@Justin Hey Justin. I partially accept the rebuke… Sure, in the broader strokes, my list lacks variety but this is not my first reading list ever i’ve read (in part or in full) most of the religious texts as well as their proponents’ viewpoints. A blog reply thread is no place for a religious debate, but suffice it to say that I spent a long time on the fence and once the evidence and philosophy amassed on the side of Atheism and Deism, I followed it.

I’m a very intellectually inquisitive person, and i’ve been reading books of this ilk for about 6 years now (i’ll be 21 in January so i haven’t had enough lifespan for an impressive length of study). My list is actually incredibly varied if you’re familiar with the overall gestalt. Sure, they may all be written by Atheists, but not all the books are anti-religious… Dennett is a distinguished Philosopher and Cognitive Neuroscientist, Ray Kurzweil is a prognosticating genius and technology boff, Michael Shermer is very even-handed (and some may even say “sanguine”) with religion whereas Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens are most certainly not – but even Harris and Hitchens are vastly different in their modes of argument, linguistic style and tone.

I could have included books like The Book of Mormon in my list, but i find it only interesting insofar as i find a baby trying to babble its first words. C.S. Lewis had his moments, and we can debate him further, but thanks for your comment

I got partially through the Book of Mormon, and I found a lot of interesitng things in it, like how it starts in 600 BC, but holds a view of God that not only does not appear in the Old Testament or even the New Testament, it’s view of God and religion is extraordinarily modern. I beleive that this is proof that it is not an authentic document, but the Mormons I’ve talked this over with say that it is the very nature of the prophesy of the book.

C.S. Lewis provides an excellent alternative viewpoint on the matter, I may add. There is a collection of his writings (I forget the name offhand) which is a first rate collection of logical, frank discussions on the matter from the standpoint of a beleiver which does not rely upon sophistry or syntax games to make a point. “Conciousness Explained” is excellent. I gave away my copy ages ago, but I picked up another at a used book store for pennies.

J.Ja

Cheers,
Tyler