50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God in Atheists and Skeptics

Aug 18, 2008 Kaylee rated it liked it

When I heard the author (Guy Harrison) interviewed on the Point of Inquiry podcast, he felt that the main audience for the book is believers. Frankly, I think he's deluding himself. People (religious and nonreligious alike) generally read books that confirm their beliefs, not books seeking to dissuade them. I just don't see a religious person reading this book through unless he/she wanted to refute it. Perhaps it would be read by a believer who is starting to doubt his/her religion.

That said, i When I heard the author (Guy Harrison) interviewed on the Point of Inquiry podcast, he felt that the main audience for the book is believers. Frankly, I think he's deluding himself. People (religious and nonreligious alike) generally read books that confirm their beliefs, not books seeking to dissuade them. I just don't see a religious person reading this book through unless he/she wanted to refute it. Perhaps it would be read by a believer who is starting to doubt his/her religion.

That said, it's a remarkable book. Guy Harrison is correct IMO that most books for atheists are too militant. 50 Reasons offers a softer, conversational approach. It's a nice manual for athiests and secular humanists to use in conversation with their religious friends and family members. Points raised in this book can be used to encourage believers to think critically about their religion. Chapter 20 in particular ("Athiests are jerks who think they know everything") really gets at how to dialogue best with believers. Harrison suggests questioning the believer rather than badgering them with arguments.

Harrison systematically and gently exposes the logical fallacy behind each reason for believing in a god. He offers tons of useful arguments for the athiest or secular humanist to use when discussing religion with believers. The nice thing is, the arguments aren't necessarily argumentative. An athiest and believer could enjoy a nice meal together while discussing any of these reasons.

I sincerely hope that this books gets into wide circulation among athiests, secular humanists, and the skeptical community at large. It's very useful and will open many more minds than The God Delusion ever could.

The book is consisely organized with one chapter per reason, a brief introduction and no afterward. A bibliography and recommended reading list follow each reason. The language is for the layperson and very easy to read.

Edited to add: As I read more of the 50 Reasons, it seems like a lot of the atheist's comebacks revolve around the multiplicity of religions. How do you know which holy book is true? Must be none of them. How do you rectify a Christian who has heard words directly from Jesus and a Muslim who has heard Allah speak to him? Both experiences can't be real. And so it goes. A good argument, but don't expect a new and different comeback for each of the 50 Reasons that Harrison lists. ...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Charles rated it liked it

I was having a back and forth (more backward that forward)with another reviewer of this book on Goodreads who criticized the author for not addressing the more nuanced "intellectual" theologies of his pet favorites. To which I replied:

As to why Harrison doesn't specifically said theologians, you are well aware, I think, that this book was intended for more mass consumption.

"Well, that about sums it up. No serious thought, no intellectual vigor, no careful consideration. It was written for athei ...more

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Sep 01, 2008 Elaine rated it really liked it

A great read. He pretty much covered (and responded to) every reason I have heard.

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Feb 08, 2010 Melanie rated it it was ok

It wasn't really what I was looking for. I had hoped to gain insight into why people believe in gods but this book is not that. It goes through 50 reasons people give for believing in gods and then explains to them why those reasons really aren't valid. As it turns out, many of the reasons, and therefore many of the explanations, are quite similar to each other. And it is quite possible that the reasons people say they believe in gods are not the real reasons they actually believe in them. For e ...more

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