After seeing the title of this book, you may have thought to yourself, "Great, another book about religion and why we should leave it behind. Aren't there enough volumes in this genre of books out there already?" I suppose that the short answer is, yes, there are certainly more than a handful of books that fit within this niche. The longer answer is no,there are not enough books on the subject. Before you jump to the idea that these are two conflicting statements and you have yet to get past the first page of the book, let me explain.
Yes, there are a variety of books about atheism, the evils of religion, creationism versus evolution, and the logical problems with the idea of faith. The vast majority of them are very good reads and, if you have yet to read any of them, you will see references to some of them throughout this volume. A thirst for more knowledge is never a bad thing and satiating that thirst is essential to our growth as human beings.
However, there are so many different types of people in the world. Some seem to grasp just about any concept you throw at them with incredible ease. Others may need you to slow down so that they can "take it all in" and process what you've told them at a different pace. No matter what type of individual you are, the fact is that you may perceive something presented to you in a different manner than I would if the same idea had been presented to me. The reasons for this difference in perception are widely varied and range from our own biases to the varying degrees of our education.
My goal is to present some of these often debated topics in a manner that bypasses some of these separating factors and simply gets to the meat of the subjects. If you're looking to find the eloquence of Christopher Hitchens, I recommend picking up one of his many books; this book is probably not for you. If you're looking for a book that goes straight for the jugular of the faithful in an almost calculating manner, wrought with precise evolutionary biology terms, please put this book down and pick up Richard Dawkins' volume, "The God Delusion." (Lest my words be misconstrued, that was not meant to be an attack upon Dr. Richard Dawkins. I have garnered a great deal of information from his books and debates. However, the manner in which his arguments are laid out to the average layperson are such that they seem to shut down discussion, rather than open up a sincere dialogue. That methodology is fine if you are simply presenting facts. However, if you really want to understand a person and why they think the way they do (and vice versa), a discussion needs to take place. That is what I am hoping to accomplish here; open up a true dialogue that will lend itself to a deeper understanding of one another.)
