An atheist drawn to religion, Soffin shows how to conceptualize a "God" who is in and of the cosmos rather than also beyond it as theists affirm. This allows Soffin and those who see value in the path he blazes to embrace and value the treasures of religion even while not being theistic. Says Soffin, "For those who sense in modern life an underlying absence of fundamental meaning--yet fear self-deception in pursuing "God"--there may be no recourse but to shoulder the burdens of reflection and begin the ancient journey anew." In their comments in the responses chapter, a number of respondents offer a rich range of perspectives. Daniel Liechty, Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Illinois, thinks that "From his discussion contrasting God as Creator with that of cosmic first cause, to his highly stimulating presentation of knowledge as true incarnation, and much more, this has been a book worth reading. . . . I feel it is at least part of my assignment as a respondent here to voice some criticism. So, to begin with, I am inclined to think that Soffin overly stresses the role of rationality in human existence. . . ." Sharon L. Baker, who teaches theology and religion at Messiah College, observes that "Soffin's text brought to mind John D. Caputo's seminal and provocative thought. . . . Although they stare at each other from across the chasm separating analytical from continental philosophical traditions, both authors seek a move into the 'beyond'-beyond scientific materialism, beyond superstition, beyond religion (as institutionalized strictures), and even beyond the classical God himself (gendered language intended)."Herbert W. Simons, Emeritus Professor of Communication, Temple University, reports that "Soffin and I have been back and forth on philosophy for fifty years. I've called him every nasty philosophical name I could think of--essentialist, rationalist, objectivist, foundationalist, anti-relativist--to no avail. Still he continues to pursue his quest for Truth and, in recent years, to encompass theology within the orbit of that quest. Thank goodness for that because Rethinking Religion repays careful examination of its unfolding arguments and bursts forth repeatedly with powerful, memorable prose."

"I call heaven to witness that I also thoroughly despised those who laughed at the simplicity of the blind people, those who furnished piously considerable sums of money to buy prayers. How horrible this monopoly I do not blame the disdain which those who grow rich by your sweat and your pains, show for their mysteries and their superstitions; but I detest their insatiable cupidity and the signal pleasure such fellows take in railing at the ignorance of those whom they carefully keep in this state of blindness. Let them content themselves with laughing at their own ease, but at least let them not multiply their errors by abusing the blind piety of those who, by their simplicity, procured them such an easy life. You render unto me, my brethren, the justice that is due me. The sympathy which I manifested for your troubles saves me from the least suspicion. How often have I performed gratuitously the functions of my ministry. How often also has my heart been grieved at not being able to assist you as often and as abundantly as I could have wished Have I not always proved to you that I took more pleasure in giving than in receiving? I carefully avoided exhorting you to bigotry, and I spoke to you as rarely as possible of our unfortunate dogmas. It was necessary that I should acquit myself as a priest of my ministry, but how often have I not suffered within myself when I was forced to preach to you those pious lies which I despised in my heart. What a disdain I had for my ministry, and particularly for that superstitious Mass, and those ridiculous administrations of sacraments, especially if I was compelled to perform them with the solemnity which awakened all your piety and all your good faith. What remorse I had for exciting your credulity A thousand times upon the point of bursting forth publicly, I was going to open your eyes, but a fear superior to my strength restrained me and forced me to silence until my death."

THIS 34 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Biography of Satan, by Kersey Graves. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564593290.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

There is a 75% chance that a creation-professing student will denounce that faith within one year at a secular college or university. Do you want to take that chance? Read this book and you won't have to. "I had many questions about the competing ideologies of evolution and creation. This book was the answer to those questions. What an eye opener ... Chris leads his readers on an very interesting and highly informative journey. I felt a broad range of emotions as I read the book. I felt betrayed, angry, mystified, sad, happy, educated and enlightened. This book is really for both the creationist and the evolutionist." -Shirin Tucker, Sarasota, FL Is Richard Dawkins just a mad scientist? Or is Dawkins advancing the agenda of a cult religion that has dark and dangerous motives? "This is the book that exposes Richard Dawkins like no other book ever written. The author pulls no punches as he delivers this hard-hitting truth. His commitment to the truth does not sway, even when it is to his disadvantage. It seems that the author is more committed to the truth than he is to selling books ... Eckstein's investigation does an excellent job of exposing the faith of evolutionism. His solid case against Dawkins and Dawkins' religion cannot possibly be rebutted, although I would like to see someone try." -Victor Mitchell, Rio Rancho, NM Christopher Eckstein makes the most powerful presentation against Dawkins to date. The case presented comes from the very entertaining and unique perspective of this author, scientist and apologist. You will be intrigued and challenged as you embark on a read that will change the way you perceive reality forever. Christopher Eckstein resides in Sarasota, Florida with his wife Anna and their three children, Christian, Christianna and Christopher. Caution: Atheists that read this book are likely to become creationists. www.thedawkinsdelusionexposed.com

The Moral Atheist argues in non-technical terms that being moral is compatible with being an atheist, but goes further to suggest that there is more harmony between these two notions than there is between being moral and being a theist. Using reason, semantics and common sense, Tomlinson makes the case that, first, the non-existence of a god does not imply that there is no discoverable objective morality and that, second, without the belief in a god there are still excellent reasons for the atheist and everyone else to strive to be a good person. The book presents a practical and objective ethical system that reflects how language is used in everyday communication. Along the way the reader explores important philosophical insights while gaining an appreciation for the way that philosophy is actually done. Tomlinson has been an instructor of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge for thirty-three years.

