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AN ATHEIST STRANGER IN A STRANGE RELIGIOUS LAND: Selected Writings from the Bible Belt
From Orthodox Jewish child in postwar America to mild-mannered mathematician in academia to legendary atheist activist in the heart of today’s Republican South, Herb Silverman has always been outside the mainstream of American culture, politics, and religion. From this unique vantage point, he writes about the most pressing issues of our day, including those related to war, peace, patriotism, race, gender, and church-state separation. In this entertaining and thought-provoking volume, he curates some of his best written work. Silverman may see himself as an atheist stranger in a strange religious land, but thanks in part to his work as activist and author, atheists as a whole are no longer strangers in this increasingly irreligious land.
266 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2017
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May 19, 2019
An Atheist Stranger in a Strange Religious Land: Selected Writings from the Bible Belt by Herb Silverman
“An Atheist Stranger in a Strange Religious Land” is an irreverent an intellectually satisfying collection of essays on a wide range of secular humanist topics. Founder of the Secular Coalition for America and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the College of Charleston, Herb Silverman provides the readers with golden nuggets of wisdom. This provocative 264-page book contains thirty-one essays that cover the gamut of topics from atheism to women.
Positives:
1. Herb Silverman is a gifted author, he writes with clarity and a keen sense of humor.
2. A great idea for a book, a collection of essays from a secular humanist in the thick of the Bible belt.
3. A great collection of essays that cover a number of fascinating topics.
4. A quote fest, “Monotheists disbelieve in all but one god; atheists just take that one step further.”
5. Immersed between all the humor there are many deep and provocative thoughts. “For centuries, those who valued sacred land over human life have perpetrated Mideast turf wars.”
6. Key words are clearly defined. “Morality should be based on how our actions affect others, not on what we believe an imaginary deity expects of us.” “Secular humanists do not accept moral authority based on the supernatural. Our humanist ethics come from critical reasoning, and we test our moral principles by their consequences.”
7. The book is full of Uncle Herb’s wisdom. “We should judge our candidates on their political positions, not on their professed religious beliefs.”
8. Discusses matters of faith, “It is better to do good than to have faith.”
9. Interesting facts. “A group of slavery-supporting Bible believers disagreed with the liberal antislavery attitudes and activities of other Baptists and left the church over this issue. They organized their own sect at an 1845 Convention, and are now known as Southern Baptists.”
10. The misdeeds of Catholics. “Covering up the Watergate break-in is mild compared to covering up sex crimes involving minors. For years, bishops have not only covered up such evidence, but also transferred to other parishes some priests who raped and abused trusting children. Pope Benedict XVI has refused to discipline any bishops or ask them to resign, perhaps because these steps might ultimately require the pope to ask for his own resignation.”
11. Discusses the Secular Coalition for America. “In 2002, CCR evolved into the Secular Coalition for America. Instead of a loose confederation, it became a formal organization with an activist mission: to increase the visibility of and respectability for nontheistic viewpoints, and to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government.”
12. Sound advice on how to behave during debates and discussions.
13. A quote fest. Weinberg’s famous quote and worth repeating. “With or without religion, good people will do good things and bad people will do bad things. But for good people to do bad things—that takes religion.”
14. A recurring theme, the harm that religion does. “I don’t care what ludicrous beliefs people have except when those beliefs cause harm to innocent people.”
15. Free speech. “Blasphemy has little to do with what you say, and lots to do with whether others feel so insulted that they want you silenced and punished.”
16. Patriotism. “No child should go to school each day and have the class declare that she and her family are less patriotic than God-believers.” “Criticizing our country and working to eliminate faults is definitely patriotic—a lot more so than reciting pledges and prayers or waving flags.”
17. Majority versus minority. “It is when we wear our majority hats that we need to be most mindful of how we treat others.”
18. Evangelical Christians. “There’s another reason many evangelical Christians strongly support the land of Israel, perhaps more than most Jews. In a word, it’s “rapture.””
19. Debunks religious claims with facts. “There is no historical or archaeological evidence that Moses existed, that Israelites were slaves in Egypt, or that they wandered in the desert for 40 years.”
