(January 21, 2015 at 11:40 pm)Brian37 Wrote: Are you nuts? Dawkins doesn't speak in $50 dollar dog whistle code.
[snip]
The God Delusion is an awesome book. And an easy read for a layperson.
Agree; I have a hard time sticking with anything by Hitchens because of his style but I can fly through Dawkins' books with no problem. Of the two, Dawkins is my preferred author, as speakers I prefer Hitchens.
(January 22, 2015 at 12:09 am)SteelCurtain Wrote: People dislike Ehrman, but God's Problem and Misquoting Jesus really gave me the evidence I needed to put a label on my beliefs.
I like Ehrman's Lost Christianities which delves into all the different beliefs of the various churches in the first few centuries of Christianity.
I also liked Richard Carrier's Not The Impossible Faith, specifically chapter 17 when he goes into the history of ancient Judea and how Chrisitians makes all kinds of overreaching, bullshitty claims that aren't born out by historical sources about the time.
Overall impression of The God Delusion was that it was an easy read, went fast, and made some good points, even if they weren't the most sophisticated way of making those points.
Teenaged X-Files obsession + Bermuda Triangle episode + Self-led school research project = Atheist.