Rate this book

New Atheism, The (2009)

by Victor J. Stenger(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1615923446 (ISBN13: 9781615923441)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Prometheus Books

review 1: Pros: Stenger (on the coattails of Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, et al) makes a hard-line case not just for atheism, but for the promotion of atheism. The general idea is akin to a civil rights movement with a lot of explanation and science talk to back up his claims.Cons: Having a fellow non-believer preach to me is almost as bad as a believer spouting off all the time. Overall: It would be interesting to see how "casual" Christians would react to this book. I might not have an appropriate way to gauge this book for others because I agreed with most of what is said. I'll just say, I recommend this book to anyone who feels like they have to hide their non-belief.
review 2: In “The New Atheism”, physicist Victor Stenger performs a literary review of his own boo... moreks of atheism as well as the works of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennet. As such, the book mainly consists of summaries of arguments that are already in the public sphere, rather than any new information. The book provides a good overview of the thoughts and positions of the new atheists, and is written in an highly readable style. It also covers many of the common charges heard from the theists: that science is a form of religion (it’s not, it is non-dogmatic and open to new evidence), that there is evidence of conscious design in evolution (all evolution is explainable through small random changes acted upon my the non-random process of selection), that morals can only be achieved through religion (primates and other non-human creatures exhibit altruism and many of the same moral traits as humans), that consciousness cannot be explained by the physical properties of the brain (there is no evidence of anything more than physical matter), that science has nothing to say about religious claims (it does when those claims can be tested, which is why we know that prayer doesn’t work) etc. Stenger also suggests an eastern (non-spiritual) form of meditation as a means of coping with the biggest hurdle to atheism, the obvious (and scary to many) conclusion that no life exists after death. Though it may be a tough pill to swallow, ignoring this fact doesn’t change reality. Stenger proposes that through meditation, one may be able to better come to terms with death and reduce the anxiety that accompanies thoughts of non-existence. less

Download links for: New Atheism, The

Advertising