Originally posted by @gswilm
Frankie Schaeffer
changed my mind
- sonship
A couple of customer reviews of "Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God: How to give love, create beauty and find peace" from Amazon
FIVE STAR REVIEW
"Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God" reads like the kind of bestselling fiction that causes chores to be left undone and sleep to be missed. Mr. Schaeffer has defied logic and managed to bring these polar opposite beliefs together with gifted writing that is within an inch of being magical. His personal honesty is unrestrained and the love emanating throughout the book is almost palpable. I found the book deeply thought-provoking, moving, reassuring and incredibly interesting. The depiction of his relationships with his friends, mother, wife, children, and especially his grandchildren, is so full of raw emotion that it illuminates the love taught and lived by Jesus himself. Favorite quote from the book: "Jesus believed in God rather than a book about God."
FOUR STAR REVIEW
This is a very personal book with a provocative title. The author bares his soul (of course if you are an atheist you may not believe you have a soul). His upbringing had a profound effect on the author. I did not agree with some of his interpretations of scripture, some of which seems to have been influenced by his unusual, for me, upbringing. I learned much from reading Mr. Schaeffer's book. Would love to meet him.
ONE STAR REVIEW
Schaffer is taking advantage of the fact that atheism has no actual beliefs, no hierarchy of leadership, no doctrine, nor dogma upon which to subscribe, and thus no structure of authority from which to call out his disingenuous, misleading and fraudulent exploitation of the concept and nature of atheism. Atheism is a lack of belief in god(s), pure and simple, and Schaffer does not seem to even understand what atheism is, much less be an atheist himself, much less be even remotely qualified to wax philosophically about what other atheists believe, how they live their lives, and where they find meaning (hint: he doesn't think they do).
His book is not about atheism, and neither does he have any sort of firm grasp on the concept. It's a catchy marketing ploy to make money while he spams pages of uninspiring dribble about mundane family matters, and occasionally promote his wholly unoriginal, new-agey pseudo philosophy, which is basically liberal christianity in a plain brown envelope. Anybody can do this. And anybody could publish a piece of trash like this and pretend. I encourage others to try it. For it's unlikely they could do as poorly as "Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God" by Frank Schaeffer.
AMAZON BLURB
Caught between the beauty of his grandchildren and grief over a friend’s death, Frank Schaeffer finds himself simultaneously believing and not believing in God—an atheist who prays. Schaeffer wrestles with faith and disbelief, sharing his innermost thoughts with a lyricism that only great writers of literary nonfiction achieve. Schaeffer writes as an imperfect son, husband and grandfather whose love for his family, art and life trumps the ugly theologies of an angry God and the atheist vision of a cold, meaningless universe. Schaeffer writes that only when we abandon our hunt for certainty do we become free to create beauty, give love and find peace.
http://tinyurl.com/ya487ye3
Frankie Schaeffer
14 Oct '17 10:592 edits
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