There are two things which I have come to look upon as constituting the unpardonable sin of the father and mother against the helpless innocence of infancy. The one is in allowing their little children to run the risk of blood-poisoning--such as was once suffered by a child of mine--from the filthy fraud of vaccination. The other is in permitting the mind and soul of their children to be inoculated with the still more fatal virus of the old, false, orthodox dogmas and delusions, by allowing them to believe that the fables of ancient mythology are the sacred and solely true "Word of God," if they are found in the Hebrew Scriptures--the one book of the religiously ignorant. Generation after generation we learn, unlearn, and relearn the same lying, legendary lore, and it takes the latter half of all one's lifetime to throw off the mass of corrupting error instilled into us during the earlier half, even when we do break out and slough it off in a mental eruption, and have to find ourselves in utter rebellion against things as they are. Unfortunately, the mass of people never do get rid of this infection, nor of the desire to give their disease to others.

THIS 48 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: American Thought: From Puritanism to Pragmatism, by Woodbridge Riley. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766105679.

THIS 72 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll: Lectures V4, by Robert G. Ingersoll. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766172732.

"Spiritual Snake Oil" shows that the same fallacies that plague religious apologetics also infect virtually all "new age" and "spiritual" writing. Author Chris Edwards does this by dissecting the arguments and assertions of the most prominent "new age" icons and "spiritual" writers. They include Robert Pirsig ("Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"), James Redfield ("The Celestine Prophecy"), Deepak Chopra ("Life After Death"), Dinesh D'Souza ("Life After Death"), Francis Collins's ("The Language of God"), Rhonda Byrne ("The Secret"), and even Michael Crichton (a surprising defender of New Age thinking). As Edwards shows, the same fallacies, the same errors in argument, show up time after time in the writings of these--and virtually all other--"new age" and "spiritual" writers. In addition to explaining these fallacies in the chapters devoted to the individual authors, Edwards devotes a final chapter, "A Compendium of Fallacies," to outlining the tricks and deceptive practices common to illogical arguments.

Red Neck, Blue Collar, Atheist - Simple Thoughts About Reason, Gods and Faith follows in the footsteps of recent best-sellers such as Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great, Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, and Sam Harris' The End of Faith. Whereas Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris have written mainly about the rational basis, the WHY of atheism, this book looks at the HOW - how it feels, how it works, from the inside. Coming from a writer who grew up in Texas and worked as a real cowboy and draft horse teamster (the cover picture even shows the author riding a bull ), as well as a carpenter, roofer and truck driver, the book is based on decades of examining the process in his own mind as he moved from Christianity to atheism. Putting it simply, here are some of the things an atheist might think, and the way he or she might think them. More than once called a master of metaphor in the blogosphere, author Hank Fox tackles the subject of atheism with subtle humor and a friendly, informal tone, in two dozen chapters with names like Sundae Worship, The Parable of the M&Ms, Batman Almighty, The Wellspring of the Gods, Sucking Up to the Virgin Mary, The Evidence of True Things, The Headwaters of Reality, Hello Mr. Death, and Saying Goodbye to Gods. Primarily aimed at young adults, especially those from religious backgrounds and new to thinking about atheism and freethought, this book will also provide ammunition for those of a more intellectual bent faced with the necessity of explaining atheism in simple terms to friends and relatives. Best of all, the book focuses not just on the negatives of religion, but on the positives of atheism - the freedom and mental clarity for individuals, but also the hopeful future for our entire world as we proceed with a social revolution already in progress.

Can atheists be moral? Religion and morality are closely linked in the minds of many people. It is widely believed you can't have one without the other. And if morality needs religion, then what does that say about atheists? Can they be moral? Can there be a morality without God? This book takes on the myth that atheists can't be moral. It looks at what morality is, the different kinds of moralities that already exist, and what a secular morality would look like. Along the way it challenges beliefs about the nature of morality and misconceptions that lead to the belief that atheists can't be moral.

The Moral Atheist argues in non-technical terms that being moral is compatible with being an atheist, but goes further to suggest that there is more harmony between these two notions than there is between being moral and being a theist. Using reason, semantics and common sense, Tomlinson makes the case that, first, the non-existence of a god does not imply that there is no discoverable objective morality and that, second, without the belief in a god there are still excellent reasons for the atheist and everyone else to strive to be a good person. The book presents a practical and objective ethical system that reflects how language is used in everyday communication. Along the way the reader explores important philosophical insights while gaining an appreciation for the way that philosophy is actually done. Tomlinson has been an instructor of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge for thirty-three years.

