Your Religion Is False [Paperback]

Joel Grus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2009

The most important book ever written! Whether youʹre a Christian or a Jew, a Muslim or a Hindu, a Rasta or a Jain, an Environmentalist or a Cheondoist, a Scientologist or a Giant Stone Head Worshipper, your religion is false. In this long-awaited book, Joel Grus reveals the details of not only how your religion is false but also how every other religion is false. When you want to know what not to believe, this is the only book you need. In addition, youʹll learn * Why ʺgodʺ doesnʹt exist * Why thereʹs no such thing as a ʺsoulʺ * How to find ʺmeaningʺ in a religion-less world * Which of your religious heroes are pedophiles * Why ʺreligious toleranceʺ is a terrible idea And, as a bonus, the greatest religious joke ever told. You canʹt afford not to read this book!

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Brightwalton LLC (June 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982481802
• ISBN-13: 978-0982481806
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In The Beginning, There Was Some Stuff, June 17, 2009

By 

John Perich "oh look a blogger" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Religion Is False (Paperback)

In an era where cranky atheists debate shrill fundamentalists on the true meaning of global events, a humorous take on religion like Grus' "Your Religion Is False" is a much-needed laugh break.

Grus sells his case that Your Religion (whatever it may be) Is False the best way possible: by presenting the ludicrous claims made by world religions with ironic commentary and humorous exaggeration. And he doesn't play favorites, either. He levels the same sarcastic barrage against fringe beliefs (Reiki, transcendental meditation, giant stone head worship) as he does against the larger faiths (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism).

This book is not only a perfect gift for atheists and agnostics, but also for believers who need to take a lighter view of their faith. By reading a little more about what makes each of the world's other religions false, maybe they'll start to question the strength of their own convictions. Either way, Your Religion Is False is smart, silly and true fun.

69 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Funny Insightful Book on Religion, July 5, 2009

By 

Jamie Mellway - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Religion Is False (Paperback)

This book isn't what you might expect. Well, unless you are expecting a very funny book with genuine insights on religion, then it is what you would expect. You're going to be disappointed if you are expecting an angry book attempting to offend everyone, one that provides rigorous proofs disproving the ontological existence of God, or one that gives a systematic and encyclopedic overview of religion. Don't get me wrong, you will be offended, then laugh, and then be offended again. Reasons for believing in God (like free Bible-study pizza) are quickly gone over as well. Joel Grus does has an encyclopedic knowledge of religion, but more often than not that encyclopedia is Wikipedia. It will make you uncomfortable when it in goes over bits of your religion humorously, like getting the virtues and vices in Sikhism mixed up and providing convincing arguments for them, but then he'll make another absurd joke and you'll be laughing again.

Now that I've read the book and reading the blog, I'm eagerly looking forward to reading negative reviews of the book. Atheism is after all just one-half of a debate. I expect two main types of negative reviews. One is from people who obviously haven't read more than Amazon.com's Product Description, like Kansas City James, and review it anyway. The other type I expect are from people on the internet that feel the need to refute him and pedantically grab onto a joke while conceding the main point. Like granting that Mohammad did marry a seven year old girl and had sex with her at nine, but standing fast on that there is absolutely no proof whatsoever that he played with her dollies. Insightful negative reviews are also possible I guess. The internet might surprise me.

Joel Grus mixes explaining religious beliefs with absurd non-sequiturs (but I repeat myself), obscure geek references, and even more obscure 80s music references. You'll want to read this book near a computer in order to look up obscure references, like chutney ferrets, monkey rockers, and tesla girls. Well, maybe not those ones. Since he is talking about religion, it is not always easy to tell when he is explaining something straight or making a joke, so you may want to guess and then look it up to see how you did. Once you find out that you did poorly, you will have reached enlightenment. Or weighed some flax. Or something like that.

52 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An atheist believes that one more religion is false than you do., June 28, 2009

By 

Laural H. Bourque "lauralb" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Your Religion Is False (Paperback)

If Dawkins or Hitchens are too angry and not funny enough for you, this is the book to read. Hilarious overview of almost every religion people have heard of, and why all of them are false. As the book points out, religious people believe every other religion is ridiculous and silly but their own, and atheists just believe your religion is false, too.