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God Is an Atheist: A Novella for Those Who Have Run Out of Time

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There are many good and worthwhile books on spirituality available these days, but it's quite rare to come across one that's as unique as "God is an atheist: A novella for those who have run out of time" by N. Nosirrah. To give you a sense of what kind of book this is, let me quote the blurb on the back of the book:

"A profound tragicomic romp through the bizarre landscape of religion, spirituality, and the contemporary clash of cultures of belief, with special attention to the human obsession with knowing what can't be known. Nosirrah provokes just about everyone as he describes a world where God is on the run from Islamic extremists, the Pope announces he shares a bed with Richard Dawkins, and Buddha's son disappoints by getting enlightened instead of becoming a doctor."

"God is an atheist" has humour, spiritual enquiry, philosophical conundrums and logic (or maybe the lack of it) all mixed up in a delightful stew that is both nourishing and exciting. It's a whimsical journey through contemporary spirituality and culture that holds nothing sacred and asks questions that most people probably might not even want answered. Nosirrah's writing style is fresh and original, but at the same time unpretentious and straightforward. Although this book is full of what can best be described as meaningful nonsense, there are also truly profound insights and comments to be found almost on every page. The book is even illustrated, by none other than A. Nosirrah, and while it has to be said that the artwork is on the far side of the naive and almost childish, and may not be to everybody's liking, somehow it seems to fit into the text very nicely all the same.

Who is N. Nosirrah? Does he even exist? He has only the following to say about himself on the back cover of the book:

"N. Nosirrah is an enigmatic writer and philosopher who asks his readers to question their existence, God's existence and in particular, Nosirrah's existence."

And as if that wasn't enough, he also claims that "Those who understand these writings have no need to meet me, those who do not understand have no reason to meet me, and those who need to meet me have no need to read my writings."

"God is an atheist" is a short book at only 119 pages, but quality wins over quantity every single time, and I for one would choose this little book over many a weighty tome by the celebrated hot shots in today's spiritual marketplace. Who knows, maybe Nosirrah really is not, but he delivers all the same.

Pathik Strand, author of All this is that

I have actually met Nosirrah, and can say he is who he says he is. He once said something to the effect that one would get absolutely nothing from reading his books or attending his talks. He usually fulfills his promise.

I know all there is to know about n. nosirrah, facts, birth, hair color, signs and symbols, weight , cell phone number, etc. Unfortunately (fortunately?)I do not exist otherwise I would tell you.

the premise of the book is basically in the title... though oddly enough when most people see me reading this they only see the words god and atheist and put the two together in whatever context they've associate those words with, which is kind of funny considering the subject matter of the book.

the book is about a guy who has a talk with god and finds out that god isn't religious. god doesn't see things through the moral systems society uses to explain or worship god, basically we created the ritual surrounding the concept of god because people are designed to believe in something, that is what makes us feel safe and in control, so we create stories and then create how we feel about the stories and then go living our lives around the beliefs. but god doesn't believe in the belief, as he didn't create the belief, we did. it's not just religious people that are the believers though. everyone who has a belief is a believer, so atheists are lumped together with the fundamentalists (appropriate) but it goes beyond religion. politics, interests, likes/ dislikes, anything that distinguishes you as something apart, as an individual, does so because you believe that it does so. and you follow it because you believe it to be the best choice for you at the time. so eventually the point becomes that if you want to know god or truth, you have to know that you are nothing. and yet we can't be nothing because we are something.

the concept kind of reminded me of a documentary monty python did about the life of brian (called the secret life of brian). basically they were saying how they couldn't mock the basic beliefs of christianity so they just mocked the believers, and there's this one scene where brian does something with his shoe and the crowd of people watching begin fighting over what the shoe's significance is and how they should bring it into their rituals of worship. and brian kind of rolls his eyes. basically this book is underlining how we the people are the squabblers, making up beliefs as we go.

i just finished reading it about 15 minutes ago so i haven't really thought over the concepts in any depth, but its definitely an interesting read. there's a kind of inner monologue quality to how the information is presented, so you don't exactly get bored reading it, but there is substance to the words so while the writing style is light, it's not going to be a nothing read that you'll finish in half an hour (even though it's only 100 something pages). yes you will have to think. the drawings kind of got on my nerves a bit... trying to play up the vonnegut -_- but it was good.

