Why I Am Not a Christian (Richard Carrier)
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Paperback - USA - 1st edition. |
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Why I Am Not a Christian: Four Conclusive Reasons to Reject the Faith is a non-fiction book written by Richard Carrier and published on 2011-02-28. As the title suggests, if puts forth arguments against Christianity (and Christian-like religions). The title is very similar to the earlier, and more famous book, Why I'm Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell.
Carrier describes four arguments in the book including the problem of instruction, the argument from divine hiddenness, the lack of extraordinary evidence, and the fact that the universe appears naturalistic. These arguments weren't formulated by Carrier, they are many years old, but Carrier views them as the most damning arguments against Christianity and describes them in his own words.
Personal
| Own? | No. |
|---|---|
| Read? | Audiobook read by Richard Carrier. |
| Finished | 2023-12-28. |
I saw a debate with Richard Carrier, then attended one of his lectures sometime in the 2010s. While I enjoyed his work, after his creepy behavior against women was made public, and he responded by suing several people for millions of dollars, I lost respect for him as a person. My lack of respect doesn't invalidate his arguments, so, when I came across this book, and saw it was short and I wouldn't have to invest much time in it, I was curious to read it, despite my distaste for the author.
Review
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Overall: |
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Good
- The four arguments Carrier articulates are indeed damning against most religions and each is well described. Each successfully defeats claims made by many religions, especially Christianity, and all four together make the religion seem ridiculous.
- Carrier uses several good analogies and turns apologist arguments around like saying the fine-tuning argument only makes sense if you assume the universe were designed to make black holes.
Bad
- Carrier goes on a bit too long becoming redundant in some of the arguments. He never becomes dull, but repetition isn't necessary considering the point of a short work is to only say as much as is necessary.
Ugly
- Nothing.
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