Showing titles in Agnosticism

For the millions of people who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From bestselling author, neuroscientist, and “new atheist” Sam Harris, Waking Up is for the increasingly large numbers of people who follow no religion, but who suspect that Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history could not have all been epileptics, schizophrenics, or frauds.

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris' 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 the heavens are 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.

Should we believe in God? Do we need God in order to explain the existence of the universe? Do we need God in order to be good? In 12 chapters that address some of the most profound questions human beings confront, Dawkins marshals science, philosophy and comparative religion to interrogate the hypocrisies of all the religious systems and explain to listeners of all ages how life emerged without a Creator, how evolution works and how our world came into being.

"Forty-four percent of the American population is convinced that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead sometime in the next 50 years," writes Sam Harris. "Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government actually believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this...should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency."

Atheist? Believer? Uncertain? No matter: The Portable Atheist will engage you every step of the way. From the number one New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great, comes this provocative and entertaining guided tour of atheist and agnostic thought through the ages with original pieces by Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Known as the ‘four horsemen’ of New Atheism, these four big thinkers of the 21st century met only once. Their electrifying examination of ideas on this remarkable occasion was intense and wide-ranging. Everything that was said as they agreed and disagreed with one another, interrogated ideas and exchanged insights - about religion and atheism, science and sense - speaks with urgency to our present age.

From the perspective of an unbeliever, Fear and Trembling explores the paradox of faith, the nature of Christianity, and the complexity of human emotion. Kierkegaard examines the biblical story of Abraham, who was instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac, and forces us to consider Abraham's state of mind. What drove Abraham, and what made him carry out such an absurd and extreme request from God? Kierkegaard argues that Abraham's agreement to sacrifice Isaac, and his suspension of reason, elevated him to the highest level of faith.

Danger: Truth at Work is the first in a series titled Authentic Living and goes to the heart of our most fundamental human issues. Why can't we just live happily and be content? While we seem to have all the knowledge we need to solve our problems, we haven't. In this timely audio series, Osho explains that religious conditioning has held us back. "The religious prophets, the political leaders, the moral lawgivers - you have respected them, not even suspecting that they are the cause of your misery."

Not believing, but only experiencing, says Osho in this inspiring series of talks, is a way of finding truth and meaning. While Nietzsche's declaration that "God is dead, therefore man is free" was an incredible step in understanding, he argues, it is in itself a negative solution and does not bring freedom. Simply removing God is not enough. Osho is no atheist by far and not in favor of any "anti-believe" system either. "It is meditation that fulfills your inner being and takes away the vacuum that used to be filled by a great lie, God."

One in four Americans rejects any affiliation with organized religion, and nearly half of those under 30 describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious". But as the airwaves resound with the haranguing of preachers and pundits, who speaks for the millions who find no joy in whittling the wonder of existence to a simple yes/no choice? Lesley Hazleton does.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Contraduction and learn a new way to think about the world.

Humanity consists of coevolving software (our religion and culture), firmware (our hardcoded proclivities, such as language acquisition), and hardware (our brains). Ripping out a third of the equation has led to innumerous unintended—and typically negative—consequences. This book offers a guide to rebuilding or fortifying this increasingly neglected aspect of the human condition.

Goodbye Jesus is the step-by-step account of a former minister’s journey into and out of faith - the story of a long pendulum swing from the deep commitment of a devout believer to the firm conviction that no personal God exists and that all religions are man-made. This is a relatable and thoughtful listen for those seeking to better understand the evangelical mindset, for Christians who are questioning their faith, for ministers trying to decide whether to stay or go, and for those who have left their faith and are dealing with its loss.

With every argument for theism long since discredited, the result is that atheism has become little more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs. Thus, engaging in interminable debate with religious believers about the existence of god has become exactly the wrong way for nonbelievers to try to deal with misguided - and often dangerous - belief in a higher power. The key, author James Lindsay argues, is to stop that particular conversation.

Throughout the ages believers have been persecuted: usually for believing in the "wrong" God. So have non-believers who have denied the existence of God as superstitious rubbish. Today it is the agnostics who are given a hard time. They are scorned by believers for their failure to find faith and by atheists for being hopelessly wishy-washy and weak-minded. But John Humphrys is proud to count himself among their ranks. In this audiobook he takes us along the spiritual road he himself has travelled.

Trying to give religion definition is an almost impossible quest. The concept of faith is a contradiction; it can mean many different things to many different people. All religions preach peace and love and yet perhaps more people have died in its name than any other reason. Such is the conflict of trying to apply limited human laws and rules to divinity. What you are about to discover in this book will dramatically change the way you think and feel about everything in your life.

Incorporating his own thoughts along with those of noted academics, philosophers, and theologians, Loftus is able to properly define "miracle" and then show why there's no reason to believe such a thing even exists.

Each of this book's four chapters covers one of the most important questions a person must ask themselves: What is the purpose of my life? How can I best realize the purpose of my life? Who do I want to be? How do I want other people to think of me? Rather than give you answers to these questions, this guide provides a framework that helps you develop your own answers while equipping you with the neuroscientific tools necessary to transform yourself into whomever you choose to be.

A deeply personal and heart-breaking memoir that explores the troubled relationship between Mary Garden and her younger sister, Anna, who died in 2023 after a short illness. Mary unpacks her life of growing up in New Zealand in the 1950s and ’60s, before making Australia home. She reveals complex layers of intergenerational trauma, including the baggage of her eccentric, deeply flawed father and the secret her mother kept from all of them, revealed only after her death. Mary deals movingly with her sister’s long battle with mental illness and how she once saved Anna’s life.