Also called Christianity before Christ, this book contains new, startling, and extraordinary revelations in religious history, which disclose the oriental origin of all the doctrines, principles, percepts and miracles of the Christian New Testament and furnishing a key for unlocking many of its sacred mysteries, besides compromising the history of 16 heathen crucified gods.

Will homemaking ever again be seen as an important role in modern society? Can it become a real career? In recent years the role of homemaking has been somewhat derided and diminished in relation to careers outside the home. Furthermore, women are urged to return to the workplace as quickly as possible following childbirth. Homemaking is not generally viewed as real work, while daycare centers and childcare workers fill the gap. The author maintains that the old understanding of the homemaking role needs to be reenlivened with spiritual knowledge. We can, for example, begin to work with the suprasensory aspects of the household, the etheric and astral qualities there, as well as the various spiritual beings that are connected with the home. This book provides a generous helping of advice and ideas to help all those whose destiny is to develop a career that involves caring for home and family. It offers recognition of the dignity and importance of creating an environment that protects and nurtures children, preparing them for the larger world. C O N T E N T S 1. A New Vocation: Homemaker Individuality and Role Expectations Strength and Insight The New Mysteries 2. The Life-organism of the Household Aspects of the Household Etheric Body Astral Body Spirituality Matter Living in the Home 3. Seed of the New Mystery Society Forming the Household Individuality Rhythm Cultural Life The Path of Development of the Homemaker Sacramentalism 4 Questions

Jesus Cries When You Touch Yourself is a comic monologue written in tribute to the late George Carlin on the topic of religious bullshit in America. Influenced by Carlin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Bill Maher, Monty Python, and the writers of South Park, the author uses constant mockery and absurdist humor on a tour of ridiculous beliefs in America. With devastating logic, Jesus, the most beloved character in all of history, is revealed to be the world's greatest pedophile. After all, if Jesus is God, then everyday he watches billions of children take off their clothes and hundreds of millions of others go poop. Well, the great Poop Inspector would be a pedophile, if only he wasn't merely our imaginary friend. From an invisible man in the sky that watches millions of people masturbate each day, to Jesus ascending into heaven and becoming an astronaut, to Catholics eating Jesus' penis every Sunday, Jesus Cries When You Touch Yourself contrasts intense realism with comical religious absurdity in the most ambitious ridicule of religion ever written.

"Sometimes I have a difficult time accepting my good fortune to be living at this particular time -- nothing has made me feel more that way than reading Dr. Jerome's fascinating, realistic, and informative book. It is a "treasure house" of wonderful information, useful knowledge, and excellent writing.
This book essentially takes the basic religious truths that have been handed down to us over hundreds of years from our major world religions and shows how current findings in subatomic particle physics, quantum theory, and laser technology gives us a way of seeing how they may well be agreeing on the same basic truths that construct and maintain our matter and spiritual existence.
Larry Dossey, M.D., President of Isthmus Institute and author of "Space, Time, and Medicine" and "Beyond Illness," has written an excellent introduction and endorses Dr. Jerome's work. I believe that any creditable scientist would do the same and certainly every New Thought student should be enthusiastic about the work. This book is not 'another scientific text.' It is that, of course, but is so much more and such 'fun' reading. Take a look at this book which is entertaining, informative, and above all else, a book which has great application to daily living." -- Jack H. Holland, PhD., D.D. -- Theologian, Reviewer of scientific and theological literature for "The New Thought Quarterly," and Director of The Institute for Human Growth and Awareness.
"Dr. Jerome's book just might be one of the most important books of this era. It explains the holographic nature of God's consciousness in terms that are understandable." -- Tommy Sellers, communications expert in computer science and laser research.
"Dr. Jerome personifies a new breed of human now emerging. He is a scientist who realizes that his science represents only part of the path to understand his existence and his reality. It is an essential part, but incomplete in itself. To be whole, to be balanced in life, he knows it is necessary to discover the path's other essential part.
As the parts of the path become visible before him, Dr. Jerome integrates them for us. As he says in his preface:
If science is right, and if religion is also
right, then they must allude to the same
basic truths. The quest to uncover this
'sameness' is the goal of this book
This is a sensitive and beautiful book written by an admirable man. It deserves to be read, then pondered, then reread, and finally, referred to often." -- John C. Carls, PhD. in particle physics and author of "What It Means To Be Human."

THIS 232 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Bible of Bibles, by Kersey Graves. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564592952.

THIS 232 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Bible of Bibles, by Kersey Graves. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564592952.

THIS 48 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: American Thought: From Puritanism to Pragmatism, by Woodbridge Riley. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766105679.