My Journey To Atheism In 25 Books!
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:07 Books 1-3
3:09 Book 4
5:11 Book 5
6:52 Book 6
7:24 Book 7
7:48 Book 8
8:46 Books 9-10
10:32 Book 11
11:19 Book 12
12:37 Books 13-14
15:56 Book 15
16:39 Book 16
17:41 Book 17
19:56 Book 18
21:12 Books 19-20
23:19 Book 21
23:56 Books 22-23
26:39 Books 24-25
27:29 Bonus Book
28:51 Final Thoughts
29:40 Patron Thanks
#atheistbooks #booksforatheist #atheismbooks #atheism #mindshift #atheist #exchristian - Zábava
Happy Sunday! Enjoy all the books! Let me know which ones stand out to you and what books you would add.
Your journey back to God in a single question: IS THE EARTH FLAT?
I'm not into books... Do you have any videogames to recommend? :)
@@lukastembergerlol! Wish i knew videos games enough to make a clever quip here.
It is not hard to find books that would sow seeds of doubt in one's heart and mind about God and his word. Human beings are prone to being deceived by such. Adam and Eve had one plain command to heed, and the Devil is so subtle in his doings to deceive, they believed him, the Father of lies (ref. John 8:44), over God (ref. Genesis 2:17, 3). Too, scripture warns of those who 'wrest' the scriptures to their own destruction (ref. 2 Peter 3:15-17). Unbelief, lack of context, the wresting of the scriptures abound in these titles which lead people astray concerning simple truths which God has revealed to us. Our eternal welfare depends on trusting God and his word who has provided a Savior for men in his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ (ref. 1 John 4:14). Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105).
@@smpittsburgh264 God bless You!
After nearly 75 years of Sunday morning church, I now go to bed Saturday night thinking Oh Boy! Tomorrow Branden will post another video! Once again this did not disappoint. I clearly need to become a better reader!
Ha! Nicest comment ever. Thank you! Glad you enjoyed
Thanks for the laugh, 🤣...75 yrs of Sunday church... Saturday night - atheist has a video posting tomorrow, 🤣🤣
Glad I could add a chuckle to your day, Anita.
Me too. Well, not the 75 year part though. 😉
I am right there with you at 75 and know what you mean. My departure from the faith was much earlier but remember being dragged to Chruch.
Man,knows so much. He just didn't leave,he deconstructed with a whole lotta knowledge and clarity.
Sweet! Dude, you've become one of my favorite CZcamsrs with your honest, intelligent, logical takes on Lands of Make Believe. I also LOVE Sam, I practice his mindfulness style meditation. He was also instrumental in my deconversion and ultimately letting go.
Kindred! He also got me into mindfulness meditation. Thank you for this kind encouragement!
@@MindShift-BrandonIf you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and the canonical biblical text, taje a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
If you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and the canonical biblical text, taje a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
My favorite non-fiction book is The Demon-haunted World by Carl Sagan. Beautifully written, even though it’s not specifically about religion, it’s more about skepticism, which is the antithesis of religion.
Its on my soon to read list!
@@MindShift-Brandon It may not have had _that_ much of an impact on you, personally (if you had read it before/during your journey), as some other books (at least that's my guess from everything I've heard from you about your way of thinking and approaches and education and so on), but I'd bet good money that you'll put it very high on a list of "must-read" books straight away 😊
I would say that I have read many of these books on my long, long journey to deconversion, partly because I wanted to know what the "other side" was actually saying, and also because I wanted to make some sense of why certain things were happening in my life that didn't seem to be happening to other people. Back in the 1960's not much was understood about Aspergers, autism, or neurodivergence. All I knew was that I was different from other people and they knew that I was different and that this was not a good thing. I was bullied, placed in special education, put on drugs (one of which made me temporarily psychotic) and subjected to a B. F. Skinner-inspired behavioral modification regime. One thing in particular that my mother kept telling me, "The way you see things is not the way they really are." I will let all of you unpack that particular one. Let's just say I did not have the tools then to see the gaslighting, grooming, and manipulation that was being done "in my best interest." At the same time I was also told I had to believe--or else!--in the invisible, unprovable world that was Christianity and more specifically the Roman Catholic church. Now you want to talk about cognitive dissonance, again, I didn't know what that was, but I just knew things didn't quite add up. Still, I persisted and even became quite the religious fanatic during my teenage years after I came under the influence of a Jesus people-inspired home church. That was taking things a bit too far, said my Christian parents. But, but, but--isn't this exactly what we are supposed to be doing? Years later, I read a book by a courageous Christian minister, I can't remember his name, called "Addicted to God" in which he discusses how the church encourages fanaticism. Great book if you can find it.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I am a voracious reader and was never content to restrict my reading to "safe" books. One of the big turning points was when I discovered the works of Oliver Sacks and later Dr. Temple Grandin. It was like a light bulb going off in my head. The more I read in that area the more questions I had about what Christianity taught. Questions nobody around me could answer because they were not doing that kind of reading and research. Apologetics had no answer; they were on a completely different plane. Meanwhile it seemed like Dawkins, Harris, Sagan and the rest were asking better questions. I delved into early Church history and found that what I thought had been built on a foundation of stone was actually sand. And so I quietly have gone my own way. But in all things I reserve the right to think for myself, and if at times it means going across the grain and disagreeing with some of secularism's "sacred cows", that I will do. I no longer accept the answer "the way you see things is not the way they really are." It has taken me a lifetime to learn my answers are just as valid as the next person's and I will not be manipulated or bullied into going along with the crowd.
