Synopses & Reviews
For thousands of years, the faithful have honed proselytizing strategies and talked people into believing the truth of one holy book or another. Indeed, the faithful often view converting others as an obligation of their faith — and are trained from an early age to spread their unique brand of religion. The result is a world broken in large part by unquestioned faith. As an urgently needed counter to this tried-and-true tradition of religious evangelism, A Manual for Creating Atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith — but for talking them out of it. Peter Boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition, and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.
Review
“There is nothing else on the market like this book that helps atheists talk believers out of their faith. Every atheist interested in doing so, or who talks to believers about faith at all, should read it. It’s both needed and brilliant!” John W. Loftus, author of Why I Became an Atheist and The Outsider Test for Faith
Review
“Boghossian has provided an indispensable chart book for all of us who must navigate the rising sea of magical thinking that is inundating America today.” Victor Stenger, Ph.D., author of God: The Failed Hypothesis and God and the Atom
Review
“If we want to live in world that is safer and more rational for all, then this is the guidebook we have been waiting for. Relying on extensive experience and a deep concern for humanity, Peter Boghossian has produced a game changer. This is not a book to read while relaxing in a hammock on a sunny afternoon. This is the how-to manual to take into the trenches of everyday life where minds are won and lost in the struggle between reason and madness.” Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian and Race and Reality
About the Author
Dr. Peter Boghossian is a full-time faculty member in Portland State University's philosophy department. He was thrown out of the doctoral program in the University of New Mexico's philosophy department.
Dr. Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine and the executive director of the Skeptics Society.