Easter is coming.

if you really want to get riled up, check out aron ra's videos. he's a great speaker and one who comes prepared. sure, he's an atheist, but you might get some good insight into some solid logic/reason. here are some great links from his youtube channel:

“believing what you know ain't so”

“faith is not a virtue”

“giving the devil his due”

“why it matters what we believe”


i also highly recommend sam harris who just might be the best speaker i've ever heard. he has some amazing books out there that i cannot talk highly enough of. read, in this order:

“the end of faith: religion, terror, and the future of reason”

“letter to a christian nation” (while this is more akin to a short letter of sorts, it's absolutely integral to the sam harris bibliography and history to what he's all about. many christians were upset with his first book (end of faith), responded in a vitriolic manner... which prompted harris to reply with l.t.a.c.n. as a more complete response. while it is short, it's very poignant to what he enjoys talking about, and more importantly; what propelled him into fame)

“waking up: a guide to spirituality without religion”

you can follow harris on his twitter, or check out his new podcast which is a good insight into how he discusses things. i recommend starting from the beginning, but you can listen to his recent session, “through the eyes of a cult” to see how he talks and what he's passionate about. he's never let me down and always encourages me to keep seeking and to keep asking questions!


also, it goes without saying probably, to check out the classic atheists:

christopher hitchens

richard dawkins

dan dennett.

all these guys are masters in their craft and challenge religion and encourage people to have critical thought. some books i recommend by these guys are:

god is not great: how religion poisons everything (hitchens)

the god delusion (dawkins)

breaking the spell: religion as a natural phenomenon (denette)

lastly, i want to give a shout out the excellent peek inside creationism, a small book written by jason rosenhouse, called among the creationists – this book has done a good job of giving me some insightful thinking and even a few laughs.


this also wouldn't be complete without a few science-based shoutouts, for the obvious reasons – so here are some encouraging selections:

cosmos (sagan)

the demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark (sagan)

the selfish gene (dawkins)

undeniable: evolution and the science of creation (nye) (also be sure to look out for bill nye's reprint of this book, where he corrects some mistakes he wrote about based on g.m.o.s... due out this summer, apparently)

also, thanks to a random redditor who i came across last month, recommended jerry coyne's why evolution is true!


thanks for reading all of this if you did, and remember; we're all here to talk, be agnostics, atheists, or exchristians. i encourage you to also check out /r/exchristian subreddit, as it may help you talk things openly with people that are going through the exact same thing you are, or have in the past.

LLAP!

/r/agnostic Thread