So you're an atheist : now what? / Yuriy Nikshych.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nikshych, Yuriy, 1988- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Atheism.

Ex-church members.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (212 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : Algora Publishing, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

What will everyone think once they find out that you're an atheist? How will you find happiness now that you no longer believe? This handbook for the newly-deconverted offers support and helps readers learn to find meaning, shed the emotional baggage, defend your position in debates, and become awesome!This book is not aimed at people who are questioning their faith; it doesn't aim to deconvert anyone. Rather, this book is designed for atheists, especially those who have recently woken up to find their faith is gone. You may still be getting used to your new worldview - and you may still have an irrational lingering fear of hell even though you're no longer a believer. the author explores the questions that may be swirling in your mind - Where do atheists get their morals from? How do you let go of the emotional scars of religion? How do you talk to believers - how can you address the most common arguments that believers might raise? Most important, how do you find meaning in life?This book draws on the work of an army of freethinkers who came before. It's a cheerful review of the atheist's problems and how to get on with life - with more freedom and vigor than ever.

Contents:

""Table of Contents""; ""Before""; ""The reason for this book""; ""Why Do Humans Believe?""; ""Category errors""; ""Hyperactive agency detection""; ""Mind-body dualism""; ""Young children�s trust in their elders""; ""These factors, combined, make humans predisposed to religiosity""; ""Religion as a Virus""; ""Evolution""; ""Defense mechanisms""; ""Propagation mechanisms""; ""Faith-strengthening mechanisms""; ""Useful parts""; ""Harmful parts""; ""Junk/boring/weird parts""; ""Idea-bundling ""; ""Religion � What�s the Harm?""; ""What True Belief Would Look Like""

""Atheism, the Short Version""""Getting Over the Fear of Hell""; ""Getting Over Nihilism""; ""Dealing With Loss""; ""Religious Trauma Syndrome""; ""Happiness As a Skill""; ""Finding Meaning""; ""Our Place In the Universe""; ""The Origin of the Universe""; ""How did the universe begin?""; ""Why did the universe begin?""; ""What happened before the Big Bang?""; ""Replacing Religion with Something Useful""; ""Becoming Successful""; ""Coming Out as an Atheist""; ""Is it worth getting into debates with theists?""; ""You�re a “Clergy Atheist�� Now What?""; ""Atheism and Morality""

""Why religious morality is inferior""""That�s just the Old Testament""; ""Biblical metaphor and citations out of context""; ""Excuses for troubling passages in scripture""; ""Secular morality""; ""Atheist Morals ""; ""Vegetarianism as an example""; ""Free Will""; ""Relationships as an Atheist""; ""Atheist Parenting""; ""The Imperfections and Quirks of Your Mind""; ""But if our brains pre-decide our actions for us, of what use is “consciousness�?""; ""Human Cognitive Biases""; ""Confirmation bias""; ""Availability bias ""; ""Anchoring""; ""The focusing effect""

""The “availability cascade�""""The “bias blind spot�""; ""Choice-supportive bias""; ""The Endowment effect""; ""The IKEA effect""; ""The bandwagon effect""; ""Consistency bias""; ""The cross-race effect""; ""The “Google effect�""; ""Hindsight bias""; ""Is It Worth Arguing with Theists?""; ""Paralogic Compliance and Rationalization""; ""Understanding Occam�s Razor""; ""Counter-Apologetics ""; ""Pascal�s wager""; ""Threats of hell""; ""The argument from design""; ""Revisiting the argument from design""; ""The argument from faith""; ""The ontological argument""

""The natural-law argument""""The “just look at the trees!� argument""; ""The “you must pray and answers/faith will come!� argument""; ""“So many people believe X, can they all be wrong?�""; ""Exercise Time! (Counter-Apologetics Part 1)""; ""“There are scientists who believe in God.�""; ""The extreme amounts argument, also known as the “argument from degree�""; ""The argument from morality""; ""A holy book is not evidence of god(s)""; ""The argument from ignorance""; ""The watchmaker argument""; ""The number of people who believe something doesn�t matter.""

""The argument from authority""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-62894-110-3