So these discussions have me wanting to research and learn about other religions and non-religions more. I have found three books that looked interesting and will start reading them and I will share them on here because I believe others on here will enjoy them. I am going to post Amazon.coms descriptions of these books. And I will include the price, link to amazon, and location I bought them if you want to go get them. Hopefully these can lead to some good discussions. I have not yet read any of these. I just bought them, and will start reading them soon. So my apologies if they are bad. It would be awesome if we all shared books that would fit in this category and helped shape their point of views.

My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith:
Bought at Big Lots for $3.00
Raised as an Orthodox Jew, mostly in Atlanta, Cohen, editor of Jewish Life in Americamagazine, obsessed over the church across the street from his childhood home—a home onto which his father, a rabbi, added a place of worship for Orthodox services. Struck by a crisis of faith, and not long after marrying the converted daughter of a Baptist minister, he decided to see if Jesus couldn't lead him back to Judaism. Each week, mere hours after celebrating the Jewish Sabbath, he'd attend Sunday services. He visited myriad denominational churches, Faith Day at Turner Field, Winter Jam at the Georgia Dome and even the home church of Ultimate Christian Wrestling. After 30-odd years of speculating that the sun shines brighter on the church side of the street, and 52 weeks of an Oz-like journey, his yarmulke turned out to have the same power as Dorothy's red shoes. A delicious olio of guilt, longing, surprise, wonder, unease and of course humor, Cohen's quest has universal appeal. One need not be Jewish, Christian or even a seeker to enjoy this wonderful loop around the Bible Belt.

War, Peace and Non-Violence:
Bought At Books-A-Million for $1.00
Drawing from the traditions and teachings of the Prophet, Imam Muhammad Shirazi offers solutions to the issues faced by countries worldwide, especially issues of war and peace, nonviolence, social justice, and human rights. He also touches on the subjects of collaborative governments, freedom of expression, economics, and legal systems. His writings provide answers to anyone seeking clarity on these subjects with regard to Islamic beliefs and practice.

Spiritual Evolution: How We Are Wired for Faith, Hope, and Love:
Bought at Books-A-Million for $1.00
Vaillant believes that humans are hardwired for positive emotions and that those emotions are essential to survival as a species. Defining spirituality as a combination of love, hope, joy, forgiveness, compassion, faith, awe, and gratitude that binds people together (“Spirituality is more about us than me”), he argues that it has a biological basis. Inspired by the “relatively new” scientific disciplines of ethology (animal behavior) and neuroscience and using prayers, poetry, and song lyrics to illustrate his points, Vaillant explores the evolution of language and the development of human brain function, discusses the differences between right and left brain hemispheres, and examines the mammalian limbic system. He comments on the often exceedingly slow maturation of human culture and in the last chapter discusses the differences between religion and spirituality. Written in an accessible, jargon-free style, this is a thoughtful, compassionate, and hopeful survey of how far humanity has come and how far it still has to go on the cultural-spiritual continuum.

I think the Bible and Koran should be the first books anyone should read if they wanted to get into religion.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Says it all, really. I didn't actually read it, I listened to the audio version, which Dawkins and his wife read, and do quite a good job of it. It examines the scientific basis for religious beliefs, and make compelling scientific arguments about why god(s) don't most likely exist.

God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Though Hitchens is an apologist for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he really skewers organized religion in this book, and he skewers ALL major religions, not just the Big Three. Hinduism, and Gandhi in particular, get carved up a treat. I was a little uncomfortable when he attacked Martin Luther King, but he made good points about him, such as he fact that he was known to have cheated on his wife, despite his flawless public persona. Another eye-opener was that the Bris (Jewish ritual circumcision) is traditionally performed by a rabbi WITH HIS TEETH! Apparently it still goes on in NYC.

The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan. Examines irrational beliefs. Been a long time since I've read it; I'm due for a re-read.

Fiction:
1984 by George Orwell. Apart from the political importance of this classic book, I am convinced that Big Brother is a metaphor for God. Years ago I wrote a proposal to a literary journal for an article examining that idea. They sent me a letter back saying that it was a crackpot idea and that I lacked credentials.

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller. I think a lot of this was lost on me since I was never Catholic, but I still got a lot out of it. The premise is that in a long-post-apocalypse US, 21st-century engineers (Leibowitz chief among them) are beatified by the church, and their blueprints are held as sacred texts.

Posted by splumer God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Though Hitchens is an apologist for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he really skewers organized religion in this book, and he skewers ALL major religions, not just the Big Three. Hinduism, and Gandhi in particular, get carved up a treat. I was a little uncomfortable when he attacked Martin Luther King, but he made good points about him, such as he fact that he was known to have cheated on his wife, despite his flawless public persona. Another eye-opener was that the Bris (Jewish ritual circumcision) is traditionally performed by a rabbi WITH HIS TEETH! Apparently it still goes on in NYC. .... Fiction: 1984 by George Orwell. Apart from the political importance of this classic book, I am convinced that Big Brother is a metaphor for God. Years ago I wrote a proposal to a literary journal for an article examining that idea. They sent me a letter back saying that it was a crackpot idea and that I lacked credentials. ....

I was looking in the religion and philosophy section and saw a book by Christopher Hitchens brother. Its about how his brothers view made him find religion. I forgot the name of the book, i think it was Atheism Lead Me to God, or something along those lines.

And I will completely agree with on 1984. I can very easily see that. Especially since a lot of people are so scared of God and behave in such a manner to make God upset and get in trouble.

i have never been afraid of the concept of god. what terrifies me is the effect that the concept of god has on people and what lengths those people are willing go to make you believe in that god.

Posted by splumer A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller. I think a lot of this was lost on me since I was never Catholic, but I still got a lot out of it. The premise is that in a long-post-apocalypse US, 21st-century engineers (Leibowitz chief among them) are beatified by the church, and their blueprints are held as sacred texts.

A great book! I still have the old, yellowed water damaged copy I bought at a paperback shack in the 80's. In the story, the Church is the only organization that worked to hoard and preserve written texts after the survivors of the nuclear holocaust purposely destroyed all knowledge and technology, believing it was what led to their destruction. Over the centuries monks would make beautiful illuminated manuscript copies of things they didn't understand, like a basic mathematics textbook. But they knew what they had was valuable and worked to preserve it, until someone could figure it out.

Posted by Esoterik A great book! I still have the old, yellowed water damaged copy I bought at a paperback shack in the 80's. In the story, the Church is the only organization that worked to hoard and preserve written texts after the survivors of the nuclear holocaust purposely destroyed all knowledge and technology, believing it was what led to their destruction. Over the centuries monks would make beautiful illuminated manuscript copies of things they didn't understand, like a basic mathematics textbook. But they knew what they had was valuable and worked to preserve it, until someone could figure it out.

Dunno about you, but I had a devil of a time tracking this down. None of the used book shops by me had it, even Borders didn't have it, and the library's two copies were always out. I finally found it in a shop in Ithaca, NY, and snatched it up immediately.

I'm interested in your take on it, though. Do you think it was pro- or anti-religion? Or neither? I'm not so sure myself.

Book that Shael gave me is kind of a fun take on the Jesus myth and I recommend it:

"Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christs' Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore.

Posted by Samurai Book that Shael gave me is kind of a fun take on the Jesus myth and I recommend it: "Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christs' Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore.

I was looking in the religion section and some religious nutjob brought that book their friend and said "hey this was in fiction! thats wrong His best friend should be here in the religious section!" Then they went and complained to an employee and teh employee had to explain it was a work of fiction and its a comedy. To which teh person replied "JESUS IS NOT FAKE!!! How DARE you say that!" and threw the book down and stormed out of the store. I was laughing so hard.

Posted by MonkeyPunchBaby I was looking in the religion section and some religious nutjob brought that book their friend and said "hey this was in fiction! thats wrong His best friend should be here in the religious section!" Then they went and complained to an employee and teh employee had to explain it was a work of fiction and its a comedy. To which teh person replied "JESUS IS NOT FAKE!!! How DARE you say that!" and threw the book down and stormed out of the store. I was laughing so hard.

it's actually a pretty funny book.

Ive been wanting to read it for awhile. One of my friends told me about it several years ago.

Here's some good ones:

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.

The Kybalion by the three initiates

Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P Hall

Posted by earthworm Here's some good ones: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. The Kybalion by the three initiates Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P Hall

i've actually read two of those books and own "Cat's Cradle"

Posted by splumer Dunno about you, but I had a devil of a time tracking this down. None of the used book shops by me had it, even Borders didn't have it, and the library's two copies were always out. I finally found it in a shop in Ithaca, NY, and snatched it up immediately. I'm interested in your take on it, though. Do you think it was pro- or anti-religion? Or neither? I'm not so sure myself.

I don't think it was for or against religion but the Catholic church, by recognizing the need to preserve knowledge and keeping their traditions, looked better than the greater society who launched the missiles or the mob in the aftermath who destroyed any trace of knowledge or technology (the 'Simpleton' movement). I think if destroyed society could be reconstructed today just by the staggering library kept in the Vatican, which has been collecting books since pen has been touching parchment.

Posted by Samurai i've actually read two of those books and own "Cat's Cradle"

I highly recommend the others as well. Get beyond religion. It would help in any significant investigation of just what that god concept is that a bunch of fools are on about.

Posted by earthworm Here's some good ones: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. The Kybalion by the three initiates Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P Hall

Ooh nice selection. I read and have all except Hero With a Thousand Faces

http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/

A must see for any thinking man (or woman).