If we believe in God, then what does God believe in? "God is an Atheist: A Novella for Those who Have Run out of Time" is a unique and offbeat story of a homosexual affair between Richard Dawkins and the pope, Islamic extremists hunting down the Christian deity, the family issues of Buddha, and other bizarre events. Sure to enthrall (and possibly perplex) readers, "God is an Atheist" is a must for anyone looking for a novel on religion with a twist.

This book is a gavotte of literary styles and daydreams. It compels you to become a partner and leads you to an understanding of God that is beyond belief.

One moment the writing reminds me of the wild-eyed Richard Beymer caught in the fantastic world knot of "contrived identity" in his psychological confession, Impostor.

Next moment a sensible philosophical warrior steps up.

That dynamic between the wild-eyed and the sensible, the wearing of one joker's shoe and one wingtip, drives the story.

The foam of humor spills over the edges and down the sides.

In parts the author is freely catching images:

"I had a dream last night (I think it was a dream in any case) and in it I was reading the TMZ.com website where there was an account of Richard Dawkins and the Pope as secret lovers revealed, with photos of the two grinning in bed with their morning cappuccino, apparently listening to Puccini."

Then there are stories. One of my favorites is the one about Eddie Buddha, the cousin of Gautama Buddha. Eddie was never remembered because he did not leave his wife and kid and renounce the world. He hung around. He went to delis at night with his best buddy. The following paragraph I found warm to the touch. This might reveal something about the writer:

"I wanted a life like Eddie Buddha's that was clear, straightforward, regular and unfettered by the dogma of belief. I wanted a life that was compelling, which is an interesting word, meaning undeniable, gripping, but I wanted it compelled by truth. Compelling is the force exerted from the future into the past as organized by our mind. There is nothing compelling other than what you actually express, nothing before, nothing after."

You'll recognize much of your own foolishness or confabulations, hopefully with humor and peace. Listen:

"There remains this nagging question about the universe as it is, which is something like: 'Why?' In the immortal words of the blues queen Jenn Cleary, 'Why, oh why, can't there be peace in our world?'

"Why is there suffering? Why old age? Why pain? Why Barry Manilow? Why is it set up like this? I turned to God for an answer.

"God would have none of it. He was hustling me towards a Quick Stop where He was intent on acquiring some Slim Jim Beef Jerky."

This is a work of true madness and mad truth. Reading it might put an end to the endless chewing on beef jerky and bring the reader face to face with Eddie Buddha's unfettered life, God's "none of it," or the Pope's cappuccino. (Actually don't look for anything meaningful in the cappuccino, it just sounds good.)

I've read and reread Adyashanti, Steven Bodian, Byron Katie, Gungaji, Toni Packer, Catherine Ingram, Isaac Shapiro and other great spiritual masters. This book is on the same level of maturity only written from a sophisticated
belly laugh at the hugh cosmic joke of the whole thing. As a youth, when I didn't know where to turn, I turned to the Marx Brothers. Now in maturity, I laugh in great appreciation for this magnificent book which deserves reading and rereading. I hope it cathches on.

If you want to laugh on your way to overthrowing your inner tyrant, this is the book for you. That yapping voice that constantly tells you what it thinks is going on and what you should do about it, doesn't have a chance! The world disappears in a huge belly laugh. Hilarious.

After reading about 25 pages I began to get the feeling that there was more to this book than just the obvious humor that I was enjoying. So I went back to the beginning and started to read it over. Sure enough, I began to "get it"! It is loaded with very profound and provocative ideas that deserved to be taken a little more seriously. I found myself questioning many of my own beliefs, concepts and attitudes. Since then I have spent a good deal of time re-reading and even studying the material.
Even the illustrations are interesting and seem to carry an almost child-like quality. I highly recommend it. In addition, I look forward to finding some of Mr. (or is it Ms.?) Nossirah's other works.