Rating: 
Summary: A valiant attempt to disprove the existence of God.
Review: But an "attempt" is all it is. The author makes the fatal flaw of trying to prove that God does not exist because no religion can define specifically what "God" is. But the author doesn't have a definition either, so it's a double-edged sword. How do you prove something DOESN'T exist if you can't explain what "it" is?Author Smith never ventures away from the traditional, limited views of organized religions to question what immense intelligence created the universe. From a flower, to the human brain, to the most distant galaxy...can all of this have come from NOTHING? Now THAT'S something I'd like to read a dispute on.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly Convincing
Review: All atheists are constantly looking for new arguments to bolster a belief they know to be true. We know that we are going to get into arguments with people when religion comes up, and most of us cannot properly articulate the errors in theism.
Smith attacks them systematically and has given atheists an invaluable to with which to attack their adversaries. All should read this book if they profess to be rational or open-minded. Most theists will disagree with it simply on the grounds that belief in God cannot be explained. At this point, it is usualy best to agree with them and concede the point. They will think they have won the argument, and you can laugh at their "open-mindedness." Don't forget: "You've got to open your eyes as well as your mind or you're gonna get disillusioned." --SOIA
Rating: 
Summary: Straightforward refutation of irrational thought
Review: I have a confession to make: I bought this book on a whim. I had faith that, because George H. Smith was an atheist libertarian like myself, his book would be a good read. I guess that makes me guilty of irrationalism according to Smith's definitions... But anyway, irrationalism aside, this book is a great introduction to atheist thinking. Smith deftly cuts down most arguments for the existence of a God without equivocating, something that philosophers on both sides of the debate are often guilty of. Moreover, he establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has no place in a rational universe. The appeals to Objectivist ethics are somewhat outside of the scope of the book, I believe, and that's why I'm choosing to award the book 4 instead of 5 stars. Without delving into a whole debate via the review board, let me say that I cannot manage to figure out how some theists do not concede some of the shorter arguments in the book. For instance, God could not have created existence for a simple reason: God must have existed to create existence. But if God already existed, then so did existence. You cannot be a constituent part of something you create. So either God created existence and therefore does not exist (a blatant contradiction), or God did not create existence, and the so-called explanatory power of the "God of the gaps" drops out of the picture. Where's the problem? A short rejoinder to those who disparage the book: if you're turned off by Smith's occasionally harsh tone, I can only say that the man is correct, he knows it, and he speaks as such. We should all be so confident.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent book, with a fatal flaw
Review: As many other reviewers have pointed out, this is a clear and concise book. The protests of dogmatic Christians notwithstanding, atheism does not involve "blind faith"; it is the notion of "God" which, ultimately, demands faith as all arguments in favor of God in general, and the Christian God in particular, fall far short of establishing God's existence, let alone his benevolence. George H. Smith systematically outlines the most common arguments in favor of God's existence and refutes them in a manner which is generally effective. I was initially attracted to this book on account of Smith's libertarianism. What I didn't notice before reading it is that Smith is one of "those" libertarians---a devotee of Ayn Rand. This figures heavily, and unfortunately, in his chapter dealing with the ethics of theism versus atheism; Rand and Nathaniel Branden serve as major sources. The case for the omnibenevolence of God, as put forth by Christians, is so incredibly weak that Smith would hardly need recourse to "experts" like Rand and Branden to counter it; on the contrary, in using them as sources, he needlessly gives credence to the popular (if false) Christian notion that atheism is somehow a religion or faith in opposition to Christianity. Citing the authority of Ayn Rand is like citing the authority of Lyndon LaRouche. I don't claim to have read everything by either of them; I'm sure in any case that both are intelligent people who made good points on occasion. Both, however, have given rise to cults of devoted and unquestioning followers; Rand, in particular, was notorious for her contempt for the opinions of others as well as her deliberate cultivation of an inner circle of sycophants. No one seriously suggesting changes in America's foreign policy would cite Lyndon LaRouche, no matter how eloquently LaRouche had argued his case; the cult surrounding him is so wacky as to create an unnecessary obstacle to the audience's appreciation of the point to be made. Ayn Rand elicits a similarly visceral response, and is thus a weak authority to cite no matter how well she justified her atheistic stance. Smith's arguments, therefore, are generally good as long as they are taken for what they are, but the reader should be aware that this book is tainted by Randism.
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Summary: The Most Comprehensive Discussion of Its Kind
Review: This book is tremendous and difficult to surpass. It covers all aspects of theism vs. atheism from every angle known (and some not very well known). It's divided into three major parts: Part I deals with reason versus all the other systems of belief and opinion, showing that man's better part is to stick with reason, in particular epistemological belief and metaphysical realities (after all, even theologians admit man is a rational animal); Part II deals with reason versus faith, where faith is used by theists as a raison d'etre for being deliberately irrational. Here one finds all the arguments theists use to privilege faith over reason, and Smith's rebuttal to each one of them is simple as it is direct. Here, the argument wanders a little far afield unnecessarily into extreme skepticism, but given that skepticism is often a theist's most powerful tool to make special pleadings for theism, such a venture may be useful to some readers. The sections on in this section on arguments from Authority, Voluntarism, and Revelation are especially incisive. Part III deals with all the usual philosophical arguments for the existence of god (ontological and cosmological), and why each argument ultimately fails. This is the least interesting section, because it is the most overwrought topic of the book, focusing clearly and adroitly on theism so-called proofs of god's existence (too many have rehearsed this material elsewhere and before). But to Smith's credit, he is sufficiently discursive without belaboring the points. If one hasn't encountered these so-called proofs before, I cannot imagine a better introduction to this standard faire. This book is expansive, exhaustive, and exceedingly well-written. The author presumes no previous knowledge of philosophy by the reader, and explicates all necessary philosophical, psychological, and theological concepts with exceptional ease and simplicity (I wish philosophers as a rule were as lucid as Smith). Smith uses and cites an exceptionally broad number of scholars, religious and not, Protestant and Catholic, to demonstrate both sides of the arguments. He addresses primarily Christians, assuming the arguments against this most complex of religions will serve all theism. He is careful to distinguish between the nuances typically Protestant (liberal and evangelical) and typically Catholic -- which is a secondary benefit to understanding the significance of their intellectual and historical differences, even if the differences don't matter in the final analysis. The writing is impeccably simple, clear, and concise -- and only occasionally a little redundant. No student of theology, religion, and/or theodicy should let this book pass unread.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: to like this book you will have to have an open mind, otherwise you will just spend all of your time looking at letters, not words. George Smith shows everything about atheism from every angle that you could want. I recommend it to everyone with an open mind, you just may discover some truth
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Summary: Great book for every Atheist out there !!!
Review: To try and summarize this book would take away from the excitement a reader receives from it, one must definitely read this book if one considers himself an athiest. This book along with many others shows that there is intelligible life out there. The coverage that this author poses on the "Authority Issue" for me alone is a very valid point that confims my long standing belief that the majority of theistic laymen are afraid to question Authority even when the views being imposed on them are against their own personal views. The book gets a little wordy in the middle, however by the end of the book the author clearly makes his point tha Fear of punishment and ingnorance are the driving forces behind religious belief. I highly recommend this book to the young and old.
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Summary: One of the most important books currently out there...
Review: I'd like you to think why i used the heading above. What is "important", how do you define "important"? From where we all stand, life is important. Then there is everything that drives life or anything that stops it and then all that characterises it. In the case of the human species, since we are supposedly an intelligent species (i know, that's open to definition too), we have to consider what defines our existence.
Being that for centuries the concept of "god" has not only been prevailant in human societies but it has been shaping the morals and the very existence of those societies, this book becomes automatically a very important one. It tackles with the concept of "god" in a battle which is critical to anyone, the atheist and the theist alike.
The theist, because in this book he will be faced with all these thoughts and rationale he is, either a) avoiding, or b)not dealt with, and
the atheist, because there is many an atheist around who have not actually thought the whole "problem" through. Once you are through this book there can't be any issues left untouched regarding the "god" concept. What will remain is either your stubbornness or your sheer unwillingness to understand, or, better yet, a new wide opened door in your mind to walk through.
This book is an overwhelming triumph of logic over faith. I dont think i have come across any other book where faith takes such a magnitude of defeat.
The author (one of the sharpest minds i've had the pleasure to encounter) deals with "god" in a thorough "no prisoners" manner. He reckons with the theories of all major theological schools, and most importantly, he deals with all those classic questions about god that "haunt" everyone of us since we walked this earth as children. "Is there a god"?
He answers this question with a loud "no" and goes on an amazing marathon of argumentation to drive his point home. The convincingness of his effort, is in my opinion, unparallel, the author literally (but indirectly) challenges you to "say it aint so" in every page, every chapter, every paragraph.
There is simply no way to go through this book without feeling challenged, heavily challenged, after you're through with it. You will simply feel the irresistible need to address what the author proposes. Whatever you read next in your life make sure it's this!!!
Rating:
Summary: A viable alternative to today¿s supernaturalism
Review: This was very informative book that laid the groundwork for "non-belief" and provided very compelling responses to the typical theist arguments. I found the book to be a bit repetitive, but I believe that Smith was trying to lay a definitive foundation for his argument and needed to repeat some of the basic tenants of non-theism. I started to read this book because I felt it was time to not only accept atheism as a viable alternative to religion (supernaturalism), but to also see if atheism could exist in my life and still maintain my sanity. I realize that I am smart enough and rational to reject most of the tenants of religion and their archaic belief in supernaturalism, superhuman endeavors, and physically impossible happenstances. However, what this book does not prescribe anything to fill the void of "What's the point of all of this?" That is unfortunately left for you to decide. As much as I hate the proselytizing by the Christian faith, I found Smith's argument directed specifically toward Christians to be a weakness in his argument. Being a non-Christian, I questioned his tactics, and I believe that many Christians would find his argument offensive and malicious I have no doubt that some close minded and uninformed Christians are giving this book one star without actually reading it because they have been programmed to believe in a certain way and attack anyone who is different. However, I wish Smith would have stayed above the fray and supported his argument by explicitly question theism in general. Even if one decides that they are a theist, reading this book will still enlighten you to your own decisions regarding religion. I recommend that everyone should read this book and not regard religion as a necessity, but rather as a choice - many of us were indoctrinated to believe a certain way - open your mind when you read this. Atheism is not an immoral philosophical viewpoint to prove everyone else wrong, but it is a viable alternative to today's supernaturalism.
Rating:
Summary: Enough Said
Review: In response to the review titled "A Response", it would sure show the world of Christians if an atheist were to cause world peace. A work is not good only through Christ because you're relying on a so-called "higher being" to give you "strength." You don't count on yourself because you are too weak and you only seek peace and answers from "God" because you are unable to solve your problems by yourself. Christians believe that Christ will forgive them when they sin but this just shows that there are no consequences or punishments for the people that kill who deserve them. This is not showing love for your children, this encourages humans to sin. And, one more thing, even if a cell by chaos cannot explain the origin of the universe, where did God come from? How can He just appear out of nowhere? Is this chaos or what? I say, the best religion is the one that believes in oneself.
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