Customer Reviews

The Happy Heretic

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are some books that, despite being relatively short and show an economy of words, are still a trawl to read.  This is not one of those books.  On the jacket a quote says the writing is "simple without being simplistic", and this, I think, is the major strength of The Happy Heretic.   When offering perspectives from a humanistic, atheistic point of view, it can be easy to stray into pretentiousness and brain-numbing, nay, boring philosophy.  There are books like that if you want them, but they are a trawl to read as well.  They might be educational, but they are also usually a very dull experience indeed, their matter-of-factness coldly clinical, as if the reader is a robot whose operation depends on stolid philosophical input.  This brings me to another strength of The Happy Heretic: its refreshing humanity.  Judith Hayes says she wants to "nudge" people.  This is setting herself a difficult task, and it would take writing of clarity, empathy, poignancy and humour to have half a chance of successful "nudging".  In this case, I consider myself well and truly shoulder-barged.    I may be giving the impression this book is merely an extended essay of rose-tinted philanthropy.  This is not the case.  Far from it.  This is a book of skilfully-balanced contrasts.  There is satire which doesn't so much cut religion into pieces as slowly, cleanly and easily slice through - and it's frequently bloody funny.  Nestled alongside are heart-wrenching true stories that bring a lump to the throat, and deadly serious indictments of religious abuse; and it works, because everything is put clearly into context.   Of course, it is not flawless.  There are minor quibbles.  The first two chapters set off sprinting as soon as they touch the ground.  This is initially jarring, but once you're in amongst Hayes' easy prose you soon warm to her theme, and the book slips into gear.  These chapters, which see Hayes being critical, are where she occasionally threatens to come across as one of those over-zealous soap-box stampers you find at Speakers Corner in London's Hyde Park on Sunday afternoons.  The difference, though, is that she's always worth your attention.   I like this book alot.  This ironically brings me to my main criticism: it's all over so quickly!  It's quite easily read in one sitting.  I suppose I felt like I had just seen a great, polemic show, with laughter, tears, the works, and I was standing and applauding, expecting a protracted encore.  But saying I wanted more, of course, is really a compliment.  Dammit, I really can't find much wrong with this book!   I highly recommend this book for those who are having doubts about their faith, and especially for those who may feel guilt because of those doubts.  Judith Hayes' great talent is to use those "nudging" qualities I mentioned earlier to sweep away the stigma of apostasy.  She's an apostate herself, and her understanding shines throughout this book.  

In correspondence to Judith Hayes, (from memory) a writer states, "I write with a felt-tip pen, while you write with a stick of dynamite".  That observation is hereby endorsed, and I for one am certainly ready for more. We're fortunate, then, that Judith Hayes' excellent monthly articles can be found at [her web site]. Do yourself a favour, friend, and go there now.

"The Happy Heretic" is a wonderful read. It is a much-needed kick-in-the-teeth for religion in general, and fundamentalist Christianity in particular.

It is a very timely book, considering how the Religious Right in this country is so intent on turning the U.S. into a theocratic dictatorship. It is also a warning to people to wake up to the dangers the Religious Right poses to our freedoms.

I highly recommend this book. It is funny, thought-provoking and well-written - all things that our current government and the Religous Right love to hate.

On the dust jacket of this book an author named Elaine Morgan says, "Mark Twain would have enjoyed this book." I go farther and say that Mark Twain could have written this book! It's a gem.

Kiko Tanaka

Judith Hayes will have you laughing out loud. She has a way of making people think about whether blind faith should over-ride rational thinking. She writes in a way where everyone can understand. A lot of the books out there about religion or spirituality are just for religious studies scholars...not this one. Everyone will enjoy her sense of humor.

Jackie Wellman
author of Spiritual Clarity

Unlike many atheist books, this one focuses more on the psychological/personable issues that define what it means to be human and atheistic, rather than on the logical/debate discourse of facts. It is a fun, funny, and informative read that truly makes it a great work for the avid freethinker and atheist. (JH)

Joe. E. Holman

www.geocities.com/ministerturnsatheist

Finally! A female writer to join the so-called Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris! Except Judith Hayes is a writer anyone can appreciate. Not deadly dull like the others, Hayes writes with humor and intelligence without making you want to doze off. I could not put it down. I don't know why I haven't found this book before. Someone told me her site with the same name as the book is back up now and that's how I found this book. Anyway, if you have an interest in religion or atheism or both, and you don't want a book for the nightstand that will serve as a sleeping pill, The Happy Heretic is it!

