Representations of Atheism

[EggSpurt]

I'm not familiar with any works of fiction on the matter except for Carl Sagan's contact, and that's mainly because it's written by Sagan. I'm personally gonna have to take a look at some of these Pratchett books others are talking about. I've heard that "The Golden Compass" book series is supposedly anti-religion, but i'm just going on hearsay here.

Regarding non-fiction, I think Bertrand Russel's writings on religion and science, specifically his work "why I am not a christian" is fantastic. The recent non-fiction works from today's prominent atheists, such as Hitchens, Dawkins, Dennett and Harris are primarily anti-religion, but they have bits of "what would the world be like without religion" hypotheticals sprinkled throughout their work.

I've also heard that Ayn Rand was an outspoken atheist, but i don't know if she wrote on the subject (never read the fountainhead or atlas shrugged, etc.)

[leo-rcc]

Ayn rand used books such as Atlas Shrugged as a speaking platform. She lets the main characters give huge speeches to get her own point of view across which doesn't help the story line. I never liked her books, the writing style doesn't suit me.

[Fluké]

I've heard that "The Golden Compass" book series is supposedly anti-religion, but i'm just going on hearsay here.

It is an interesting representation of the Christian faith. It isn't anti-religion, per se.

It's just that that representation isn't something Christians like, so they use the offensive card. *sigh*

[Paul the Human]

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind has a lot of atheist philosophy throughout. The author uses his characters (especially the main character) to rail against religion and theocracy, but it is a fantasy series and set in a fictional world (complete with magic). The 'evil empire' in the series is representative of Christianity and Islam and Mr. Goodkind does an amazing job of tearing it down. The problem is that the series encompasses 11 books averaging around 800 pages per entry.

It is one of the best fantasy series ever written, though. It was worth reading for the enjoyment alone. The anti-religious message was a pleasant surprise.

[Edwardo Piet]

Nothing represents atheism better than someone telling you that it's nothing more than not believing in God(s)

EvF

[Welsh cake]

The Eragon books dealt with the issue over a lack of evidence for a higher power or supernatural, there are no gods or deities as such; the closest thing to them are dragons which are depicted as ancient, powerful and sentient beings with indefinite life spans they can choose to share with lesser life forms such as elves and men, but even they can be killed, and all are lost forever with no hope for an afterlife. How the characters contemplate their 'doom' and their will to endure makes for an interesting read.

Good stuff, can't wait for the fourth book.

[tavarish]

I've read all 6 Hitchhiker's books. (Yes, there are 6) many times over.

I think it's actually pretty good atheistic material.

[Tiberius]

I'll have to read the 6th...but I doubt it'll be the same as Adams' writing. I actually liked the ending of Book 5, so I didn't see the need for a book 6. I did like "The Salmon of Doubt" though.

[leo-rcc]

In my opinion Eoin Colfer did not do a bad job at "And another thing". I think the only problem I had with it is that the large amount of guide excerpts were unnecessary, for me they detracted from the story. I found myself skipping over them. However, it does read very similarly to Douglas Adams' own work. I would say it's worth a read through.