God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

how religion poisons everything

307 pages

English language

Published 2007 by Twelve.

ISBN:
978-0-446-57980-3
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OCLC Number:
70630426
Goodreads:
43369

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(2 reviews)

"A case against religion and a description of the ways in which religion is man-made"--Provided by the publisher.

11 editions

Important, entertaining, limited.

Rather than rehashing old arguments against common religious beliefs, this work is a systematic take-down of the myth that religion is a net-benefit for society. It's an educational and entertaining read, although Hitchens' can be a touch verbose and his choice of word at times leans esoteric. Depending on the chapter, "God is Not Great" could be a pleasure to read or a slog, but my biggest issue with it is that, while Hitchens didn't limit his critique to abrahamic religions, he stopped short of addressing the underlying issue of magical thinking in any form, not only religion, as a terrible and destructive framework for understanding reality and deciding upon a moral framework with which to engage with the world and others around us. In my opinion, this limits the utility of the work and opens it up to endless debate over historical and doctrinal points. There are some problematic …

Review of 'God Is Not Great' on 'Goodreads'

To paraphrase Mr. Spock, "it's only logical."

I read once that there is an innate human need to explain things, to draw clear lines between cause and effect. Humans also tend to put themselves at the center of the universe. Religion, therefore, is what we get.

It's a little frightening to hear what some of this year's Republican presidential candidates have to say about faith. People, people, people...can't we get past some of this?