Customer Reviews

To Be an Agnostic: An Agnostic Approach to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

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I really enjoyed this book. The author answers many very complex questions through good research, clear, logical thinking and a great sense of humor. Many people in our country continue to search for spiritual answers that they often do not find in organized religions. I'm one of those people. I do believe in a merciful God but struggle with many of the limitations offered through specific religious doctrine. This book has helped me to broaden my thinking about spiritual matters as well as many other routine aspects of life. I have purchased additional copies for some good friends and I highly recommend the book to anyone open to a different view of the same old haunting questions.

The book examines life questions with an open mind and no prejudice. I find this book to be an easy read. The book does not necessarily give the answer to all questions, since not all questions have answers at the moment. However, it provides a framework on how to approach a question by looking at all the facts and forming your own conclusions (if the facts are sufficient).

it's nice to know someone is willing to rediscover enlightening influences from the past. The people mentioned in the book are good influence for life today, I highly recommend reading the quotes mentioned in the end pages of book.

If you believe we need to know what is good, promote what is good and defend what is good, this book is for you.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
What is an Agnostic?
Who was Socrates and why do we care?
Education and Argumentation
What is Truth?
Piecing Together Life after Death
How to Die
The Eternal Struggle of Good and Evil
Evolution vs. Creationism and Old Earth vs. New Earth
What we know - four examples
Is History accurate?
Freedom and Quality of Life
How much is a 40-hour worker entitled to in the US?
The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution
Timeless Wisdom in Various Bits and Pieces and Sources
References

May your life be long and your actions be good,
Jim Wall

Sure I quoted Hamlet but this is a question for all of us. When faced with the deepest questions we yet have the answers for about our world and ourselves. Agnosticism is the most honest stance while sorting out the facts from truths and this will explain the Agnostic method for doing so. What I loved about this book is the amount of research in this that have taken others and myself years to come to likewise conclusions and questions. There was poor review on this page about the US history chapter. I would argue this is a key importance for a American Agnostic if not all of us to know about our Liberties and that knowledge should be encouraged.

Philosophy is the art of imparting wisdom to live by. The author has done an excellent job of giving us basic steps to use in developing an objective, knowledgeable & wise view in the practicum of life. This should be required in schools but since it's not it's up to the individual to search out. Knowledge changes rapidly but wisdom stays with us as a guiding path to follow, as is evidenced by the documents of freedom our forefathers penned & that this country was founded on. Any book or quote presented to the public that makes you stop & think before acting, speaking or developing a judgement is worth studying and reflecting on to make wise choices. Worldwide, people need a better understanding of how to obtain an objective view of what is really going on, so their interactions can lead them to good choices. We see & live with the evidence of life not well thought out all the time. It's the basis for most of the problems in the world. Loved the humor. Kudos Mr. Wall. A job well done.

- Full disclosure - author is my brother

Although we disagree in some areas - I am an atheist - I appreciate his perspective and his putting the arguements out there for others to engage with. Not many people are familiar with agnosticism and this book does give a historical and philosophical background to it.

It's a freeform dialogue on what the guy feels Agnostism to be. No cogent arguments, just some reinforcement for the notion. There is a little information on the background of the Belief System (which is what it is), this is very short and straight forward. Could find it in an encyclopedia, in other words.

If you are looking for a book with an intelligent discussion about religion and agnosticm, like I was, this is not the book. The book talks about the constitution and the bill of rights and how they were developed by using an agnostic approach. I didn't need a history lesson. I was disappointed.