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Happy Heretic
This irreverent romp over the sacred cows of religion is a humorous and refreshingly down-to-earth call for common sense. Judith Hayes, the Erma Bombeck of the secular humanist community, has the unique ability to raise serious points while making us laugh as she throws buckets of cold water on the irrational beliefs and maddening inconsistencies that often characterize popular religion. She's at her best when recounting modern-day "miracles" such as the apparition of the Virgin Mary's face in a waffle at a Fresno diner; or when she describes how she started rubbing a stuffed penguin whenever she had the urge to pray, and got the same results.
But there are also poignant stories about believing friends and acquaintances whose struggles with irrational beliefs in the face of perplexing dilemmas and personal tragedies are in many cases heartrending. She also devotes a chapter to explaining in clear, concise, layperson's terms exactly what humanism is and stands for, in particular extolling its tolerance.
"When people ask me why I write what I write," she says, "I usually answer, 'To nudge people.' This is literally the truth. I try to nudge people into thinking about things they might otherwise never give a passing thought to. I try to make it easier for them to do so by using satire, vivid imagery, and a sprinkling of merry nonsense."
By turns funny, provocative, and touching, Judith Hayes is the perfect popular spokesperson for clear thinking and reason.
But there are also poignant stories about believing friends and acquaintances whose struggles with irrational beliefs in the face of perplexing dilemmas and personal tragedies are in many cases heartrending. She also devotes a chapter to explaining in clear, concise, layperson's terms exactly what humanism is and stands for, in particular extolling its tolerance.
"When people ask me why I write what I write," she says, "I usually answer, 'To nudge people.' This is literally the truth. I try to nudge people into thinking about things they might otherwise never give a passing thought to. I try to make it easier for them to do so by using satire, vivid imagery, and a sprinkling of merry nonsense."
By turns funny, provocative, and touching, Judith Hayes is the perfect popular spokesperson for clear thinking and reason.
268 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2000
About the author
Judith L. Hayes
2 booksJudith L. Hayes was an American author and secular humanist columnist. She is best known for her book, The Happy Heretic, and she also operated a humanist website by the same name. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Free Inquiry, Skeptical Inquirer, Freethought Today, Humanist in Canada, American Rationalist, and Secular Humanist Bulletin.
Hayes was a secular humanist writer with three published books, and whose work has appeared in "Free Inquiry", "Skeptical Inquirer", "Humanist in Canada", "American Rationalist", and "Secular Humanist Bulletin". She was also a frequent contributor to the Secular Web.
In 1994 through 1996, Hayes was a regular columnist in Freethought Today, the newspaper published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin. One of her columns, titled The Old Rugged Cross, was chosen to be included in the Social Issues Resources Series (SIRS) Renaissance database of articles on the arts, literature and the humanities. SIRS is a reference service for libraries and schools throughout the world.
In November 1996, Hayes inaugurated a monthly online column, "The Happy Heretic," sponsored by the Internet Infidels on the Secular Web. Beginning in 1997 Hayes began hosting it on her own domain and was senior writer for The American Rationalist.
Hayes was a secular humanist writer with three published books, and whose work has appeared in "Free Inquiry", "Skeptical Inquirer", "Humanist in Canada", "American Rationalist", and "Secular Humanist Bulletin". She was also a frequent contributor to the Secular Web.
In 1994 through 1996, Hayes was a regular columnist in Freethought Today, the newspaper published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin. One of her columns, titled The Old Rugged Cross, was chosen to be included in the Social Issues Resources Series (SIRS) Renaissance database of articles on the arts, literature and the humanities. SIRS is a reference service for libraries and schools throughout the world.
In November 1996, Hayes inaugurated a monthly online column, "The Happy Heretic," sponsored by the Internet Infidels on the Secular Web. Beginning in 1997 Hayes began hosting it on her own domain and was senior writer for The American Rationalist.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 18, 2023
Raised to 4.5
July 8, 2016
One of the funniest books discussing religion I ever read. Judith Hayes honesty and humorous look at the popes, the Bible, and so much more is refresing and make this an enjoyable read.
March 18, 2009
A somewhat lighter read than a lot of books on atheism makes this an excellent book for the new atheist, and enjoyable even for the seasoned unbeliever. Judith's wit and perspective is a breath of fresh air.
August 14, 2016
Fun and fresh air! This was one of the first books I read by a skeptic, so I was blown away by Judith Hayes' pull-no-punches style of biblical criticism.
The book is not intellectual by any means, but she succeeds in shining the cold, hard light of common sense on beliefs that, amazingly, many in our culture still hold sacred. She seems to have a pretty good grasp of scripture, and she includes hundreds of biblical quotes as she points out one absurdity after the other. Christianity is not her only target, but since I assume she was raised in that environment, that's where she finds most of her material.
My only complaint is the same complaint I have about many other modern books, namely that they dumb down the language to the seventh-grade level, using short sentences and simple vocabulary. Since this book is clearly not intended for intellectuals, I forgive the author, or editor, or whoever was responsible for the simple language, and only deduct one star.
The book is very funny, irreverant, insightful and blunt. Aside from the annoyingly simple language, it was a joy to read!
The book is not intellectual by any means, but she succeeds in shining the cold, hard light of common sense on beliefs that, amazingly, many in our culture still hold sacred. She seems to have a pretty good grasp of scripture, and she includes hundreds of biblical quotes as she points out one absurdity after the other. Christianity is not her only target, but since I assume she was raised in that environment, that's where she finds most of her material.
My only complaint is the same complaint I have about many other modern books, namely that they dumb down the language to the seventh-grade level, using short sentences and simple vocabulary. Since this book is clearly not intended for intellectuals, I forgive the author, or editor, or whoever was responsible for the simple language, and only deduct one star.
The book is very funny, irreverant, insightful and blunt. Aside from the annoyingly simple language, it was a joy to read!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews