Sunday, May 06, 2012

The Atheist’s guide to discussion with Catholics

TheAtheistsGuideToI do a few book reviews here on Deep Thoughts. It’s not something I push much, because of the time commitment involved, but I’m about to change that as I plan to do more. I’m starting with a small self-published book called The Atheist’s guide to discussion with Catholics by James Clark. It’s $2.99 on Amazon.

Mr. Clark organizes 50 different topics into a discussion discussion guide that uses plain English and easy to understand explanations to cover various aspects in Catholicism and Christianity. I found the book an easy read, and interesting. The target audience is a person who is not well versed in religion, the bible, or theology.

Topics covered include:

  • Epicurean Paradox
  • We would not have moral guidance without God
  • Bible Contradiction
  • Purgatory
  • Noah’s Ark
  • Pedophilia
  • Witch hunts

This book is not a deep tome, nor does it cover it’s subjects in detail. Consider it a mostly accurate summary of the subjects covered from an Atheist’s perspective. It’s short, at 33 pages, with most sections are just a few paragraphs long. If you are unfamiliar with Catholicism, this book will give a few good discussion points and prime you for a deeper dive.

The history behind this book is fascinating. James Clark was born in Jijeka, Croatia to a atheist father and and slightly theist mother. Clark was taught as a boy to think for himself. Since Croatia is mostly Christian, Clark cataloged his thoughts and ideas so that he could use them when talking to Christians. This book is the first 50 topics and was translated to English from Clark’s native Croatian. The next 50 topics are pending. 

I’m a fan. Well done Mr. Clark.

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