It sounds like you've had a challenging journey but you've come through it a stronger person! Good for you, you're an inspiration. 🙂
Great story and congratulations. It warms my heart to hear stories of people confronting their bullies and exposing them as the cowards they really are.
There are no sacred cows in secularism.
@@dawidroos2452 Actually, there are. I'd invite you to do a little experiment. The next time you find yourself among supposedly like-minded people and they start talking about certain issues that you all supposedly agree upon, play devil's advocate and argue for the other side. I guarantee you will find out REAL FAST that your views are NOT welcome, are NOT politically correct, and that you yourself are in dire need of re-education. And that is putting it mildly. There are certain things that one must not disagree about. Ask J. K. Rowling. I hate to break it to you but secularists can be just as dogmatic and intolerant as their fundamentalist brethren. I've been dogpiled upon before and don't wish to be dogpiled upon again so I will leave it to you to draw your own conclusions on what my secular heresies might be.
Hear-hear! Totally underrated comment. There has to be punk rock song lyrics hidden within your words. 👍
Still shocking to me how intense religion is over there, i used to tick the box that said 'church of England' for about 30 years then one day i thought 'why am i ticking this box?' And changed it to the 'no religion' box, that was it, my whole de-conversion 😂
My deconversion story is similar to yours (mainly questioning why I called myself a Christian when I didn't really believe in the whole thing), so I totally get what you're saying. The main reason why religion is so intense in America is because a lot of society is Christian (70%, iirc), with some areas (primarily the area between Tennessee, Texas and Florida, called The Bible Belt) have the heaviest area with a certain brand of Christianity that forces its beliefs onto society and "discourages" (to be polite) anything but (especially Atheism) their sect(s). Some people in other areas have that same philosophy, but they're fewer and drowned out by the more accepting sects (primarily in the heavily "Blue"/Democrat/populated cities).
Hope that helps and sorry for any potential block of texts (posting from my phone).
There is a hypothesis floating around that the instituionalized religions may have actually hindered the religion(s) in Europe. The churches didn't have to evolve since there was no pressure to be more appealing than that church over there - the money was flowing anyway, the people didn't have any real "choice", so why bother changing anything really? There's a reason why so many different denomiations exist only the USA, and why the extremes (from Amish to Westboro Baptists to the very concept of megachurches) only exist in the USA (and are at most very tentatively getting any kind of interest in Europe)...
Brandon`s book shelf is like an world encyclopedia on all things Atheism, Religion, Science and logic, thanks for giving us a small sample of it today. We always knew you were a well-read Man!
Appreciate that so much. Glad to share with you!
@@MindShift-BrandonIf you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
Bertrand Russell is amazing! His argument (along with Albert Schweitzer) on Jesus being a failed apocalyptic preacher is superb!
You are so right about reading the Bible objectively. Although I read and studied the Bible faithfully for over 30 years it was always through my God filter, never objectively. Growing up in American Christianity I had no basis of comparison either. It was through an online study through the entire OT with an open mind that I was deconverted. Then the work of deconstruction began which, included a few of your recommendations. I highly recommend comparative religion studies, too. How had I believed the mythology for such a long time? The power of indoctrination, social pressure, emotional need and hope for help is a universal driver. 🤷🏼♀️
You said it, Beegee! Comparative religion puts it in its place so quickly!
@@MindShift-Brandon I'm pretty sure that for me, reading some Greek and Norse mythology books (simplified for children) around the same time that I was also hearing some details about the religious stuff (some of the bible-stories that were at least somewhat suitable for children, or made suitable) helped me put both into the same category. It's probably the same basic effect as comparative religion stuff - it's very similar stories with some of the exact same elements, but not presented as factual reality.
And I'd say the mythology stuff (Ring of Nibelungs for example!) is _far_ more entertaining to read than pretty much any religious book I've ever tried to read... Definitely far better suited for children.
@@MindShift-BrandonIf you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
If you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
@@user-kv2xy8rf3g Holy Koolaid is awesome! I am one of his supporters!
The Demon-Hunted World by Carl Sagan is another great book.
I'd place that above Cosmos for deconversion IMO.
*Demon-Haunted
Yes, “Demon-Haunted.”😮
If you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
@@Charlotte_MartelIf you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
So excited that Behave made this list!! For those who are new to Sapolsky, his Stanford lectures are available on CZcams for free! Those are great to watch along with reading Behave ❤
100%!
Sapolsky is amazing
Mind-blowing lectures 🙌🏻
If you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
@@stahlbergpatreon6062If you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
Started reading God: An Anatomy based on your recommendation, wow. What a breakdown of the dilution of the ancient mythical god from the old to the new testament. Will have to check out some more!
Love to head that! Thanks
I’m a Christian here..
I love science and we shouldn’t deny half of it, so I’m gonna try and see if these books help me shatter my faith or bulid it
If you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
If you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
I was pleased to see you include the books by Bryson and Harari. Both of their books were important to my better understanding of the real world and our place in it.
Exactly!
@@MindShift-BrandonIf you desire to apprehend a comprehensive guide to the blantant contradictions within the Gospels and overarching canonical biblical text, take a gander at the Holy Koolaid's masterfully articled videos regarding 28 total contradictions within the cannon implemented via Christiandom. The videos amalgamate a dualistic series. Brandon must do a video based particularly on the dichotomies explored à la indubitably unambiguous prototypes.
The first book for me was the Old Testament. I came from a fundamental Baptist background and the Old Testament was the real point I started questioning the idea of god.
Thanks for your videos.
That will do it. And thank you!
The book for me that made me realize the Bible was pure fiction was the Old Testament. The entire OT book reads like an ancient mythology text in my opinion.
Me too
The book that started it all for me was "50 Reasons People Give For Believing In A God" by Guy P. Harrison. This is a non-judgmental, common sense approach to why some of us still believe fantasies and fairy tales we were taught as children. Highly recommended. He's also written other books that question beliefs we've always thought were true.
Nice. I will check him out.
Great recommendations, Brandon. I will surely be adding them to my library. Also, it was probably a good choice to have a break after a potentially stressful holiday, not diving right into something.
Thank you for the recommendations Brandon, added a few to my list! Thanks for all the work you put into your content - this has become one of my favorite channels. Truly thankful
Thanks so much! Love to hear you’ll be checking a few of these out. Enjoy!
Thanks for putting this together. I’m putting these on my Christmas wishlist!
Speaking of Christmas…I’d love to hear your take on how the holidays may have changed for you since your deconversion. And especially navigating holiday traditions with friends and family who are still believers. This is my first holiday season since I deconverted and it feels so different.
I saw your comment so I hope you don’t mind me responding. I never felt that different for me concerning Christmas or Easter now that I am no longer a believer in Christianity. My immediate family still goes to church and prays at meals. But Christmas morning was almost the same for us growing up as it was for others, opening presents, and spending time with family. The emphasis for Jesus being the reason for the season was barely mentioned or reiterated even though it was in the back of our heads. Telling my parents and later my sister about me no longer believing was probably the hardest part. Christmas is just another holiday with presents, food, family, as it was before.
Oh man it is a huge shift. Maybe i can do a video on it as there is a lot to cover. Glad you enjoyed the book recs!
Great point. I'm hoping for some Xmas episodes myself. First year navigation will be interesting for you. Wish you the best.
Brandon: "I have a bonus book that helped with my deconversion."
Me: "This has gotta be a pro-Christian book that's just absolutely full of holes and other issues."
Brandon: "The Bible."
I was far more right than even I guessed :D That gave me a great big laugh.
And what exactly are these holes and other issues? And how did you come to the conclusions about them?
@christophergibson7155, how about Genesis. The creation myth is so incorrect its laughable. Our current knowledge of the universe exposes the Bible as a work of fiction.
@@TonyLambregts It is only laughable to the professing atheist. You know that God exists but you suppress the truth in your unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18) The creation story makes perfect sense. We were not created as an animal. We were created in the image and likeness of God. (Genesis 1:26) We are created with living souls. We have been given a conscience. Animals only have instinct. And the evolution story is not science. How can you believe the scientific impossibility that "nothing" creating everything? Evolution is not observable and repeatable, and therefore not science. There are zero transitional species (from one kind to another). Cats have always been cats, and dogs...dogs. The Lord God created everything "after it's kind"
"The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork." (Psalm 19:1) "Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." (Psalm 90:2) "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,"
(Acts 17:26) No, I do not believe for a moment that the Bible is any work of fiction. It is the truth.
Fantastic episode! Along with all the fantastic knowledge your shows give the fact that you give additional areas to educate is an unmeasurable benefit. I’ve read about a quarter of the books you mentioned but plan on reading all of them thank you Brandon PS I’m actually legally blind so when I say read, it’s always audible.
Thank you so much! Audible for the win!
So grateful for this list, thanks so much! I'm going to start reading several of these.
Thats great to hear! Thanks for watching
Happy Sunday thanks for the recommendation Brandon.
My absolute pleasure!
Isaac Asimov's books introducing science to the general reader set me on the path out of the fundamentalist cult I was raised in, and the books of Stephen Jay Gould and Carl Sagan--call them the holy trinity of my childhood--helped me keep going.
But there is one series that tells the whole truth about our reality (and if you've read it, you know what I'm referring to): The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”
That hallowed tome contains the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything...but I'm not going to give it away here....
this is great! Thank you!
It is always my pleasure to share books!
Wow Brandon your posts just get better and better. This is so helpful. I've read six on the list and was wondering what to read next so you have given me plenty of choice. Thanks for all the time and work you put in.
Appreciate that so much. Thank you!
I LOVE, how differentiated you are in your recommendations! What a great resource that video will be on your channel.
Thank you so much!
My top 3:
1. 'Zealot' by Reza Aslon - This is one of my favorites.
2. 'God an Anatomy' by Francesca Stavrakopoulou (I highly recommend the audiobook - Hearing Francesca read is an experience in itself)
3. 'Drunk with Blood' by Steven Wells - Steven does an amusing job adding up "God's" body count.
