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From ancient Greece to modern America, from short essays to long arguments, from individual lives to history and philosophy, in words reasoned quietly or
shouted loudly,
The Atheist God Would Read (or watch or listen) . . . offers a wide range of books for rational people in an often irrational world.
New titles added weekly. Plus DVDs, MP3s and more.
Added February 2010: Fiction: an eclectic selection of
novels and short stories from an atheist perspective. Come browse.
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Science is the only method we have of determining facts.
Facts exist whether or not we are aware of them. The Americas
existed long before the first people arrived
there. Blood circulated in the bodies of humans and animals long before
the phenomenon was described by Ibn al-Nafis in the thirteenth century or
by William Harvey three hundred years later.
Knowledge is the information that people have about the
universe in which they live. As individuals, we assume that
our knowledge is accurate, but we may be wrong. How accurate our knowledge is, and
how willing and able we are to amend it depends partly on
on our personalities and partly on our exposure to new information.
Together, people have shared knowledge. This is much greater than individual
knowledge - not everyone knows about medieval Persian poets or baseball
scores in the 1960s. Shared knowledge is also more accurate - more people
know that the capital of Nigeria is Abuja than hold the mistaken belief
that it is Lagos.
Even though shared knowledge is more accurate than individual knowledge, it is not accepted by everyone. This is because people learn things in different ways and have different abilities to understand what they learn. A prime example of shared knowledge which many people reject is evolution.
We learn about facts and update our individual and shared
knowledge through science.
What is science? Although we talk about "the sciences", such as biology and physics, which represent bodies of knowledge, science itself is not something we know but a system of acquiring knowledge.
This system is critical in determining facts. The
components of science are:
a. observation of a phenomenon
example: rainfall
b. creation of a hypothesis (a possible
explanation for the phenomenon)
example: rainfall is caused by a
supernatural being
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How good is your reasoning?
Can you distinguish lies from truth? Or a good
argument from a false one? Can you when tell someone is trying to pull
the wool over your eyes?
We keep physically fit by exercising regularly and eating healthy
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food. The same is true of our minds - we need regular mental exercise and a good diet of
solid facts and logic.
This chapter offers basic reasoning skills to help you understand the contradictions
that lie at the heart of all religion.
0.1: Basic principles
Start at the beginning
0.2: What do we know?
Separate fact from fiction
0.3: Start with the question ...
... not with the answer
0.4: All the evidence ...
... not just some of it
0.5: Cause and correlation
They're not the same
0.6: Don't jump to conclusions ...
... or you could land in the ...
0.7: No way
Proving a negative
0.8: Occam's Razor
The simplest solution
0.9: Facts, knowledge and science
What we know and how we know it
0.10: Know or believe?
The impossibility of God
0.11: Reason and faith
Understanding the difference
0.12: Summary
Finished the introduction? Move on to
Chapter 1
Defining God
Does God exist? Before we try to answer that question we
need to have a clear idea of who or what God is. How do we
describe God? What versions of God are on offer?
Not sure what you're looking for?
If there's a word that you don't recognize, it might be defined
here.
If there's a topic you're looking for, check one of the Search
boxes on this page.
If there's something you want to ask, send an
e-mail. We can't guarantee an answer,
but we'll do our best.
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c. testing of the hypothesis
example: does prayer lead to rainfall?
if testing shows the hypothesis is not accurate in every identical situation*, reject it
and create a new hypothesis
if the hypothesis proves predictable and accurate...
d. ...accept the hypothesis as fact.
Facts proved by science become part of shared human knowledge, irrespective of whether people are aware of, accept or reject them.
Several methods of investigating or describing phenomena are not
scientific, either because they do not make hypotheses which can be
predicted and tested or because they make hypotheses which fail.
These non-sciences include astrology,
Creationism and
Intelligent Design.
We will come back to the questions of Creationism and Intelligent Design later.
For the moment all we need to remember is that
science is the only method we have of determining facts.
* This is known as predictability. A hypothesis can only be accepted as fact if it accurately predicts
the outcome of a test every time. For example, if
pure water is heated at sea-level, we can predict it will always convert to steam at 100 degrees Celsius.
Water's boiling point is no longer a hypothesis; it is fact.
This is the end of the basic course in reasoning.
If you want a short cut to atheism, read the final two chapters in this section -
Know or believe?
and Reason and faith
- or go to a fuller discussion at
Instant atheism!.
If you'd prefer to take the long
road and analyse the evidence for and against
God's existence, move to Chapter One:
Defining God.
And if you've forgotten
some of the points made so far, check out the
summary to this introduction.
Do you have a question / comment about this page?
Email us, pasting the URL into your letter with the comment
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one-off request to verify your email before it is delivered.
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If God existed, he would...
admire the beauty of a universe that he did not create
recognize that eternity is meaningless
deny both heaven and hell
disown all men and women who speak in his name
denounce the harm caused by religious "morality"
help the human race to thrive without him
If God existed, he would be an atheist.
What is the difference between science and faith?
science is certain of nothing and requires proof of everything
faith is certain of everything and requires proof of nothing
Which do you trust?
"I know there is no God"
or
"I believe there is no God"
???
Check the answer
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