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The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues..
Price: $8.50
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Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time
Few can talk with more personal authority about the range of human beliefs than Michael Shermer. At various times in the past, Shermer has believed in fundamentalist Christianity, alien abductions, Ayn Rand, megavitamin therapy, and deep-tissue massage. Now he believes in skepticism, and his motto is " Cognite tute--think for yourself." This updated edition of Why People Believe Weird Things covers Holocaust denial and creationism in considerable detail, and has chapters on abductions, Satanism, Afrocentrism, near-death experiences, Randian positivism, and psychics. Shermer has five basic answers to the implied question in his title: for consolation, for immediate gratification, for simplicity, for moral meaning, and because hope springs eternal. He shows the kinds of errors in thinking that lead people to believe weird (that is, unsubstantiated) things, especially the built-in human need to see patterns, even where there is no pattern to be seen. Throughout, Shermer emphasizes that skepticism (in his sense) does not need to be cynicism: "Rationality tied to moral decency is the most powerful joint instrument for good that our planet has ever known." --Mary Ellen Curtin.
Price: $4.98
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The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology
The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology includes classic sociological research writings as well as recent pieces on fascinating topics of interest to students. It is the ideal companion to McIntyre’s text, The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology or other sociology texts. Readings in this edition challenge students to re-evaluate familiar social arenas: the college classroom, televised sports shows, restaurants, doctors’ offices and even public restrooms. The readings focus around the essential message that there is much that goes on in the social world that escapes the sociologically untrained eye..
Price: $36.50
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Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up
A Lifelong Unbeliever Finds No Reason to Change His MindAre there any logical reasons to believe in God? Mathematician and bestselling author John Allen Paulos thinks not. In Irreligion he presents the case for his own worldview, organizing his book into twelve chapters that refute the twelve arguments most often put forward for believing in God’s existence. The latter arguments, Paulos relates in his characteristically lighthearted style, “range from what might be called golden oldies to those with a more contemporary beat. On the playlist are the firstcause argument, the argument from design, the ontological argument, arguments from faith and biblical codes, the argument from the anthropic principle, the moral universality argument, and others.” Interspersed among his twelve counterarguments are remarks on a variety of irreligious themes, ranging from the nature of miracles and creationist probability to cognitive illusions and prudential wagers. Special attention is paid to topics, arguments, and questions that spring from his incredulity “not only about religion but also about others’ credulity.” Despite the strong influence of his day job, Paulos says, there isn’t a single mathematical formula in the book. .
Price: $10.00
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Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity
Edward Boyd's agnosticism rested "not ... too much on any positive position ... but rather on a host of negative ones" about Christianity In an attempt to address these negative issues, his son Greg, a professor of theology, asked his father, a strong-willed, highly intelligent, and stubborn 70-year-old, to enter into a correspondence in which "all of their cards would be laid on the table." Greg would give his father the opportunity to raise all his objections to the veracity of Christianity, and Greg would "answer these objections as well as give positive grounds for holding to the Christian faith." Three years and more than 30 letters later, Letters from a Skeptic was published and Edward Boyd came to accept Christ. During his journey, he and his son hash through such topics as why the world is so full of suffering; why an all-powerful God needs prayer; how you can believe in someone who rose from the dead; and how another man's death can pardon others. Despite their brutal honesty, both men exhibit respect and love toward one another as they address these volatile subjects. In Edward's second response to Greg, he boldly says, "Well, your distinction between the 'Christian Church' and 'Christians' is interesting and novel, but frankly, I don't buy it." Greg responds, saying, "I've got to admit that you are raising some extremely good points in your letters. You are raising the most difficult questions a theist can face." --Jill Heatherly.
Price: $4.00
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A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God Is Good and Faith Isn't Evil
A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists helps readers—both secular and religious—appreciate their common ground. For those whose thinking has moved from the religious thesis to the skeptical antithesis (or vice versa), Myers offers pointers to a science-respecting Christian synthesis. He shows how skeptics and people of faith can share a commitment to reason, evidence, and critical thinking, while also embracing a faith that supports human flourishing─by making sense of the universe, giving meaning to life, connecting us in supportive communities, mandating altruism, and offering hope in the face of adversity and death. .
Price: $11.53
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The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology
Using a conceptual organizing framework, The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology is a concise introduction to sociology that focuses on core concepts as the central building blocks for understanding sociology. Written in a lively, very conversational style -- witness such chapter titles as "Science and Fuzzy Objects: Specialization in Sociology" and "Who’s Afraid of Sociology?" --, McIntyre uses numerous pedagogical features to help students grasp key sociological concepts and to learn the essential lesson that there is much that goes on in the social world that escapes the sociologically untrained eye..
Price: $25.00
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I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus
Over the last decade, Don Everts and Doug Schaupp have listened to the stories of two thousand postmodern people who have come to follow Jesus. While their stories are diverse and varied, certain common themes emerge. Postmodern evangelism is a mysterious and organic process that nevertheless goes through discernible phases, as people cross thresholds from distrust to trust, from complacency to curiosity and from meandering to seeking. Everts and Schaupp describe the factors that influence how people shift in their perspectives and become open to the gospel. They provide practical tools to help people enter the kingdom, as well as guidelines for how new believers can live out their Christian faith. Learn from these real-life stories of how people today come to Christ. Be encouraged that God has not left this generation without witness. .
Price: $7.39
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