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In Defense Of Atheism (Hardcover)

by Michel Onfray (Author)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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4 used from CDN$ 13.16

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Product Details

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Viking Canada; 1 edition (Jan 30 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0670067245
ISBN-13: 978-0670067244

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #87,374 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Book Description

In the twenty-first century, religion is making a comeback, bringing in its wake extremism of all kinds. From Christian anti-abortion campaigns to suicide bombers claiming the righteousness of Islam, we are witnessing a resurgence of fundamentalism. In this seminal work, Michel Onfray exposes the destructive history of organized religion and the fiction that is God while presenting a new, authentic atheism that celebrates life and humanity.

Onfray goes back to the origins of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism to show how their scriptures have been dissected and altered, censored and rewritten by their religious leaders and zealots to suit their particular agendas. Using both historical records and religious texts, he reveals how each of these religions has fostered hatred towards women, reason, the human body, sexuality, pleasure, and individual freedom, and argues that the incalculable damage that religious intolerance has been responsible for is an abuse of power that we simply cannot endure any longer.

A book that is bound to provoke debate, this European bestseller is indispensable reading for anyone concerned with the role of religion in society today.

About the Author

Michel Onfray was born in 1959. He is the author of over thirty books. A high-school philosophy teacher for twenty years, he resigned from the state education sector and in 2002 set up the free University of Caen. He divides his time between Normandy and Paris.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Michel Onfray dissects precisely, using a magnifying glass..., Feb 20 2007

By	Fouad Boussetta (Montreal, Qc, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

*This absolutely excellent work is a very precise deconstruction of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, charting the historic origins and evolution of these three closely related monotheisms.

*The original title in French is "Traite d'Atheologie", which accurately describes the contents. The English translation's title in Canada ("In Defense of Atheism") is unfortunate, the tone of the book being far from defensive (It's rather scathingly critical). In the United States, it's "Atheist Manifesto", which is a much more fitting title.

*Onfray is a very popular French philosopher, and I tremendously enjoyed his literary style: it's both flowery and ... meaty.

*The author obviously spent a tremendous amount of time pouring over the so-called "holy" texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (and other books). There are no factual errors in his work to my knowledge.

*Critics complain Onfray ignores the good side of religion. Well, he doesn't: he just dismisses it as relatively insignificant compared to its atrocious side.

*Onfray interestingly observes that even though our western societies are now secular, they are still pretty much stuck with judeo-christian values
(See for example the institution of marriage or the bioethics debates).

*I highly recommend this book, that I just finished reading today in its
original language.

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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Proceed with Caution, April 8 2007

By	B. Eitzen (T.O, Canada) - See all my reviews

This book was brilliantly written. Atheism was approached unapologetically from the introduction. This book is definately not for the faint of heart or strong of faith. It presents as its first point that people of faith have been prevented from becoming adults mentally and have to be kept in a childish state of mind in order to remain failthful. This book cannot be read with any defensiveness, it must be taken for what it is and that is a study of atheology, just as one would read a text book on Christianity. Take a deep breath and read on.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give unto Ceasar ..., Nov 25 2007

By	Michel Virard (Montreal) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Actually, the French edition of this book, "Trait� d'ath�ologie" (January 2005), predates the current broadside of English atheist books by more than a year (The God Delusion release was October 2006). I did enjoy very much the detail accounts of many religious diktats, especially the ones from the Islamic world since I, living in the West, am far less familiar with its oddities than with the closer Christian and Jewish customs. There are some good laughs that you will, undoubtedly, share with your best (atheist) friends.

For a Canadian that can read the other national language, there is now a wealth of French re-edition of rare books from an often ignored author, yet arguably the father of modern atheism: the baron d'Holbach. More than two hundred years ago, he pretty well debunked the entire religious edifice and yet survived the publishing of those books, many of them burnt at the stake.

Enjoy

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't Waste Your Money on This Book!
Briefly, I had high hopes for this book, only to be quickly disillusioned. I had two major disappointments. One, Onfray does not know his subject. Read more

Published 20 months ago by W. J. Douglas Ball

3.0 out of 5 stars ok
This book is more about questioning the practice and beliefs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and less about the case for Atheism. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Brown Sox

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading a page turner
I concur with the earlier review of Onfrays in Defense of Atheism however object to the publisher changing the title to suit the Canadian audience. Read more

Published on Mar 9 2007 by Linda Selbie