Why I Am Not a Christian

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A most important book - Rated
I read this book at Loughborough University in 1967. A friend (Andy) suggested I read it. I got it from the university library and was amazed. It changed my life. No more did I feel I was alone in my beliefs. From then on I read like a mad person. My most recent hero is of course Richard Dawkins, but it was Russell who first introduced me to atheism in this wonderful but very naughty book. If everyone read it, the world would be a safer place.

Lucid, provocative and utterly sensible - Rated
Bertrand Russell's greatest skill was to communicate complex and provocative ideas with clarity and logic. Why I Am Not A Christian includes a variety of essays, some more immediately accessible than others, but the title work is as calm and reasonable dismantling of Christianity as could possibly be written. There is no point me reiterating his arguments here, but Russell makes so persuasive a case that the only conclusion is thus: if you believe Christianity is what it claims to be, you clearly haven't given the subject proper consideration

A Breath of Fresh Air - Rated
A compilation of lectures and essays dating back to the 1920s, the contents of this book is liberating for any inquiring person feeling trapped in the nonsense of religious superstition. Years ago while attending college in the U.S., I came across this book and was captured by this quotation on the back cover:

"Religion, since it has its source in terror, has dignified certain kinds of fear and made people think them not disgraceful. In this it has done mankind a great disservice: all fear is bad..."

This book stripped the blindfold of religion from my eyes and opened the way toward rational thought. I never looked back. It's a good starting point for anybody wanting to step free of the muck that clutters too many minds, whether Christian or any other religion. Beyond this book are several others on a variety of subjects displaying Russell's compelling clarity of thought. The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell is certainly one I can recommend. Give it a shot; you have nothing to lose but your chains.

Not Russell's best - Rated
If you think this book is going to give you fascinating insights into Russell's agnosticism, you will be disappointed. The discussions here represent the dreary lower end of Russell's output: some of the arguments are poor by anyone's standards. Mostly this is ill-focused rhetoric, not sharp argument. A much better-quality alternative to this collection would be Russell's Mysticism and Logic, where his true colours are apparent.

Nothing new to report - Rated
Anyone hoping for a decisive philosphical dissection of theology will be greatly disappointed. In fact, a greater part of the book is composed of examples of his liberal political writings not necessarily of religious intent. 'What I belive' is a fine example of an analytical philosopher floundering out of his depth when confronting moral issues. Most of his arguments are the same old jibes aginst Christianity that have been circulating for millenia and he steadfastly avoids adressing the validity of individual religious experience with the result that he comes across as being unbearably crass and shallow at times. The debate with Father Copplestone on the existence of God is a fine example of both sides completely missing the point of the argument and is teethgrindingly futile to read. "The Sovereignty of the Good" By Iris Murdoch is a good (non-bible bashing) riposte.