Best products from r/AtheismComingOut

First, if you haven't ever really read anything about atheism, perhaps because you've naturally been one all your life, it might be worth reading a bit. If you want a hysterical and easy start, try Penn Jillette's two books, "God, no!" and "Every Day is an Atheist Holiday". These and other more serious and thoughtful books on atheism may give you the confidence and perspective that not only are you right in your beliefs, but that it matters, and that you are doing a good thing in the long run by choosing to live in the world as it is, not pretend it's something that it's not.

And I think you already know that you haven't done anything to deserve anyone else's anger, that's exactly why it upsets you. If people were angry at you for good reason, you would understand why, but they're not. It's counterintuitive, but you may find that being a more confident non-believer (I totally understand not considering yourself an atheist; Neil Degrasse Tyson often points out that he doesn't have to identify himself as a non-golfer, why should he have to label himself for not being religious?) will actually cause religious folks to respect you more than if they feel like you're just a down and out Christian in need of tough love. Some will certainly recoil and say nasty things, but as long as those types leave you alone, isn't that better than the current state? Once they recognize someone confined in their beliefs, most will respect that and simply drop the subject. And some, you may find, even want to actively discuss it, not necessarily in an attempt to persuade you, although it may feel like it, but out of a genuine curiosity how someone they know can believe something so fundamentally different from what they believe.

Lastly, you might be surprised if you look around your social circle how many closet atheists there are. Think about folks who've never gone out of their way to mention religion, god, or go to church, and then find a non-committal way to edge into it. Many of them are probably what I call casual believers or deists, although they may not realize it. These are the folks who say things like, "I believe in God or some kind of higher power, but I don't agree with most organized religion," or "I'm spiritual, but not religious," or "I'm agnostic, how can we possibly know?". These are folks to spend time with. Even if you don't believe in any kind of god at all, these people are for practical purposes on your page, and with a little discussion might also agree that maybe they don't believe at all after all.

And if you really can't think of any people like that in your life, seriously try meetup.com. It's loaded with atheist/freethinker/agnostic groups who at the very least can understand your plight and empathize with you. In my experience some of them have been a little strange, but who isn't. Give it a shot and see if you make a new friend.

Best of luck!

First, check out the list of recommended reading in the FAQ.

Since your post centered around evolution, I also recommend Science, Evolution, and Creationism, a brief and concise little book written in layman terms by the National Academy of Sciences. It's more to do with why intelligent design has no place in science classes but its description of evolution is a good, fair and balanced starting point for those interested.

I'm no scientist but if your question was directed to me as an atheist, I would first put out there that there is no supporting evidence that an all-powerful deity exists who created the universe. It's not something that can be proven or disproved, just as no one can prove or disprove that it wasn't post-physical aliens instead, or something. Not knowing everything about the big bang and the origin of the universe should not mean defaulting to supernatural posturing to fill in the gaps (which has often been the human tradition for things we don't understand). As for evolution, it's equally difficult for me to accept that a god directed every mutation, adaptation and natural selection. Many theists believe god is omnipotent to the point of predicting the future, so why would evolution be designed as such a messy and painfully slow process? Why bother with non-beneficial mutations, especially those that lead to an expression of a species resulting in them becoming extinct in the natural environment?

I thought it might be useful for people coming out atheist, who may want a deeper probing on what cognitive and social biases influence religious belief.

Physical edition.

I explain why the prices are so different in a blog.

Update: Due to popular feedback, I decided to make split versions of the ebook edition for anyone who found 2554 pages too daunting but are still interested in reading my book. In case any of you are still interested.

Part I Only.

Part II Only.

Explanation on pricing can be read here.

I know a lot of people will send you to read Dawkins and Harris..ect. But I found The 50 reasons people give for believing in god to a really good starter book. It's very simply laid out. Each chapter is one reason someone gives to believing in God, and why that reason doesn't hold up to logic/facts/reasoning ect. That way if you parents ask you a specific question about why you don't believe you can give them an answer!

I won't pretend to fully understand but I've heard from people who probably do.

You might want to get in touch with former Pentecostal preacher turned atheist activist Jerry Dewitt
https://m.facebook.com/jwdewitt?id=100000098176237&refsrc=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F&_rdr
You can also find many of his talks on YouTube.

Then there are resources such as
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1908675047/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/179-6042562-2585327

I guess I must be talking to all the wrong people...thank you for your very well stated opinion. I concede that I am most likely guilty of "supernatural postering". I think maybe it is fear of that unknown that stops me short of admitting I know it's all a sham. I'll take a look at the FAQ (stupid me) and I'm ordering the book in the other window as I type this.

A book I found interesting on the topic of evolution from a scientific perspective is The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond