Religion Books

[Bus Driver J]

About 2 years ago I finally started reading books again. Ive read a few off the wall books but all are non-fictions for the most part ("I am America, and So Can You" by Stephen Colbert, hilarious). Since starting back Ive read a few books on religion. Im a devout atheist and have been so for quite some years now. Ive read a couple atheist books that were pretty good BUT Ive also read some books that were not on atheism. I feel its good to hear stuff from the opposite side of the aisle to get a better understanding. \ Here is my run down on the books:

"Letters to a Christian Nation" was actually a good book. Basically the author was writing in reaction to the letters he had received about his previous books. He didnt once "attack" anyone, just stated his feelings/opinions about the questions asked to him. Its a good read for someone on either side of the fence.

"The Atheist Bible" is just a book full of quotes people have said over the last thousand or so years. Everyone from Emily Dickenson to Woody Allen to Hemmingway. Not all the quotes were that persons feelings, some were taken from characters in the stories they wrote. There is even a quote from George Bush (not W). This is more of a book for the atheist. It has a lot of good laughs in it.

"Hardcore Buddha" is actually a REALLY good book to read. Its a autobiography. The author used to be in punk bands in the early 80's and lived his life the "punk" way, anarchy and what not. In college he takes a class on Zen Buddha and gets hooked. He moves to Japan where he continues his teachings and later becomes a Zen priest. The book really gets you thinking about how things "are" and what they mean. I even tried the Zen meditations a few times but couldnt get focused enough to continue. Again, a really good read.

"More than a Carpenter" is a book written by a former atheist. Honestly, I went into this book with the wrong thought process. I was on the defense the whole time which made my opinion on the book skewed. It does has a good premise to it and would be good for anyone who wants a different perspective on Christianity. The book is basically about Jesus not just Christianity. Its about who he was and what he did. The author asked some questions and the went through and broke down each answer. For instance a chapter is called "Jesus, Lord Lies or Lunatic". Of course his answer was Lord; mine was lunatic, lol. But he did a good job of describing each answer.


I was wondering what books everyone else has read that they would recommend to others. Be it for or against your beliefs.
And please, dont say the Bible or stuff like that. Real books written by real people (I dont mean that as a bashing statement, sorry)

[Starrfire]

Fahrenheit 451, because it generally describes most of america, but with the lack of the whole burning books thing lol.
I try to keep from reading a lot of religious books, It keeps the face-palm ratio in my life lower.