20. Religion and politics. “Religion is inherently divisive. Prayer at government functions promotes the idea that decisions are guided by a higher power rather than by thoughtful deliberations.” “First Commandment (thou shalt have no other gods) conflicts with our First Amendment, which guarantees the right to worship one, many, or no gods. You won’t find democracy in the Bible, but you will find the divine right of kings. You won’t find treating women as equals or condemnation of slavery, but you will find punishment for blasphemy.”
21. An essay on sound bites. “Light travels faster than sound, which is why some people appear bright until they speak.”
22. Experiences with South Carolina’s laws, a recurring theme. “I was stunned when a white gunman murdered nine innocent black people gathered at the historic Emanuel AME Church, three blocks from where I live.”
Negatives:
1. Doesn’t take advantage of electronic technology. In short, no links to notes.
2. No formal separate bibliography.
3. No visual supplementary material.
In summary, the keen sense of humor pushes this book of essays to five stars. This is a witty and funny collection of essays covering a wide range of topics of interest written by a secular humanist. I love Herb Silverman’s irreverent sense of humor and his social critique is dead on. The kind of guy you would love to sit down and shoot the breeze with. An excellent book, I highly recommend it!
Further suggestions: “Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible” by Jerry A. Coyne”, “Undeniable” by Bill Nye, “God and the Multiverse” by Victor J. Stenger, “Science and Religion” by Daniel C. Dennett, “Why People Believe Weird Things” by Michael Shermer, “Atheism for Dummies” by Dale McGowan, “The Soul Fallacy” by Julien Musolino, “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?: 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless” by Greta Christina, “A Manual for Creating Atheists” by Peter Boghosian, “God Is Not Great” by Christopher Hitchens, “The God Virus” by Darrel Ray, “Moral Combat” by Sikivu Hutchinson, “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “Nonbeliever Nation” by David Niose, “Freethinkers” by Susan Jacoby, “Nailed” by David Fitzgerald, and “Think” by Guy P. Harrison.
“An Atheist Stranger in a Strange Religious Land” is an irreverent an intellectually satisfying collection of essays on a wide range of secular humanist topics. Founder of the Secular Coalition for America and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the College of Charleston, Herb Silverman provides the readers with golden nuggets of wisdom. This provocative 264-page book contains thirty-one essays that cover the gamut of topics from atheism to women.
Positives:
1. Herb Silverman is a gifted author, he writes with clarity and a keen sense of humor.
2. A great idea for a book, a collection of essays from a secular humanist in the thick of the Bible belt.
3. A great collection of essays that cover a number of fascinating topics.
4. A quote fest, “Monotheists disbelieve in all but one god; atheists just take that one step further.”
5. Immersed between all the humor there are many deep and provocative thoughts. “For centuries, those who valued sacred land over human life have perpetrated Mideast turf wars.”
6. Key words are clearly defined. “Morality should be based on how our actions affect others, not on what we believe an imaginary deity expects of us.” “Secular humanists do not accept moral authority based on the supernatural. Our humanist ethics come from critical reasoning, and we test our moral principles by their consequences.”
7. The book is full of Uncle Herb’s wisdom. “We should judge our candidates on their political positions, not on their professed religious beliefs.”
8. Discusses matters of faith, “It is better to do good than to have faith.”
9. Interesting facts. “A group of slavery-supporting Bible believers disagreed with the liberal antislavery attitudes and activities of other Baptists and left the church over this issue. They organized their own sect at an 1845 Convention, and are now known as Southern Baptists.”
10. The misdeeds of Catholics. “Covering up the Watergate break-in is mild compared to covering up sex crimes involving minors. For years, bishops have not only covered up such evidence, but also transferred to other parishes some priests who raped and abused trusting children. Pope Benedict XVI has refused to discipline any bishops or ask them to resign, perhaps because these steps might ultimately require the pope to ask for his own resignation.”
11. Discusses the Secular Coalition for America. “In 2002, CCR evolved into the Secular Coalition for America. Instead of a loose confederation, it became a formal organization with an activist mission: to increase the visibility of and respectability for nontheistic viewpoints, and to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government.”