Havent heard of number 3 but based on the other 2 i am trusting its legit. Gonna get it right now!
As someone with very few book resources, I would probably give you "My journey to atheism in 25 CZcams channels"😂😂😂. The internet was my greatest resource.
Books like Sapiens, The God delusion and Demon haunted world were great resources that came after my conversion. Adding your recommendation to my reading list
Ha. Love that! Demon Haunted World is one that i am late to the game with but i plan to read it soon
In today's age that is more accessible for lots of people, and it might be safer if someone is living is a heavy fundamentalist area where being caught with atheist literature might be dangerous.
I enjoy all of your content, but this might be your most useful video for me personally. Already read a number of these, but really appreciated the descriptions for the ones I haven't read. My reading list is full again, thanks!
Love that! So glad to be helpful here!
Thanks for all these recommendations. I've been looking forward to this video. I'll definitely be grabbing some of these books.
Wonderful to hear!
I never really believed what I had been taught in church and school, and I remember thinking that I was missing something, or that there was something I just wasn't getting, and, when I finally did, it would be a revelation. Well, I did have that revelation, but it wasn't the one I expected.
I was reading a Michael Moorcock or maybe a James Herbert book, and I must have been working some stuff out and not really paying attention to the book, and I suddenly realised that it was all a load of horse apples. I remember laughing out loud when it hit me. It was stupid, a bunch of fairy tales and scarey ghost stories. It was nonsense. I've been much happier since.
I have loved reading (mostly fiction) since I was a kid. It helped me find my way out of my parents brainwashing me into believing in a god. Jehovah's witness to be precise. I'm 50 now. My eyes are so bad that I have to read ebooks now so that I can make the fonts larger and turn up the brightness. I looked at my phone yesterday and realized I have over 900 books on it now. I miss real paper books, but I also love the convenience of having a book always on hand to read if I have a few minutes to kill. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll most likely give a few of them a read.
Love to hear it. Thanks!
I'm almost 52 and when I got the Internet in late '96 I did searches for the religion I was brought up in, the JWs. At first I thought the problems could be reformed, but after six months I realized too much was wrong. I went to a very small church in Canada run by the general Assembly of the worldwide church of God Abrahamic Faith, its pastor was a 40 year bethelite who roomed next to Ray Franz. They were soul sleep non trinitarians. He was super nice to me and some of their teachings made sense to me while some didn't but it reminded me of the kingdom hall where people showed up just to be a part of something. They had women give talks and would have open discussion which would include local politics, which the pastor, Frank Roth, didn't really like but didn't stop. I also went to one of the last Catholic churches that did a Latin mass and really liked the liturgy and tradition. Eventually I decided it was all nonsense... A lot of people told me that my JW experience ruined my ability to be properly born again and understand the grace of God, the love of Christ etc but I've found that even in my secular industry 99% of what they say is bull crap. So I've decided that humans could do the right thing and make everything great but won't do so even if god showed up and I'm just happy that I didn't live in 1600s London, or 800s India, or 2000bce Sumer. I don't see a great future for humanity and I'm pretty sad that I'm too old now to watch it all completely fall apart but maybe I'm saved from the worst.
His name was Frank Toth not Roth, I might've been watching too many Van Halen videos. I'm pretty sure Frank is long dead now, but I received communion for the first time at his church and it was my first experience of non JW belief. Sir Anthony Buzzard came once and I got to ask him a lot of questions. He was a pretty formidable opponent of Orthodox Christendom. He died a little while ago. But while some of what he thought made biblical sense he still had to believe a man of flesh lived in some heaven somewhere and that this man's death and resurrection meant I was good to go. The JW origin story has the Watchtower publisher Charles Taze Russell objecting to his Christadelphian friend that Jesus was raised in his physical body, which is something that nobody in church history had questioned in 1800 years. It's all very mysterious to me and I kind of wish I'd been brought up in India or China and heard all of their myths and wondered why anybody would believe the Jewish Messiah thing at all.
Fantastic! I just ordered, “God An Anatomy” audiobook and will start listening to it today. I’ve never heard of it so thank you! This channel is so, so important!
You are so welcome. You’re gonna love and man her voice is golden also!
This is the first video from your channel that the CZcams algorithm offered to me, and it was an excellent introduction. I've added a couple of your book recommendations to my audible library (I used the link from here, so hopefully the affiliate links work for those as well). I'm looking forward to working my way through your back catalog. Cheers and happy holidays!
Cheers! Thats wonderful to hear. Thanks for the kind support. Hope you like the rest!
This one isn’t a deep, scholarly work but I love Seth Andrews’s “Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot”. It’s so relatable about the way we used to speak as Christians and how, once you actually hear what you’re saying, you wonder how you ever could have thought such ideas were anything other than garbage.
I feel that way every time i react to apologists arguments. But i haven’t read that book yet.
Thanks for sharing the resource books, Brandon. The bible in itself was the thing that finally convinced me it was all impossible to be true. For me, the questions are how do people get manipulated into cult movements ? Why do they stay in the church / cult when it's obvious it's manipulative ? How do we get fooled the way we do ? How do people get sucked into extremist views ?
