Originally posted by Crowley
That series takes forever to finish.
I'm into the 5th book now, I think there's 10 in the whole series... gets a bit tedious.
I think I stopped at the 6th book. Took it on holiday, just never managed to finish it.
Fav Authors.
C.S.Lewis (Narnia series)
David Gemmel -> Everything (fav: Waylander/Sword in the Storm)
Terrt Pratchet -> Everything
Asimov - I robot
Originally posted by aquitaneCome on, it was supposed to be a joke. The first four were the setup and the fifth one was the punchline. But seriously...
Interesting choices, Rwingett. I am a Christian but i have read three out of those five (Smith, Sagan, and, of course, Russell). I of course did't agree with much of them but did find them very interesting, mostly well-reasoned, and thought-provoking. I think any Christian who wished to engage in an intelligent dialogue should have to read such works. ...[text shortened]... you ever read any Christian authors who you tought were at the least thought-provoking?
~Tara
I have read the Chronicles of Narnia, does that count? I've read parts of the bible. I've read quite a bit about the philosophy of religion, which puts forward the arguments theists use in their case for the existence of god, and then gives an atheist rebuttal to such arguments. Plus we live in a society that bombards you with the implicit acceptance of christianity from birth. But I have not read very many explicitely religious authors. I do not think that means I am ill informed about both sides of the argument, though.
I didn't become an atheist because I read some atheistic books. Quite the opposite, I began to read atheistic books after I had already decided to become an atheist.
I agree with you, though, that christians should read some books which challenge their faith. If their faith withstands that test, then they can rightly go about their business. But an unexamined faith is a hollow one.
Originally posted by rwingettThat is very true - athiests live in a scoety (in America anyway) where their beliefs are much more challenged and questioned than are those of the average Christian and so consequently they can often speak of and defend their beliefs much more rationally than many Christians. And my encounter with both Christian books is the same as yours was with Athiestic ones - i did not start reading the Christian Apologists until after having become a Christian.
Plus we live in a society that bombards you with the implicit acceptance of christianity from birth. But I have not read very many explicitely religious authors. I do not think that means I am ill informed about both sides of the argument, though.
I didn't become an atheist because I read some atheistic books. Quite the opposite, I began to read atheist ...[text shortened]... t test, then they can rightly go about their business. But an unexamined faith is a hollow one. [/b]
~Tara
Originally posted by aquitaneMy girlfriend is a moderator on the agnostic/atheist forum at about.com, which has many contributors who are extremely knowledgable about the subject. Wide eyed fundamentalists frequently infiltrate the site from the christian forum and try to make some converts. But it's a very unequal contest. The christians are simply not used to having to think critically about their beliefs and end up getting cut to ribbons in debates with the atheists. It's very amusing to follow some of the threads.
That is very true - athiests live in a scoety (in America anyway) where their beliefs are much more challenged and questioned than are those of the average Christian and so consequently they can often speak of and defend their beliefs much more rationally than many Christians. And my encounter with both Christian books is the same as yours was with Athie ...[text shortened]... i did not start reading the Christian Apologists until after having become a Christian.
~Tara
uh. Are books them things what got them paper in 'em?
um. Cisco Certified Network Associate Study guide.
Any O'reilly series.
Mensa brain teasers.
Administrator's guide to Linux.
Unix: a database approach.
Palm OS programming.
That's what's on my shelf...
I've read 'Gerald's Game' (S. King) for personal reasons. eh. I kinda liked 'Needful Things' but not my favorite. Read through Apprentice Adept series by Piers Anthony about 3 times. All 6 HHGTTG and long dark tea time of the soul. (Miss you, D. Adams). Enjoying a bit of refresher on www.bartleby.com classics.
Seriously, though, I'm not a big reader, but will scour a programming manual.
For the 'other' side:
'The Cross and the Switchblade' CS Lewis
'Born Again' Chuck Colson
'Evidence that demands a verdict.' Josh McDowell
'Left Behind' Tim Lehay and Jerry B. Jenkins
(No wars here, please, and not that I've read anything I've listed here, except for the stuff I said I've read.)
--
🙂
I've been reading "Still Life With Woodpecker" By Tom Robbins. Here is an excerpt that I just had to share because it made me laugh out loud:
"It might be noted here that Freudian analysts of fairy tales have suggested that kissing toads and frogs is symbolized fellatio. In that regard, Princess Leigh-Cheri was, on a concious level, innocent, although not so naive as Queen Tilli, who thought that fellatio was an obscure Italian opera and was annoyed that she couldn't find the score."
Originally posted by rwingett
My girlfriend is a moderator on the agnostic/atheist forum at about.com, which has many contributors who are extremely knowledgable about the subject. Wide eyed fundamentalists frequently infiltrate the site from the christian forum and try to make some converts. But it's a very unequal contest. The christians are simply not used to having to think critically about their beliefs and end up getting cut to ribbons in debates with the atheists. It's very amusing to follow some of the threads.
Funny the same thing happens on the Christian forums only its the atheists that crash and burn. Try christianforums.com.
Perhaps I am being biassed here, but the majority of athiest moderators I have spoken to have been so anti-religious (much like you) that they simply couldn't do the job required. Essentially it doesn't take a Christian long to realise that the type of athiests that go to 'athiest' forums, happen to be those that really don't care for the Word. At that point, with all due respect, "casting pearls before swine" becomes applicable.
Anyway, back to the point.
Evidence for a historical Jesus - Josh McDowell was also a great read. And I enjoyed reading C.S. Lewis's "Surprised by Joy" and "The Screwtape letters", also C.S.Lewis's autobiography was pretty good.
cheers
Originally posted by shougiI'm reading a book of his short stories right now. I think it's called, "The Elephant Disappears," but don't quote me on it. Bizarre, but wildly interesting! I'm liking it a great deal.
Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. He also wrote Norweigan Wood.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and Alastair Reynold's Revelation Space series and Tolkein (of course!). Also, most of David Gemmell's output and the odd Dean Koontz and Tom Clancy. Oh, and anything by Robert Harris.
In the comics/graphic novels field, Neil Gaimen's Sandman, Mike Grell's run on Green Arrow and Peter David's on the Hulk and pretty much anything by Frank Miller.
And, Stephen Liu, with regard to whether to read Dune or Cujo - read both! Then you decide which YOU preferred. Reading is a personnal pleasure and no-one can decide for you what you will like! You might hate both, but then again, you might love 'em.
Originally posted by pcaspianThis has not been my experience at all - whenever I've looked through, or participated in discussions among atheists, I've found that most are extremely interested in "the world", and have indeed arived at their lack of belief (often from various superstitious or religious beliefs) through an arduous process of self-examination, and critical scrutiny of ideas.
Essentially it doesn't take a Christian long to realise that the type of athiests that go to 'athiest' forums, happen to be those that really don't care for the Word. At that point, with all due respect, "casting pearls before swine" becomes applicable.
I don't expect to convince you, or any other Christian believer of anything, but I do recommend you take the time to read the new thread I started in the Debates forum "Take a peak inside an atheist's head!".
My hope with that long text was to show that atheists don't typically come to their disbelief trivially, or without deep, intellectually honest examination of options.
-Jarno