Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Freethinker [Paperback]

David Eller (Author), Frank R. Zindler (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2008

Atheism Advanced answers many questions, including: Why must Atheists stop 'speaking Christian?' -- not only to prevent religionists from setting the terms of debate but also to prevent them from determining the very thoughts we think? Are there any religions without gods? How are gods created, and are they being manufactured today? Why is science necessarily atheistic? Why must Atheists advance from being simply 'without gods' to being 'Discredists,' thinkers who reject belief-based reasoning altogether? Includes an anthropology of comparative religion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Only an anthropologist armed with personal experience of the full spectrum of religious behavior ranging from the complex and confusing adumbrations of religiosity seen among the Warlpiri of Australia to the familiar pomp of pontiffs in the Vatican could show so clearly what 'religion' is really all about and why it is so often anti-human and a threat to the survival of our species. Only an Atheist well schooled in the literature of philosophy in general and Atheism in particular could be in a position to see what needs to be done to advance Atheism not only in the theoretical sense but in the political sense as well. Dr. David Eller satisfies both requirements. --Back Cover

About the Author

Prof. David Eller is a cultural anthropologist who has conducted field research among Aboriginal societies in Australia and now teaches anthropology in Denver, Colorado. His recent college textbook Introducing Anthropology of Religion is being hailed as the most significant introduction to the scientific study of religion in a decade. His previous AAP book Natural Atheism showed him to be as good a philosopher as scientist. Now we see he is equally skilled as a linguist and semanticist and can show that for knowledgeable Atheists 'Atheism' means more than the absence of god-beliefs: it is the absence (indeed the rejection) of belief altogether.

Product Details

• Paperback: 490 pages
• Publisher: American Atheist Press; 1st edition (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578840023
• ISBN-13: 978-1578840021
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another masterpiece, May 1, 2008

By 

jeronimo (Lexington, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Freethinker (Paperback)

While Christopher Hitchens', Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins are entertaining the masses with their warranted and timely attacks on religion, Mr. Eller has established a philosophical fortress to deal with the entire religious/atheist debate. I recommend that anyone looking for a serious and intellectually sound discussion of atheism (and religion) read David Eller's Natural Atheism and his follow-up book Atheism Advanced. Mr. Eller gets down to the essential philosophical concepts behind religion and makes you proud to be a free-thinker instead of a moron. Pseudo-philosophy and mass-market diatribes only go so far in advancing understanding and while useful, these are far from complete. Intelligent humans (and the entire human species) deserve better if we hope to maintain any type of intellectual purity. If there's a better dissection of the morass called religion out there somewhere, then please clue me in, because I haven't seen it yet. In this most recent book, Mr. Eller begins by deconstructiong religion, exposing both the positive and negative aspects. Anyone seeking to understand our past attractions to religion, along with our present need to get past it, will do well to immerse themself in Atheism Advanced. However, his previous book is definitely a prerequisite for this one.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the greatest achievements in atheist literature, May 8, 2008

By 

Matthew T. Taylor "Tent Revival For Anostics" (Chesapeake, Va USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Freethinker (Paperback)

If objective thinking and reading ever become a universal norm, then Eller's two books, Natural Atheism, and Atheism Advanced, would also be considered, historically, two of the greatest achievements of atheist literature. His research and references, both requisites to credibility, are exhaustive and prestigious. However, those are only half as amazing as the insight and clarity by which he presents his findings and conclusions. Eller's genius and hard work have gone into making a combined scientific, anthropologic and philosophic mark on history.Tent Revival For Agnostics

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sure to be a Classic!, February 16, 2009

By 

John W. Loftus (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Freethinker (Paperback)

Eller's book "Atheism Advanced" should be in every atheist library. I thought I had read up on most every issue concerning the philosophy of religion before reading his book, but I was wrong, dead wrong. His passionate analysis is significant and thought provoking in every single chapter I've read so far (thru chapter six). I think Eller should be the new spokesman for atheism and invited to speak at every atheist conference. I think Christians need to deal with the power of his arguments.

In my book I argue against a specific religious viewpoint likened to a small limb growing out of the very large tree of religion. I'm not arguing against animism, animatism, nor ancestor worship, ethical non-theism (like Buddhism) nor the many polytheistic gods and goddesses, nor do I argue against other monotheisms like the several branches of Judaism or Islam, nor do I argue against whatever original Christianities believed, nor liberalism, nor deism. No. I'm arguing against a small sect in time, evangelical Christianity. And among evangelicals themselves there is no consensus about true Christianity, relegating certain other branches as "cults." Christianity is best understood as a "local Christianity," one situated in a particular time and place held by particular localized people. What a particular Christian believes is a hybrid coming from schism after schism and the conclusions of hindsight through the process of syncretism. Eller effectively argues that Christians believe in a local Christianity or no Christianity at all.

While I argue specifically about the dominant American fundamentalist or evangelical view in my book, Dr. Eller argues against religion itself. Along the way Eller advances (or promotes) our understanding of just what atheism is. [Hint, atheism is not just a view that stands in contrast with the dominant religious view of any particular society. Atheism in Hindu countries would be a-Hinduist, while atheism in Christian countries would be considered a-Christian. But this cannot be what atheism is about!] We atheists have allowed the dominant religious view of our societies to set the definition for what atheism is, and even the language we use to debate the issues, Eller argues. Why is it that most debates in western cultures are debates on such topics as "Christianity vs. Atheism"? Eller wants us to think in larger terms than that. From reading what Eller says the real debate should be set in terms of "Christianity vs. Itself," since there are so many branches of it, or "Christianity vs. All Other Religions," since that's the proper way to think about religion (can you imagine a Christian wanting to debate that topic with an atheist??). Eller writes: "Nothing is more destructive to religion than other religions; it is like meeting one's own anti-matter twin." (p. 233).

Eller also argues that there is no specific "Science vs. Religion" problem either, since some religions do not believe in any personal god, and because religious believers are not against most scientific disciplines. Believers are only opposed to those scientific disciplines that come into direct conflict with their own specific religious claims. Some religions don't even have a creation theory! Surely religious believers are not opposed to quantum theory or gravitational theory or meteorology or botany of gemology (the study of gems), for starters. They are only opposed to specific claims within physics and biology when science crosses over into the arbitrary and sacred/profane boundary of specific religious claims. Religious believers are not opposed to science as a whole, just some aspects of it! So the debate is not about science vs. religion but rather against specific local religions vs specific scientific claims.

There is much more to his book. Every person interested in these issues (both believer and non-believer) should get and read and discuss it. I consider his book essential for understanding these issues. Eller writes well, is passionate, intelligent, and offers very powerful arguments against religion as a whole. In the process he more than adequately advances atheism. This book is destined to be a classic work.