It’s the potluck dinners that kept me in. They’re all batshit crazy, but , damn…they can cook!
How much did you study the Bible? After all, there are billions and billions believe it.
@@Justas399
What's your point?
There's billions who believe
in the Koran also.
And Nearly a billion
who believe in the Gita.
That only proves that people believe in stories that their family and culture tells them is so.
Also believing anything because a lot of other people do is a fallacy .
I think Robert Sapolsky’s two most recent books would have interesting insights on your questions.
@@riseofdarkleela Thanks, yeah it looks like both "Behave" and "Determined" will be good to check out. 👍
Thank you so much for this video!!! I love reading and I am definitely going to pick up a few of these
So glad to hear it!
Thank you for sharing your list! I've read some of these books and have enjoyed them as well. I look forward to reading the others listed and diving deeper into these subjects.
Thanks so much, hope you enjoy!
I echo recommendation for Why Evolution Is True. I always believed it even when an xtian, but just wanted to understand it better. Also love Dan Barker, Sam Harris, Hitch, and several others. I will have to check out the ones I haven’t read, and LOVE the last book you suggested. That’s the one that makes atheists of many of us 👏👏👏
Great list! For me deconversion was a two step process. First beleiving in evolution "blind watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins and "Orgin of Species" by Darwn made me a liberal Christian then Sam Harris "end of faith" took me over the finish line out of religion. I've since read most of your list and i endorse your picks.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and honesty on your journey im still torn between it all but im trying, im not there yet ,looks like i have some reading to do thanks for the recommendations have a great Sunday! ☺️
Glad to help! Keep leaning!
Thank you. Great list. I’ve read many, but this will help form my next set of reading goals.
So glad to help!
I didn't need books. I was forced to go to Catholic school for 9 years. I was an atheist by 2nd grade.
The greatest freedom I think is the inability to know everything. Example: i may not be a world renowned paleontologist that has dug up dozens of different specimens but i have been a dinosaur and ancient life fanatic since i was a child and enjoy learning things i didn't know previously about them. I also learning about things like multiverse theory and suns larger than entire galaxies. Every time i talk about stuff like that people treat me like i don't know anything and they know everything. People like that really get under my skin in the worst way.
One has to be careful in taking offense. Pride can be a stronghold of the mind that is perhaps the greatest sin.
Well, the tower of books on my bedside table just doubled in size! Thanks, Brandon. Some great selections here.
Love to hear that!
More books please on any subject, I have read all those that you mentioned and still have some in my home library. Its like the matrix once you see it you can never chose to go back to it, as an optical illusion it disappears.
Looking at the thumbnail of the book spines, I'm surprised not to see "The Demon-Haunted World/Science As A Candle In The Dark" by Carl Sagan (Hail Sagan🤘) in the collection. That was my first introduction to critical thinking and skepticism. I was still a seeker and fake believer (as a minister) when I checked out that book from the library. It was all breaking apart and being put back together for me from that point on.
I own it but havent read it yet! Excited to
@MindShiftSkeptic
IMHO, it is a must-read. I've read it cover to cover several times now. The first time, I couldn't put it down. I remember going to church services and having the things I read jump out all over the place. Looking back at it now, it was personally epic!!!
@@MindShift-Brandon
Also, I keep my hardback copy of it on my side table along with my "The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster"
Seriously.
"It was all breaking apart and being put back together......" Summed up beautifully.
Two things:
One, I read Zealot when I was taking a college class on the gospels at my religious college and I remember being SO. MAD. at Reza for bringing up points and talking about stuff that was similar to what I had been doubting. I was really angry that there were others asking questions and pointing out issues.
Two, I've done so well not buying new books recently. And looks like that streak is about to end. Thanks a lot lol
Ha! Sorry not sorry!
A quick 'thank you' for helping increase my library. I already have some of the books reviewed but you have given me more to broaden my knowledge base. I appreciate that.
My pleasure. Enjoy!
When Brandon says ‘I digress’ it makes me smile as I’ll always up for a longer video!
Ha! Thank you so much for being here for it all!
I really like Jesus Interrupted by Bart Ehrman and Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism by Aron Ra. I checked out God by Francesca Stavrakopoulou based on your recommendation. Thanks dude! I will look into some of these other books.
Glad to hear it. Thanks for being here!
"Another Roadside Attraction" by Tom Robbins was hilarious.
Love this channel so much. I’ll be starting a CZcams channel and I hope we can talk.
Wishing you luck! Reach out with any questions.
I'm SO happy you did this video. I have been thinking of asking for a video like this. 😊
Glad to share! Thanks for watching
Hi! I am really happy to see your channel grow. You helped me a lot to understand certain topics and motivated me to go further in my deconstruction journey. This list of books looks great, thanks a lot! Cheers :)
Thats so lovely to hear. Thanks for letting me know!
Which one would you recommend to give to a religious family member? (my father)
Depends how religious but i think letters to a Christian nation
@@MindShift-Brandon thanks so much dude.
