The Gospel of Atheism and Freethought—According to Sherlock

279 Pages·2014·1.6 MB·English

by  Michael Sherlock

THE GOSPEL OF
ATHEISM AND
FREETHOUGHT
ACCORDING TO SHERLOCK
THE GOSPEL OF
ATHEISM AND FREETHOUGHT
ACCORDING TO SHERLOCK
MICHAEL
SHERLOCK
First Published in Great Britain 2014
by Dangerous Little Books
© Michael Sherlock
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of
trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated
without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Foreword
The Book of Atheism
The Book of Freethought
The Book of Heresy
Bibliography
PREFACE
The title of this book may upset both atheists and theists, to varying degrees, so I
thought I would use this preface to briefly explain why I selected the title and at
the same time, explain how this book is structured. The Gospel of Atheism and
Freethought – According to Sherlock is a parody title, so before theists get too
excited and accuse atheism of being a religion complete with its own Gospel, I
must disabuse them of this fallacious notion. Atheism is not, and cannot be, a
belief system, for two fundamental reasons. Firstly, atheism is not a system and
secondly, it has no beliefs and is therefore not a belief system, but an
unsystematic absence of god-belief. For this reason, I do not call myself an
atheist, and as shocking as it may be to some, nor do I call myself a non-figure
skater. In my humble opinion, the correct title for a person who does not believe
in the supernatural should be ‘sane.’
The word gospel stems from the Greek, evangelion, meaning good news and
once again, in my opinion, given the tragic nature and history of god-belief, the
growing number of non-believers and the proliferation of their godless literature
is good news. Women are being afforded more rights, same-sex couples are
suffering less persecution and science has been granted an increased freedom to
express its more rational methodological naturalistic philosophy, to the benefit
of our species as a whole.
This gospel is set out in three parts, which I call books and in the first two
parts, the Book of Atheism and the Book of Freethought, the reader will find a
diverse range of anti-theistic memes, quotes and musings, written in both
personal and impersonal speech. I chose to write these sayings in both personal
and impersonal speech to mimic and mock the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas,
which is also a book of sayings. The final part of this book, the Book of Heresy,
is a series of atheistic articles, essays and pieces, written in a more narrative style
to parody, albeit abstractly, the four official gospels of the New Testament.
FOREWORD
Michael Sherlock is new on the scene but has a lot to say. But perhaps most
importantly, his studies in social anthropology and comparative mythology make
his an interesting and much-needed perspective to religious criticism.
Sherlock’s The Gospel of Atheism and Freethought is a well-sourced work
that accomplishes what many books in the marketplace of secular non-fiction
have failed to do: it presents a coherent and thorough analysis of the major
flaws, inaccuracies, and moral dilemmas present within the Abrahamic faiths,
while putting forth a strong case for abstinence from faith all together.
The Gospel of Atheism is wide-ranging, tackling some of the biggest problems
with the major world religions while at the same time analyzing their histories
from an academic perspective. Sherlock even tackles common arguments put
forth by Christian apologists like C.S. Lewis, who argued that at the heart of
Christianity is a “myth which is also a fact.” The book’s extensive coverage of
seemingly semi-related topics is a breath of fresh air in what is often a
monotonous genre.
Sherlock also goes out of his way to educate and inform readers, while
keeping it interesting as a means to drive home his arguments. Sherlock’s 7
Parenting Tips for God, for instance, include such seemingly obvious gems as,
“Don’t kill your children,” and, “Don’t allow your children to suffer for your
shortcomings.” Keeping the reader’s interest and hammering home point after
point, The Gospel of Atheism puts the final nails in the coffin of a wide variety of
widely held, but false, religious beliefs.
Sherlock pulls no punches in extolling the virtues of skepticism and critical
thinking, refusing to treat any religion or denomination as a sacred cow beyond
reproach. His approach is to bombard the reader with facts and reasonable
conclusions, and I think he’s accomplished that. Filled with questions and
sourced facts that would make any believer think twice, his newest book
presents some of the most comprehensive arguments against the great faiths and
in favor of non-belief.
DAVID G. MCAFEE
David G. McAfee is a journalist and author of Mom, Dad, I’m an Atheist: The
Guide to Coming Out as a Non-believer and Disproving Christianity and other
Secular Writings. He is also a frequent contributor to American Atheist
Magazine. McAfee attended University of California, Santa Barbara, and
graduated with dual-degrees in English and Religious Studies, with an emphasis
on Christianity and Mediterranean religions. www.DavidGMcAfee.com |
www.facebook.com/AuthorDavidGMcAfee
THE BOOK OF ATHEISM
SEVEN PARENTING TIPS FOR GOD
TIP 1
Don’t Kill Your Children – This may seem obvious, but having thoroughly read
the Bible, it is something I think God could work on. The idea is to raise your
children, so killing them for disobeying or irritating you, is not advisable.
TIP 2
Consistency – Rules must be consistent. If you make rules, like don’t eat pork,
relax on Saturday, whatever, and then you turn around and say, “well, don’t
worry about all that,” it is going to undermine your child’s perception of you as
an authority figure and leave them confused, particularly if you have gone
against the first tip and killed some of them for breaking these flimsy rules.
TIP3
Punishment – Related to tip 1. If you are going to use timeout as a means of
disciplining your children, it should be for a specified period of time, not an
eternity. Timeout is useful for allowing the child to think about what they have
done wrong and how they can improve in the future, so setting them on fire for
an eternity, contravenes this, and the first tip and is counterproductive to the
development of the child.
TIP 4
Be fair – Don’t bestow rewards on some of your children and punishments on
others, for no apparent reason. For example, if you have a girl and a boy and you
don’t allow the girl to share the same rights and privileges as the boy, she may
eventually suffer from low self-esteem and this is only going to undermine your
desired outcome. Needless to say, it is also going to create unwarranted tension
between the two. Further, try not to favour one child over another, for example,
don’t constantly say to one, “You are my favourite,” as it is not only going to
lead them into decadence, but it will cause the others to resent both you and your
favourites.
TIP5
Respect – Respect is a two way street, so if you want your child to respect you,
you must be deserving of that respect and also return it. Demanding respect
simply because you created them, is not fair, as they had no choice in their
manifestation and also, it is going to make you appear tyrannical, which will