12. Sound advice on how to behave during debates and discussions.
13. A quote fest. Weinberg’s famous quote and worth repeating. “With or without religion, good people will do good things and bad people will do bad things. But for good people to do bad things—that takes religion.”
14. A recurring theme, the harm that religion does. “I don’t care what ludicrous beliefs people have except when those beliefs cause harm to innocent people.”
15. Free speech. “Blasphemy has little to do with what you say, and lots to do with whether others feel so insulted that they want you silenced and punished.”
16. Patriotism. “No child should go to school each day and have the class declare that she and her family are less patriotic than God-believers.” “Criticizing our country and working to eliminate faults is definitely patriotic—a lot more so than reciting pledges and prayers or waving flags.”
17. Majority versus minority. “It is when we wear our majority hats that we need to be most mindful of how we treat others.”
18. Evangelical Christians. “There’s another reason many evangelical Christians strongly support the land of Israel, perhaps more than most Jews. In a word, it’s “rapture.””
19. Debunks religious claims with facts. “There is no historical or archaeological evidence that Moses existed, that Israelites were slaves in Egypt, or that they wandered in the desert for 40 years.”
20. Religion and politics. “Religion is inherently divisive. Prayer at government functions promotes the idea that decisions are guided by a higher power rather than by thoughtful deliberations.” “First Commandment (thou shalt have no other gods) conflicts with our First Amendment, which guarantees the right to worship one, many, or no gods. You won’t find democracy in the Bible, but you will find the divine right of kings. You won’t find treating women as equals or condemnation of slavery, but you will find punishment for blasphemy.”
21. An essay on sound bites. “Light travels faster than sound, which is why some people appear bright until they speak.”
22. Experiences with South Carolina’s laws, a recurring theme. “I was stunned when a white gunman murdered nine innocent black people gathered at the historic Emanuel AME Church, three blocks from where I live.”
Negatives:
1. Doesn’t take advantage of electronic technology. In short, no links to notes.
2. No formal separate bibliography.
3. No visual supplementary material.
In summary, the keen sense of humor pushes this book of essays to five stars. This is a witty and funny collection of essays covering a wide range of topics of interest written by a secular humanist. I love Herb Silverman’s irreverent sense of humor and his social critique is dead on. The kind of guy you would love to sit down and shoot the breeze with. An excellent book, I highly recommend it!
Further suggestions: “Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible” by Jerry A. Coyne”, “Undeniable” by Bill Nye, “God and the Multiverse” by Victor J. Stenger, “Science and Religion” by Daniel C. Dennett, “Why People Believe Weird Things” by Michael Shermer, “Atheism for Dummies” by Dale McGowan, “The Soul Fallacy” by Julien Musolino, “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?: 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless” by Greta Christina, “A Manual for Creating Atheists” by Peter Boghosian, “God Is Not Great” by Christopher Hitchens, “The God Virus” by Darrel Ray, “Moral Combat” by Sikivu Hutchinson, “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “Nonbeliever Nation” by David Niose, “Freethinkers” by Susan Jacoby, “Nailed” by David Fitzgerald, and “Think” by Guy P. Harrison.
October 27, 2019
While I’m glad to learn about Herb and his work in challenging discriminatory laws against non-Theists, the book was not what I expected. Culled from an unknown quantity of newspaper columns, the book has a shotgun shell approach to narrative meaning a choppy flow.
Additionally this has to be the worst audiobook production I’ve ever sat through. Every page flip and paper rustle is preserved and occasionally you can hear a distant cough or murmur. Herb alternates passages with a professional reader. Her work is decent if not good, but Herb seems to be only presented from a single take. Awkward pauses, bad reading flow and stumbles are preserved here —-so much so I can feel Herb squinting to read, and that’s so annoying 5 hours in.
Additionally this has to be the worst audiobook production I’ve ever sat through. Every page flip and paper rustle is preserved and occasionally you can hear a distant cough or murmur. Herb alternates passages with a professional reader. Her work is decent if not good, but Herb seems to be only presented from a single take. Awkward pauses, bad reading flow and stumbles are preserved here —-so much so I can feel Herb squinting to read, and that’s so annoying 5 hours in.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews