in its raw form as the infinitely distant unknown.

Unless you believe works like Mills are the work of the devil, you should enjoy this book, although he never answers the question as to whether good atheists go to heaven.

Serious, good book. Includes irrelevant quotes, though
This is one of the best books to come out on the subject since Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World (and boy, have there been plenty of them published lately!) It is well written and avoids the irate, bashing tone of most authors. Clearly, the debate is far from over, simply because no amount of science or reasoning has (so far) done away with the possibility of there being "something else out there" besides the worldly existence we perceive with our senses. In other words, the notion of life beyond death isn't as easily dismissable as some people would like, even if one uses the strictest logic and adheres to the most rigorous science. However, the book does a fine job of putting Judaeo-Christian mythology in its place (i.e. right next to Greek, Aztec, and other childish constucts of human imagination). Now, THAT is a debate that should have been over centuries ago!

It does sadden me, however, to see that even authors who claim to base their arguments on logic rather than moral authority still resort to interspersing quotes from celebrities in order to support their stance. In this book you will find phrases to that effect from Charlie Chaplin, Sigmund Freud, Isaac Asimov, and Jodie Foster (come on, guys, Jodie Foster??!!!) That is exactly what atheists want to avoid, because one of the most laughable aspects of the average believer's attitude is its constant insistence that "authoritative opinions" (from Jesus or whomever) actually constitute a valid means of argumentation.