To me, it was the Book of Mormon. I’m not a FLDS member but one of my former clients was. Gave me the Book of Mormon. I read it and just bust out laughing time and again at the absurdity of it all. Then read about Joseph Smith and him finding all of this out through looking at magically plates with a seer stone and a top hat and I laughed that much harder. Then I looked up their population. 17 MILLION. 17 million people have been convinced of this in the age of information we live in. It’s mind boggling. Then, taking a step back, you realize that the Bible, the Torah, the Quran….they are not much better and in some ways, they are FAR worse than the Book of Mormon. And yet, 1/2 the people on the earth, feel like THOSE 2000+ year old books are worthy of constructing their lives around. It was eye opening. For as much as you want to point the finger at one religion or denomination, there are 1000 pointing out the absurdity of yours. From there on, they were all just variations of variations of fairy tales. Jonah and the Whale was no more true than Jack and the Bean Stalk.
1000%! So well put
Yep! Sounds like I need to read that book if I was a good laugh. lol. But it's so true. I keep trying to tell my family, "If ANY religion was confirmed to be true then it would be called SCIENCE and not religion." I was always skeptical of Christianity even as a kid but even more so since I have an education in psychology. It's just one giant classic conditioning experiment. Religions who last the test of time have the same carrot and stick rhetoric.
One realization I had recently was the Bible CONFIRM (in its own lore) the existence of other gods, especially the ancient Egyptian ones. So I'm going to tell Christians I'm going to convert to Kemetism because of the Bible. LOL! I want my heart to be lighter than a feather when evaluated by Anubis so I'm not tortured for all eternity. My soul is on the line!!! 😱
@@suicune2001 Absolutely. Wonder what those ancient Egyptian Gods are up to these days? Maybe I’ll name my first born son, Apollo. I mean, if the United States is going to name their space program after them then CLEARLY there HAS to be some truth that he really existed. Or maybe it will be Thor, as we call the 4th day of the week after him so clearly that was proof he really existed too, which by default, means that Odin is the TRUE God. Wonder if all of these Gods ever meet at Starbucks….
@@roc5291 LMAO! The evidence is so obvious when you point it out like that! I've always had an affinity for the Egyptian gods so I'll be rooting for them in the tag team cage match. lol.
Starbucks is way too mainstream and corporate. These gods have standards, after all. Whatever the snooty version of Starbucks is is where they'll be. Does Gordon Ramsey do coffee?
@@suicune2001 I’m sure if Ramsey owned such a coffee shop, it would be called: “Rubbish”. But I had this conversation with a friend of mine a month ago. He’s one of those who dutifully listens to what I have to say on this and then just shrugs his shoulders and goes: “Well, I believe in God but I get it”. I then asked him, if he didn’t believe in the Christian Godhead, which other Godhead would he believe in. He then went on a 10 minute speech about how he LOVES Norse Gods like Odin and Thor. Loves the mythology and stories of them. I then asked him what would change about his life if he started to believe in them instead and then pointed out how passionately he talked about THOSE Gods and how lackadaisically he talked about his “one true God”. There was a pause, some wheels turning, then I got a “I don’t know” then he switched the subject to football.
Thank you for such a great list of books Brandon. Many I’ve heard of, and some I’ve read, but most I haven’t. I appreciate you.
So kind. thanks!
Just ended the video, a great one for sure, I'll be looking at some of these, and eventually i hope, all of them.
For books related content i would love book reviews or recommendations and even taking topics from books for discussion, go for it!!
Perfect. Thanks for the feedback
Amazing how it only takes one 📖 to enslave the mind but many books📚 to free it. The more intelligent a person becomes the less religious they are.
Fundamentalism and Dogmatism are created when people are only allowed to read a single book.
Everyone has beliefs--EVERYONE. It is not so much a matter of having beliefs, but WHO one believes. Will men believe God and his word (ref. John 17:17)? Jesus made it clear that one's eternal welfare depended upon what you believe about him, saying, If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24b). And again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life (John 6:47).
@@sm8johnthreesixteen
Not everyone has beliefs involving storybook characters though.
That's predominantly a religious thing, and something the nonreligious prefer to avoid.
@@FoursWithin The Bible is full of narratives and events involving real people that lived in the ancient past (some famous, some not) but people just like us. And the geography--wow! So much that pins those things down to specific places, and times!
@@sm8johnthreesixteen
Your weak argument has faulty logic.
The Koran names real people and real places also. Do you believe in the Koran too ?
As do plenty of other "sacred" texts.
Do you believe in the narratives of these other miraculous events of other religions involving their Gods or Goddesss?
I mean me personally, the Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism by Aron Ra is my personal favorite, and what got my path of unbelief started, but all of these I will most definitely consider! Thank you, and have an epic day :3
Thanks for the rec, i didnt know Aron Ra had written a book actually.
Terrific book. I love it.
Loved this - I’ve been listening to books on audible and I added a bunch to my reading list today!
Great to hear. Thank you!
You have such a fierce mind. I'm in awe and grateful for you sharing it with us 🙏🏻
Thank you, Rachel. I really appreciate your comments!
Loved this so much! Thanks for all the recommendations.
I also enjoyed watching your Jenga stacking of all those books! every time you put a new one on the stack, I held my breath a little until they settled 😅
Lol! Love that. Thanks so much!
Loved it! Thank you so much, Brandon! Looking forward to the case against the case for Christ comparison video.
