Excellent and Comprehensive Scholarship

books:

	• Natural Atheism David Eller American Atheist Press, 2004 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 42 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Terrific overview of atheism

Natural Atheism is a compelling book which dispells many myths surrounding atheism, shows how there is no logical case for a divine being, and addresses implications of an atheistic stance. The logic that Eller employs is flawless and he never steps over the bounds of reason into speculation.

The book starts off by refuting classical arguments for the belief in a god and presents logical arguments against the existence of god. Next, he provides a brief 'course' on reason which is outstanding because many people use improper reasoning not just in arguments about religion, but in their everyday life. Eller then describes atheism in detail and puts to rest many stereotypes of atheism and atheists. The last part of the book is devoted to the applications of atheism; such as, the separation of church and state and living in a disenchanted world.

By the end of the book I had come to the conclusion which echoed a quote on Eller's business card: "Atheism is a beautiful thing."

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rational thinking

I loved it. It's really about rational, logical thinking and the trouble occurs then they don't happen.

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An atheist explains atheism's "good news"

Book catalogues are loaded with titles extolling the benefits and virtues of god-belief and religions. However, testimonials about atheism are in short supply.

David Eller's "Natural Atheism" fills that niche beautifully. The author doesn't just explain atheism and make a compelling case for its validity. He also advocates "evangelism" on behalf of atheism and points out why it is so important to our modern world, especially to the culture of the United States.

Dr. Eller writes with candor and clarity. His book is a welcome addition to this atheist's library. It sits alongside Dianna Narciso's "Like Rolling Uphill: realizing the honesty of Atheism," David Mills' "Atheist Universe," George Smith's "Atheism: the case against God," and my own modest effort.

As more and more atheists speak out, maybe there will be less and less misunderstanding about what atheism means and who atheists are and greater appreciation for why it matters.

"Natural Atheism" is a valuable contribution toward that effort.

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Excellent and Comprehensive Scholarship - Great book on Atheism

David Eller has written a fantastic, and very thorough, book about whether any gods exist, and about atheism.

Early chapters of the book cover critical thinking, logic, epistemology, and a systematic dissection of the major reasons why people believe in God. Later chapters include wide-ranging topics, including an especially-splendid argument for the separation of church and state. It is a little slow at the start, but certainly worth reading to the end.

In the recently-popular "God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins arguments that came from the author's own field of expertise, biology, were the most novel, and some of the most compelling. Similarly, Eller provides novel and compelling insights from his own area of expertise. Eller is an anthropologist and brings much of his knowledge from this discipline to the analysis of religious practice and belief. Eller provides some fascinating insights when writing about culture and history.

My only gripe about the writing style of this book is that the author occasionally refers to himself by the first person plural "we", rather than the singular "I". This might simply be my personal preference, or my inexperience with the typical writing style of anthropology. But this is trivial.

All in all, I think this is the most comprehensive and scholarly book on atheism since George Smith's "Atheism: the Case Against God".

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Outstanding book on Atheism

Eller's book is a well thought out guide to Atheism and most of the main pillars of its ideas. I really do like how he proposes an idea and then offers a clear and straight-forward example of that idea. I especially enjoyed his commentary on belief vs. knowledge and his "four box" example; this broke the argument down concisely and is very, very elegant. After having, for so many years struggled with my self-proclaimed "I am an Agnostic with Atheistic leanings", I have, after much reading, relection and contemplative thought, and discussion with others, reached the conclusion that it is now time to term myself a positive atheist, and I not only feel quite refreshed by the experience but it has allowed me to look at old debates and ideas with a fresh pair of eyes. There is very little that is particularly unique about this book except that it is very easy to follow and is broken down into relatively small doses for one new to this information to digest and think through. Eller quietly guides you through ideas such as reason and logic and how to apply these fundamental processes to new ideas or situations. Even if you have take courses in reason & logic, psychology, philosophy, this is an excellent primer or even a short-form text book for one to brush up on those ideas. Eller provides many, many examples of how to approach situations and ideas, and how to address others who are not quite understanding the philosophies behind atheism. I also appreciate that he quantifies negative and positive atheism and why positive atheism is the proper approach to this philosophy.

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