And yes you will have to post a review of that second book. It sounds interesting.
And yes, after re-reading your post, I realized my response was based on the entire attitude of all your posts in this topic, and I know that that is a horrible assumption to make considering people feel different all the time! sorry.
Alright, so I started reading it (only got to page 25 as I was reading it at a friends house) and it's very interesting! The proper title is
The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, and unlike the other book that I was reading, it shows both sides. The author isn't a violent "I hate religion" atheist like the authors of the other book I was reading, but rather a modern day philosopher who just tries to show how religion in today's world may or may not be necessary.
He talks about how, for him, he does not need religion, but that doesn't mean that others feel the same way. Some people feel the need to believe in something greater than them and rely on this deity, or maybe just look to it's teachings for moral guidance. He shows his interpretation of different words such as religion and sacred. He shows them in two lights and lets the reader choose which one is more appropriate for themselves.
Also discussed is how in religion you have faith and fidelity. He defines fidelity as your moral ideas, how you know right from wrong, etc. He goes on to say how you are able to drop faith, but if fidelity is dropped, then the whole aspect of society will be lost. Some people feel that they need or want their faith to keep their fidelity, and that is just fine. But without either, you being nihilistic and that is not a proper humane way to live. If everybody was nihilistic, then society in general couldn't function.
Any ways, it's an extremely interesting book and I look forward to reading more of it. I've only read 25 pages of this book and it's already changed my perspective on religion and the human kind. It's an A+ read for anybody, religious or not!
Edited by Sean, 28 February 2008 - 09:22 PM.