Thanks so much, Kristi!
Excellent selection! Thank you for sharing. You only have a couple I haven’t gotten to yet.
Glad to hear it! Thanks
Great video Brandon, and great book recommendations! I’m going through Marcus Aurelius’s “meditations” and it has some great wisdom. Have to pick some of these up before the black weekend sales end.
Cant beat Meditations! Thanks, Ian!
Really happy you put together this essential library Brandon. I've already ordered several lol
Glad to hear it! Let me know what you think after you get to one.
This is an excellent list of books. I have read some of them already. Looking forward to reading the rest. Thank you ever so much for your recommendation.
My pleasure! Glad to hear it
This was an incredible video. Many times I've looked for books that could help shed some light on topics. From historical stuff to stuff covering woo like topics theist's like to manipulate. Like consciousness and such. Id love love love to see you do a part 2 3 or maybe even 4 there's so much knowledge to be found in these books that it can help immensely. Im not sure what other books id mention but i definitely enjoy books like determined that take a look at humans neurologically and explain some of these phenomenon's. Id also speaking of bart erhman recommend haven and hell a history of the afterlife. And paranormality why we see things that aren't there.
It is so comforting and reassuring to see someone else who went through, at the very least, a similar experience and journey out of Christianity and have a true shift of perspective and mind that leads to such a clear position in life and understanding. I hope that this video reaches someone questioning and helps them along their journey of deconstruction and deconversion.
Thank you for the book recommendations!
Always happy to talk books. Thanks, Kathryn!
Great recommendations! So many I haven’t read yet.
Excited to hear you’re getting back to training. Heard you say in an interview you wanted to run a 100 miles. As a Fellow ultra runner I’d like you to keep us updated on your progress.
Thanks. My longest finished race yet is 100k. I blew my Achilles 65 miles into my first 100 miler attempt. So much progress lost since then.
Good sunday video, I thought this was gonna be like an "indepth" look at these books, but i see its your recounting of your personal journey. Even when i have like a billion problems with the books by the new atheists you presented, it is still a very interesting list
Your summary comments from 27m:30s onwards is pure succinct gold.
Hey thanks so much!
Yes!!! I’m not a big reader because adhd and also I need glasses and don’t have insurance rn but I am so excited to dig into these. I actually did an indoor winds performance based off Voltaire! Thanks so much for sharing:)
Oh that sounds so cool! And thanks!
Thanks so much, so helpful. Yes please to more videos summarising helpful books! I would have been very happy to hear more on each book. Or an episode on themed books eg just bible scholars, or just philosophers. Helpful to hear what each author adds. I have found Mythvision, Gnostic Informant and History Valley so helpful introducing me to so many amazing scholar authors and each adds something
I love this list of books and people. I can't wait to checkout some of these books that I haven't heard of. I would add Michael Shermer to the list. Shermer is an endurance athlete (cycling) like you and I (triathlon and adventure racing) so that makes me like him and you even more. Good luck with your training.
I didnt know that about him, super cool. Still have never read one of his books but excited to.
Love this...more of this and more book reviews and breakdowns
Glad to hear. Thanks!
I would also recommend Sagan's "Demon Haunted World" and Shermer's "Why People Believe Weird Things"
I own DHW but havent gotten to it yet. I think im gonna read it asap
Very good, Sir. Thank you. One of my favorites is 'Why I am not a Christian' by Bertrand Russell.
I actually sought out Brandon's Bookshelf after watching your God an Anatomy part 2 video. I got curious about what books you talked about there and I definitely added some to my library to listen through. I wouldn't mind videos like these from time to time on some good new reads to check out!
Appreciate that so much!
What a great list, Brandon! Your channel has been inspiring since I found it a few weeks back.
My Deconversion was fueled largely by CZcams videos. Folks like Dark Matter, The Thinking Atheist, Potholer54, Logicked, and the hilarious atheism bible study series by the then Hugo and Jake (now Hannah and Jake). It was only after deconverting that I started reaching out for more solid information in books like those you have recommended.
Thank you for your work my friend!
Appreciate that much! Nonstampcollector and darkmatter were icing on the cake to me as i went through my journey!
As soon as I recover enough from my burn-out to start reading again, I'm definitely going to buy a few of these books! I wouldn't mind more videos about books, though I feel like you could add books to my reading list faster than I can read them...
Ha. That is a positive problem! Thank you
Loved this video! Now my TBR is even longer 🙃
A positive problem that i am glad to cause!
THanks for a great video...turns out I have just about all of these books. I know this is a little off topic, but I'd love for you to do a video about your trail ultra experience. I too am a trail runner and I always enjoy hearing others experiences and ideas on the trail. Hope all is well
Appreciate that. I have one video from old channel where i cover the 10 best running books and share my personal experience on what its like to be an ultra runner. Just search brandons bookshelf running.
LOVE THE BOOK LIST. HOPE TO SEE MORE.
Thanks so much!
One of my favourite videos from you yet Brandon. Thanks for this. After discovering you here, I've retroactively fallen in love with your old book videos from your previous channel, and it left me disappointed that you've taken a step back away from books. So, please - YES - more of this!
