The Forum Reading List

Remilia Bloody Scarlet said:
Mario4Ever said:
god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything and Hitch-22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens are both excellent, and I recommend them to theists and non-theists alike. He makes interesting arguments concerning religious extremism and other such topics (when he's not using religious texts to rip said texts apart), and the memoir's just hilarious.
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You're not subtle, you insensitive douchecanoe. Why do I never see you criticize atheist extremists?
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Probably because they don't blow themselves up, protest funerals, or do other such *bleep* (though I must admit that Dawkins irks me (he along with Dan Dennett thinks atheists should be renamed "greats")). They also don't plan on making amendments to my country's constitution that outlaw gay marriage and abortion based on the tenets of a single belief system when the country wasn't founded as a theocracy, and they certainly don't blame natural disasters on the "spiritual faults" of the people who experience them, and as such, I am disgusted by the sorts of people who do all of the things I mentioned because they tarnish the reputations of those who could not care less what others believe and only seek to expand their own understanding of their place and purpose in the world, something Hitchens touches upon in the first book I mentioned.

To anyone uninterested in the above:

Must-read: Dante Alighieri's La (Divina) Commedia (The Divine Comedy) -- his depiction of Hell (in Inferno) is quite unique, from its geography to the punishments assigned to its inhabitants. While I disagree with Dante in certain cases, the first third of the epic will leave an impression on you like no other. The other two portions, Purgatorio and Paradiso, are interesting even if I don't enjoy them as much as Inferno. In all, the epic poem offers readers familiar with the traditional Christian view of the afterlife an experience quite different from that, one that I think is more rewarding as an educational tool and as a source of entertainment.

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey-- one describes the events leading up to the end of the climactic Trojan War, and the other chronicle's a warrior's quest to return home shortly after said war. The descriptions in both are so vivid that I almost feel as if I am on the battlefield or on an epic journey.
 
Hahahahaha.

Don't tell me. You think the world would be a better place if we all became atheists, right?
 
Far from it. A world in which everyone thinks alike is a boring one, and I think that regardless of one's individual stance on the subject, we each can offer a unique perspective on the world and thus contribute to our overall understanding of who we are and what we are here for. I am fascinated by different viewpoints so long as they are not expressed through violence or as law to an unwilling population (I'm sure that women could do without being stoned or whipped for driving, for example, under an individual's interpretation of sharia law).
 
carcinoGeneticist said:
Hahahahaha.

Don't tell me. You think the world would be a better place if we all became atheists, right?
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In theory, it would be.
 
Mario4Ever said:
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What about the subset of theists who do things like "blow themselves up, protest funerals, or do other such shit"? What if they became atheists?

Donut said:
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I am facepalming so hard that I think my skull has cracked. Congratulations.
 
carcinoGeneticist said:
Mario4Ever said:
words
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What about the subset of theists who do things like "blow themselves up, protest funerals, or do other such *bleep*"? What if they became atheists?

Donut said:
other words
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I am facepalming so hard that I think my skull has cracked. Congratulations.
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I think they'd continue to do those things. Religion (or lack thereof) doesn't determine our actions;some people just use it as an excuse for them.
 
Donut said:
Nobody seems to notice the "in theory" part.
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Even in theory it doesn't work, since the result could only be considered positive on a subjective basis (such as yours).
 
They use religion as an excuse for their actions; my point was that the religions themselves don't tell these people to blow themselves up, to protest funerals, to blame natural disasters on spiritual faults, etc, but the people are religious extremists because they warp the doctrines to fit whatever the fuck they want them to.
 
But atheists do that too. They just find secular excuses instead of religious ones.
 
True, but those excuses tend to be used to defend comparatively mild actions (of course, there are exceptions, but humans have always been flawed).
 
As far as exceptions go, people often cite the actions Stalin and Pol Pot and other such types (not Hitler, who was a Catholic by most accounts)

On the religious side, we've got things like the Crusades, the Inquisition, 9/11, the Salem Witch Trials, the Army of God (WARNING--graphic content on their website), Helter Skelter (to an extent), the Heaven's Gate and Jonestown cults, various suicide bombings and bomb plots (not the fault of the religions themselves, but the fault of their adherents) as well as self-immolation, bodily mutilations, oppression, stonings, and whippings.

Looking at atheist extremism, excluding the Stalins and Pol Pots of the world, we've basically got "your beliefs are shit, and here's why they're shit" (see Bill Maher's Religulous, for example).
 
It could be argued that atheism is a religion. Just saying.

I mean, they do pretty much the same thing theists do right? Persecute other religions in whatever way?

Atheism simply hasn't been around long enough to do stupid stuff like the Crusades.
 
Is there an official religion bickering thread? I thought this was about reading books...

Anyway, I highly recommend the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead, as it is quite an excellent read.
 
Bop1996 said:
Is there an official religion bickering thread? I thought this was about reading books...

Anyway, I highly recommend the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead, as it is quite an excellent read.
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If you haven't noticed already, I tend to get...interesting responses to certain things I say, but that is, as you've more or less pointed out, irrelevant. Concerning the book you mentioned, is it a stand-alone work or part of a series (the "Pendragon" in the title reminds me of a fantasy series of the same name, which focuses on a boy/teen with that surname (details elude me; it's been years since I read it).
 
One of the books is called Pendragon, but it's the fourth in a series of five, and the series is called Pendragon too, which is a fitting title once you've read a few of them. The series starts off in Atlantis, before Merlin is born, and ends with strife and turmoil in King Arthur's kingdom. I personally greatly enjoy the books, almost as much as classics like Lord of the Rings.
 
If we're on the topic of medieval books, the Icemark trilogy was fairly good.

I also liked the Ranger's Apprentice books, the fourth one (Battle for Skandia?) was my favorite.
 
Im reading Twilight:breaking dawn, the books are amazing and Im in the second part of the final book already.
 
I personally think Twilight is lame, but that's my opinion.

In other unrelated required reading, Homer's lliad is always on these lists...
 
The books are good, its just the film Im not a fan of.

Im adding the final changes to my book 'starla' before I can say its well and truly done.

I also like some more teenage novels like the princess diaries series and I also have read all the Harry Potter books.
 
Javelin: I recommend the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini if you haven't read any of the books yet. (Last book out Tuesday!!!! :D) I also like reading Star Wars novels and the Redwall series. I agree with you about the Icemark books, they were great. The Bartimaeus books are awesome (not just because they use footnotes awesomely). I occasionally read Antony Horowitz's books.
 
Any of you guys heard of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan? It's a fantasy series I just got into. I've read the prelude (titled New Spring) and am on the first in the series (Eye of the World). It's almost like a cross between Harry Potter and the works of Stephen King, and I am addicted.
 
@Donut: Me. All five of them.
 
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