I just finihsed this book and it was well worth the time I put into reading it. I've been a fan of Judith's website for about a year and for some reason I had missed the fact that she had also written books. Well, shame on me. This book is a wonderful, insightfull look at religion and it's blindness to logic, written law code and just plain compassion. If you are a Christain, Muslim, or follow any "faith" be warned this may offend but even if it does it is worth the read because it may expose you some opinions that you have never considered before. Test your faith by giving this a chance and you will come out a stronger person!

With this collection of essays, rants, and email responses sent to her website, "The Happy Heretic", Hayes has constructed a book on atheism/freethought/civil liberties that is by turns hysterically funny and appallingly tragic.

From tales of people seeing the Virgin Mary in a waffle to the Pope declaring that "Gravity Exists!" Hayes explores the lengths to which people will go to in order to satisfy their hunger for a "miracle". On the darker side, the author submits personal accounts of people in her own life that have sacrificed their freedoms, intellect, and even the safety of their own children in order to be a part of a religious system that offers to do the thinking for them.

One does not need to be an atheist to get something out of this book. Hayes' attack isn't on God; but rather on the crimes perpetuated by people who claim a form of "divine right" to force their beliefs on others.

If you are tired (as I am) of all the angry, disgruntled, griping folks who spout their non-convictions to any and all then this is the book for you. We're not talking Dawkins, Dennet, Sam, Hitchins or even writers like Crossin or Wells. We're talking fun - or at least a version of it!

There is an inherent conflict between humor and personal faith. For both sides of the aisle it is no laughing matter. The author sets out to battle the stereotypical view of atheists (see first sentence) noting that some of her fondest memories are the hymns, stained glass and organ music of the church she once attended. There are many common sense things here: Why praise God for the 1 who survived a disaster while forgetting the 99 who perished? Why cling to patently absurd ideas about science that are demonstrably false? Why the violence and hatred against those of other (or no) religions when their own religion preaches love, tolerance and acceptance?

The main problem is the humor. It's too slapstick, a case of trying too hard. At first it was funny, then mildly humorous, then annoying. And this includes all those "fake" stories that were soon revealed to have an element of truth. The political part again comes in for heavy criticism. There is absolutely zero evidence that non-faith folks would treat citizens differently that those with faith. Stalin, Mao & Castro bragged of their atheism yet no one would contend that they ushered in an Age of Humanism. (I know, I know, they were "just" bad people - but many of the Popes were also "just" bad people. Two can play that game.)

My only wish is that the website had not been taken down. It was a great place for catching up on the latest culture war news and one without the rancor and excessive preachiness of so many others.

...that's about the extent of what I learned from Judith Hayes "The Happy Heretic."

But, I have to admit that as a conservative Catholic I did have a fun time reading the book, and I think that that was partially Ms. Hayes' point.

However, in defending her main point, namely that secular humanism will deliver us from all of the trouble in the world and that organized religion (far from helping out) causes the lion's share of that trouble, I believe that she is less than successful. All of the favorite dead horses of the secular humanists are beaten yet again: the bad popes, ancient practices divorced from thier cultural context, the problem of evil, inquisitions and virtually everything the Southern Baptist Convention has said in the past couple of decades, etc. Since the author refuses to interact with any of the numerous works of apologetics that have defended the traditional Christian viewpoint on the matters she presents, the dialogue between atheists and theists really isn't resolved or even moved forward.

While the author does point out the great contributions that Humanism has given to our civilization, she is less-than-forthcoming with any of its faults. The way the author sells her philosophy, you would think that in addition to curing all of the world's ills, secular humanism would also make humanity smarter, taller, more attractive and stronger! A typical example of this is her response to critiques pointing out the possible pitfalls of euthanasia are basically: "It won't happen if we all follow humanism so butt out religious types!" This sounds suspiciously like the fundamentalism she claims to have chucked since she became enlightened. Moreover, none of the numerous atrocities commited in the name of atheism over the past century aren't even mentioned, let alone given at least a brief apologia.