Books have played a massive role in my deconversion too, and for years now, I've spent around a hour or two every day out hiking with audiobooks, and by now I've listened to hundreds of science, history, religion, and philosophy books. You've given me a few more to add to my queue, so thanks.
In the meantime, I'm reading God: An Anatomy along with you, and pausing after each chapter to wait for your next video, so I'm eagerly anticipating your next one.
I love your idea of pairing up an apologetics books with a secular book on the same topic and comparing and contrasting the ideas, breaking them down. I can't wait for that series.
Thanks Brandon - and good luck with your quest to get back into endurance athletics. I'm rooting for you!
What an awesome comment. Thank you so much for all the love and support!
Truly an excellent reading list. I have many of them and there are some I haven't heard of, but of course will have to check out. Too bad there are only so many hours in a day to read. A few other authors to check out would be Graham Oppy, John Loftus, Joshua Bowen, & Lawrence Krauss.
Keep thinking and question everything!
Love Krauss and Bowen. Need to check out Oppy and Loftus
Outstanding. I have a lot of reading to do. Many thanks.
My pleasure!
Thank you for this incredible list of books. I have had Sapiens on my list, now I want to get started on it as soon as I finish The Uses of Enchantment. I want to read every book on this list to be honest.
So glad you liked them! Hope you enjoy!
Thank you for this video, just thaaaannnkkkk youuuuu. . .
Thanks (:
My pleasure!
Thanks for the book list. I have read some of those since I started my deconstruction process about 3 years ago. You gave me some good advice on what books to read in the future to back up my atheism.
Glad to hear it!
Yes! Please more bookish videos. I found you originally on Brandon’s bookshelf when you did your atheist books review over there. Love content like this
Oh thats awesome to hear. Thank you!
Love the recommendations & review, so good! You are one of the ones I found in my deconstruction journey and I've become a fan even in my reconstruction phase. Deconstruction was swift for me, as I learned I've done this many times in my life with religions, and thinking back so was my reconstruction. While my in-between phases I've flirted with agnosticism just so my body & soul could get some relief. I have now gone full circle and am a theist now.
I've studied and have been so many religions, it's almost what u can call my life's work, to know and love God. Why? I wasn't raised like this, I was raised without religion but I came out of the womb so to speak "Loving God". And the spiritual experiances I had as a heathen kid who just at the time loved grandly something beyond me, shaped me and will shape me till I'm in a box or scattered across-the-board the earth.
I regret the length of time I've waisted in Christianity, when I could of spent time working on my meditation/yoga advancement and reaching new heights. I consider myself a Hindu-Yogi if that gives you an idea of where I'm at. You spent much more time in that belief system and only that system for 30 years while I danced heavily around before fully taking on xtianity as a result, Do you mourn your time you can't get back to spend on more lofty things? I think the grieving period of deconstruction lent itself towards not a God existing, but the time I waisted when I could of been my free sprit self & also the mental shattering of my beloved spiritual heart that took place under a biblical God. I think these topics would make a good video if you haven't dug into them already?
I feel so much freer and at peace in Hinduism. I felt like I left a prison when I dropped xtianity. It's not my first go at hindiusm while for a time I was in a yoga cult (pretty non nefarious not even called a cult by most) as a teen. Now I'm in my early 30s.
My S.O. is agnostic through n through. I've told them about my spiritual experiance as a child & why I am the way I am. While they remain an open curiosity about things, they dont pursue much into the spiritual realm unless it has been secularised and washed of its spiritual roots. They taught me by observing how to function without religion as they were agnostic since their early teens. Ex xtian who grew up in a very Christian household. They taught me from observation to not be afraid of hell or a God who would put me there. I also feel with even more conviction that everyone is entitled to their spiritual beliefs or lack of & should have the freedom to express it in a non harmful fashion.
I'm free I'm happy I'm at peace in my reclaimed religion. I've had quite the religious ride in my life mentally and spiritually. Glad back to be devoted to God(Lord Krishna) and to revel in the Hindu Vedas and other text. I feel so seen, understood and at home here. The closest thing I can get an explanation of to my experiance is in the Hindu religion. I grieve the time and ignorance it took me to fuck myself into xtianity and then mindfuck myself back out. But now I have the rest of my days to be happy where I am at.
Reconstruction is not for everyone, especially when it's towards your former faith, or another faith, but ive had enough lifetime experiance and tenacity to embrace it quite easily than others. Reconstruction towards non belief is okay too. Whatever frees someone of Christianity I can get behind.
While we don't share the same beliefs and never will, I praise your channel and your mind for being clear, wise, articulate and compassionate. 🙏 thank you for being one of the catalyst that frees me so quickly from my bonds. Great work!
Appreciate the very kind comment despite any differences! Wishing you well
Super looking forward to the comparison between "The Case for Christ" and "The Case Against the Case For Christ" you mentioned!
Thanks, hope to get on it pretty soon!
I love how on all of these exchristian deconstruction channels the ads are Christian ads
Christians love buying atheist keywords.
What first made me doubt Christianity at a young age was that the Bible is so similar to a fantasy novel. I was already reading non fiction, so I knew the difference between knowledge and stories and the Bible so obviously fit in with the stories, not the non-fiction.
Hey, I've read some of those books when I was leaving my religion. Nice list.