Atheism for Dummies MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, May 3, 2016

To my mind, virtually anybody interested in atheism in any way, shape, or form can benefit from this book. "Atheism for Dummies" is the most thorough, clear, and well-written treatment of non-belief that I've ever seen. Though it's one of the "Dummies" series, I think a better title would have been, "Atheism for Anyone and Everyone."I've purchased a few "Dummies" books before and found them a bit lacking in really useful information even for topics in which I had little prior knowledge. But while I've been an avid student of both religion and secular thought for many years and don't consider myself a "dummy" in this area, I've learned something new or how to think about something in a new way every few pages while reading this book.Another trait of the "Dummies" series is that of being filled with cutesy, "wink-wink" humor that at first brings grins but which soon becomes annoying, at least for me. While Mr. McGowan has continued that style of presentation in the current book (no doubt part of the required format), this time I didn't find it grating at all. That may be because I'm deeply interested in this subject, but I think it's also because Mr. McGowan's sincerity, deep knowledge, and genuine sense of humor each shine through the page.I suppose the various recent books by more famous non-believers needed to sort of pave the way for "Atheism for Dummies," but in terms of introducing atheism to god-believers and questioning doubters, in an ideal world this book would have come first. Had that been the case, I think the dialogue between believers and non-believers would now feature much less "wailing and gnashing of teeth," to use the Biblical phrase. For that reason, I recommend this book particularly highly for atheists who wish to provide curious religious friends and relatives a source of information about your "heathen" ways and thinking.I could go on and on with the virtues of this book and could cite lots of examples of great stuff from within its pages. But if you've read to this point, read no farther. Whatever your religious beliefs, background, position, or lack thereof may be, I'll bet this book will be a worthwhile addition to your shelf or electronic device. Check it out.

The author has a Ph.D. in Music and was a former professor. He now makes his living as a writer.The importance of evolution as the doorway to atheism is covered in detail. He shows it was difficult to be an atheist until the question of the origin of life, and the entire creation, was answered. The choice, until 1859, was God or chance. Most people answered they believed in a designer (p. 47). The problem that impeded the acceptance of atheism, McGowan writes, was answered only in 1859 when “British naturalist Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution by natural selection… Darwin’s theory, properly understood, finally provided a credible fit for the evidence.” (p. 47). He then quotes Dawkins who opined that “Darwin’s theory made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.” (p. 48) McGowan then added that many people have tried to reconcile evolution with religion, noting that evolution works without any guiding hand whatsoever (p. 47). Evolution explains everything. He concludes that some people find evolution and Christianity compatible, something he doesn’t see how that is possible but is glad they do because “it’s nice to have their support for evolution education.” (p. 50). Evolution, he explains, works by natural selection of normal random variation, ignoring the fact, as every breeder knows, that normal variation is very limited. We have failed to breed a dog as large as an elephant or a bear as large as a whale, as Darwin expected would be possible. The genome places clear limits on variety which can be overcome only with the intelligent design by humans, such as the use of CRISPR, an acronym for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat system used to modify the genome by scientists. All of the other familiar other arguments for atheism, such as the inquisition and the crusades, claiming the Christians have spilled gallons of blood are covered, ignoring the fact that the purpose of the Inquisition was to replace the old unjust system, such as trial by ordeal, which was banned by the Church in the year 1215. Trial by ordeal forced the accused to endure some painful act, such as sitting in boiling water, and, if he survived, it was assumed that he was innocent. The new system also replaced the accusation system with the investigative system, in which an impartial magistrate would investigate the alleged crime by interviewing witnesses and examining the evidence to determine guilt. The new system was a major improvement over the old and slowly spread to the secular justice systems. In fact, it worked so well that it formed the backbone of a criminal investigation in continental Europe and America to this day. If anything, the punishment by the Inquisition for those found guilty was quite lenient.” McGowan discussed three cases that illustrated his point, two of which, as punishment, the guilty had to wear a double yellow cross around their necks! (pp. 87-90). I expected some grueling gross punishment for their fairly major sins, but these were real cases.

I approached the reading of "Atheism for Dummies" as an agnostic and left in the same condition. What I enjoyed about this book was that it broadened my view of the spectrum of disbelief. It was also comforting to know that my growing skepticism with many of the traditional world views is shared by others. I come to this overview after exposure to some of the heavy weights in the field; Hitchens, Harris, Dennet, and Dawkins. I read their seminal works, each of which profoundly altered my perspective of the world. What the pages of this book does is put their works into the context of a broader history of nonthestic thought. Admitting to being an atheist in centuries past was a dangerous proposition and one would think that many of their proposals would have died with them in the silence they had to use as a disguise in their lives. I was surprised to see a number of them took the time to pass on their doubts to the pages of history. I left this book a little less frustrated with the challenges in carrying on with ethical investigations in my own life knowing that there are others doing the same. It also takes off a little of the edge I have when confronted with what I see as the religious fundamentalism that seeks to invade the secular institutions that I see as the bedrock of American society. World views are in a spectrum and that diversity should keep the fundamentalists at bay. I enjoyed the book very much and would recommend it to those who want to widen their view of the impact of religion in the world and how atheism fits into the expanding complexity of ethical thought.

I have been an atheist/humanist for the last 15 years or so, and I have collected several books on the subject of Atheism. Quite often atheists are looked upon as mean, angry, or otherwise holding distorted views of Christianity, and religion in general. This book gives readers an overall, well rounded look at what Atheism is all about. Many will be pleasantly surprised when they start to explore between its covers.Dale McGowan PhD. covers every conceivable aspect of atheism, and removes a lot of doubt and incorrect supposition from some erroneous thinking in regard to this subject.The "for Dummies" series of books perhaps leads one to think of this as another simplified message aimed at the general reading public. Nothing could be further from the truth. He goes into the very beginnings of doubt in religious belief, up to and into the present day. He does it without sarcasm, mean spirited attitude, or any other type of nastiness, but presents his facts and findings in an honest, straightforward manner.If you have ever had any, even the smallest doubts on your own religious beliefs, then this book is a very good place to start seeking enlightenment. An excellent composition.

Don't fear it - try and understand!If you are on your journey of learning and understanding away from invisible friends, myths and fairytales this is a good pointer (as the dummies series so often is) to guide you through the history of humanism and atheism, give you helpful insight and follow up reading advice.Nothing made me a quicker unbeliever than actually reading the so called holy books themselves, but this will give you a good understanding why more and more people wake and question our traditional belief systems!

A great book for anyone, really. Fun for atheists and hopefully clearing up some things for people who think, that atheists are devils, sent by the devil - or some such.

Interesting read. I bought it more out of curiosity, turned out to be a good read. I was an atheist and read many books on the subject, learned more than I thought I would. It covers many sciences, philosophy, psychology...

Was a little overly apologetic for my taste. But is a good starting place for those sitting on the fence of their believes.