In Defense of Atheism: The Case Against Christianity Judaism and Islam

I had for a long time believed that god's & religions were an invention of man. This publication was a terrific aid in discovering what I needed to decide that I was a humanist, a polite label for an atheist. You too will enjoy this book if you are looking for proof of what cannot be found in any bible.

This book (Atheist Manifesto, translated by Jeremy Leggatt from Michel Onfray's French) was a pleasure to read as it retained much of that foregone existentialist slant that continental philosophy (in perhaps the most famous form; Nietzsche) is known for. Onfray writes beautifully and sets the pace from the start (page 3) by stating that his "atheism leaps to life when private belief becomes a public matter, when in the name of a personal mental pathology we organize a world for others." His book proceeds in 2-3 page bursts and exudes a robust knowledge of information that one could spend a great deal of time independently researching and expanding, certainly without loss. Cheers to Onfray for another stellar book that we in the epicenter of religious lunacy are privileged enough to read.

*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. Here in Canada, the English translation's title is "In Defense of Atheism", which is unfortunate, the tone of the book being far from defensive (It's rather scathingly critical). *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.

The 2 last reviewers said it all. I would like to add that the book presents a very difficult topic and is very easy to read due to the clear balanced way Mr Onfray exposes his point of view. Loved this book. A must read as we go into this complex century.You don't have to be an atheist to like this book,you have to have an open mind.