Fifty Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists presents a collection of original essays drawn from an international group of prominent voices in the fields of academia, science, literature, media and politics who offer carefully considered statements of why they are atheists. Features a truly international cast of contributors, ranging from public intellectuals such as Peter Singer, Susan Blackmore, and A.C. Grayling, novelists, such as Joe Haldeman, and heavyweight philosophers of religion, including Graham Oppy and Michael Tooley. Contributions range from rigorous philosophical arguments to highly personal, even whimsical, accounts of how each of these notable thinkers have come to reject religion in their lives. Likely to have broad appeal given the current public fascination with religious issues and the reception of such books as The God Delusion and The End of Faith. ~ Product Description

Table of Contents

• • Acknowledgments ix
  • Introduction: Now More Important than Ever – Voices of Reason Russell Blackford Udo Schüklenk 1
  • Unbelievable! Russell Blackford 5
  • My "Bye Bull" Story Margaret Downey 10
  • How Benevolent Is God? – An Argument from Suffering to Atheism Nicholas Everitt 16
  • A Deal-Breaker Ophelia Benson 23
  • Why Am I a Nonbeliever? – I Wonder … J. L. Schellenberg 28
  • Wicked or Dead? Reflections on the Moral Character and Existential Status of God John Harris 33
  • Religious Belief and Self-Deception Adèle Mercier 41
  • The Coming of Disbelief J. J. C. Smart 48
  • What I Believe Graham Oppy 50
  • Too Good to Be True, Too Obscure to Explain: The Cognitive Shortcomings of Belief in God Thomas W. Clark 57
  • How to Think About God: Theism, Atheism, and Science Michael Shermer 65
  • A Magician Looks at Religion James Randi 78
  • Confessions of a Kindergarten Leper Emma Tom 82
  • Beyond Disbelief Philip Kitcher 86
  • An Ambivalent Nonbelief Tarter Edis 97
  • Why Not? Sean M. Carroll 105
  • Godless Cosmology Victor J. Stenger 112
  • Unanswered Prayers Christine Overall 118
  • Beyond Faith and Opinion Damien Broderick 123
  • Could It Be Pretty Obvious There’s No God? Stephen Law 129
  • Atheist, Obviously Julian Baggini 139
  • Why I am Not a Believer A. C. Grayling 145
  • Evil and Me Gregory Benford 157
  • Who’s Unhappy? Lori Lipman Brown 161
  • Reasons to be Faithless Sheila A. M. McLean 165
  • Three Stages of Disbelief Julian Savulescu 168
  • Born Again, Briefly Greg Egan 172
  • Cold Comfort Ross Upshur 177
  • The Accidental Exorcist Austin Dacey 182
  • Atheist Out of the Foxhole Joe Haldewan 187
  • The Unconditional Love of Reality Dale McGowan 191
  • Antinomies Jack Darin 197
  • GivingUp Ghosts and Gods Susan Blackmore 200
  • Some Thoughts on Why I Am an Atheist Tamas Pataki 204
  • No Gods, Please! Laura Purdy 214
  • Welcome Me Back to the World of the Thinking Kelly O’Connor 220
  • Kicking Religion Goodbye… Peter Adegoke 226
  • On Credenda Miguel Kottow 230
  • "Not Even Start to Ignore Those Questions!" A Voice of Disbelief in a Different Key Frieder Otto Wolf 236
  • Imagine No Religion Edgar Dahl 252
  • Humanism as Religion: An Indian Alternative Sumitra Padmanabhan 259
  • Why I Am NOT a Theist Prabir Ghosh 263
  • When the Hezbollah Came to My School Maryam Namazie 270
  • Evolutionary Noise, not Signal from Above Athena Andreadis 274
  • Gods Inside Michael R. Rose John P. Phelan 279
  • Why Morality Doesn’t Need Religion Peter Singer Marc Hauser 288
  • Doctor Who and the Legacy of Rationalism Sean Williams 294
  • My Nonreligious Life: A Journey From Superstition to Rationalism Peter Tatchell 300
  • Helping People to Think Critically About Their Religious Beliefs Michael Tooley 310
  • Human Self-Determination, Biomedical Progress, and God Udo Schüklenk 323
  • About the Contributors 332
  • Index 338