Comments on: I Sold My Soul On eBay Review: Letters from a Broad…

By: Mike C

Mike C — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 05:44:59 +0000

I might add that at points in the book Hemant encourages Christians to invite more atheists and other non-Christians to come and dialogue about their beliefs at the church (an excellent idea!). And he kind of challenges us by saying “Why not? If your beliefs are right then you have nothing to fear by presenting the opposing view. Right?”

I think I might say the same thing to you Unbrainwashed. If your atheist views are right, if truth is on your side, then you should have nothing to fear by non-believers going to church and giving Christianity a fair shake. Right?

By: Friendly Atheist » Chicago Reader Article

Friendly Atheist » Chicago Reader Article — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 05:04:28 +0000

[...] Remember how I said in the previous posting that, judging by her picture, Carol could beat me up? [...]

By: Hemant

Hemant — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 03:56:14 +0000

Unbrainwashed– It’s a fair question, and I try to answer it in the book. I should say I’m not telling churches how to recruit new members, per se. One problem with church is that when people get bored or upset with their church, they leave and then ignore the question of religion altogether. I don’t want that to happen. I want them to think about it– and for me, the only logical conclusion is atheism. I want people to learn from the church, though, that it is worthwhile to reach out to people who may not be religious and work together with them. I want them to do more charity work without proselytizing. Some better churches teach that common sense and kindness is more important than dogma. These are the churches I want to make better. And if people who were religious went to those churches, I don’t think we’d be in as bad a position as we are currently.

By: Bjorn Watland

Bjorn Watland — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 03:21:18 +0000

Unbrainwashed –

I’ll put in my two cents. I think religion can be used for good or evil. And, not everyone of a certain faith believes the same thing. Painting religion, or even a certain religion with a broad brush, by saying, Christians cause more suffering then they cure, or Islam is violent at its core, can be disrespectful of the people of those faiths who are peaceful. If there were no religion, would there still be war? I think so. I think wars are caused because there are limited resources on the planet, and people fight for power and control of those resources. The reasons for war would just change. Consider the US occupation of Iraq. We are a secular nation, occupying another secular nation. There are cultural differences, political, national, racial, and sexual differences between people which can motivate people into fighting for their representative groups.

By: The Unbrainwashed

The Unbrainwashed — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:20:20 +0000

Hemant, I have a quesiton concerning your book. I condone the parts that deal with creating a better understanding between atheists and christians. We have to live together and it’s best to be cordial with each other. But the parts of the your book that most puzzles me (and that’s an understatement) are the ones delaing with church recruitment.

You give advice to churches about what works and doesn’t in regards to recruiting new members. This is very powerful advice, especially coming from an outsider and nonbeliever. I just can’t fathom why you would include this in your book. You’re an atheist and I assume you note the violence and destruction, regardless of the waste of time and inanity, that religion can ignite. Why would you be offering advice that can increase the amount of believers in this already religiously deluged country? Shouldn’t atheists be wary of increased church membership, not advocating and helping it?

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:10:56 +0000

I’m excited to finally read the book (heard a/b it such a long time ago from Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, MI)…
…just so you know, there are christians out there listening; there are movements of those saying, ‘wait a minute, maybe we are missing the point…’

thanks for writing this & pouring out your true & honest thoughts/feelings…

By: Siamang

Siamang — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:22:04 +0000

On a posting spree, Dan?

Your God doesn’t own me. Your God doesn’t exist, remember?

By: Dan Marvin

Dan Marvin — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:17:43 +0000

remember it isn’t your to sell. God owns you my friend

By: Daily Wackadoo

Daily Wackadoo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:22:24 +0000

I’ll be picking up your book soon. I don’t think I’m as friendly as you are though

I think I would go nuts with people telling me to believe in the Easter Bunny and other myths out there.

By: C. L. Hanson

C. L. Hanson — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:59:26 +0000

Thanks, I hope my review will be helpful in terms of giving people a taste of what this book is all about!!!

By the way, I’m just kidding about fighting you for the title “friendly atheist.” In reality I chose my more specific title before I’d even heard of your blog because my blog covers a bunch of other topics in addition to atheism.