The Freethinker's Prayer Book
Author: Khushwant Singh
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 189
ISBN-13: 9788192328041
DOWNLOAD EBOOKQuotations from various sacred, philosophical, and literary texts and authors.
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Freethinkers
Author: Susan Jacoby
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Published: 2005-01-07
Total Pages: 452
ISBN-13: 1429934751
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAn authoritative history of the vital role of secularist thinkers and activists in the United States, from a writer of "fierce intelligence and nimble, unfettered imagination" (The New York Times) At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby paints a striking portrait of more than two hundred years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate over the omission of God from the Constitution. Moving from nineteenth-century abolitionism and suffragism through the twentieth century's civil liberties, civil rights, and feminist movements, Freethinkers illuminates the neglected accomplishments of secularists who, allied with liberal and tolerant religious believers, have stood at the forefront of the battle for reforms opposed by reactionary forces in the past and today. Rich with such iconic figures as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Clarence Darrow—as well as once-famous secularists such as Robert Green Ingersoll, "the Great Agnostic"—Freethinkers restores to history generations of dedicated humanists. It is they, Jacoby shows, who have led the struggle to uphold the combination of secular government and religious liberty that is the glory of the American system.
Candidate Without a Prayer
Author: Herb Silverman
Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9780984493289
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn this deeply revealing and engaging autobiography, Herb Silverman tells his iconoclastic life story. He takes the reader from his childhood as an Orthodox Jew in Philadelphia, where he stopped fasting on Yom Kippur to test God's existence, to his adult life in the heart of the Bible Belt, where he became a legendary figure within America's secular activist community and remains one of its most beloved leaders. Never one to shy from controversy, Silverman relates many of his high-profile battles with the Religious Right, including his decision to run for governor of South Carolina to challenge the state's constitutional provision that prohibited atheists from holding public office. Candidate Without a Prayer offers an intimate portrait of a central player in today's increasingly heated culture wars.
A Simple Way to Pray
Author: Martin Luther
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Published: 2000-01-01
Total Pages: 76
ISBN-13: 9780664222734
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhen asked by his barber and good friend, Peter Beskendorf, for some practical guidance on how to prepare oneself for prayer, Luther responded by writing this brief treatise, first published in the spring of 1535. After 500 years, his instruction continues to offer words of spiritual nurture for us today.
The Little Book of Prayers
Author: David Schiller
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Published: 1996-10-01
Total Pages: 387
ISBN-13: 0761164359
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe perfect gift for seekers, the curious, and the spiritually hungry, The Little Book of Prayers now has a stunning new cover and a more prayer book–like format. Gathered from holy books and prayer books, from songs and spirituals, spoken traditions and poets, it is an unexpectedly approachable collection of common and uncommon prayers from around the world. The entries, one per page or spread, are chosen for their depth of feeling, beauty of expression, spiritual intensity, and sense of the universal. The book is organized into broad categories of praise, entreaty, contemplation, mourning, and grace; and two indexes—one by authorship, and the other by topic—make it immediately accessible. There are familiar prayers, like the Lord’s Prayer and 23rd Psalm, which, placed in new context, shine with a renewed beauty and wisdom. You’ll find prayers unfamiliar to many in the West, such as the “Opener” from the Koran or the four vows of the Boddhisattva, chanted every evening in Zen monasteries around the world. And the surprising—from the “Prayer of the Unknown Confederate Soldier” to the blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins to the poetry of Rumi. God help us to live slowly: To move simply: To look softly: To allow emptiness: To let the heart create for us. Amen. —Michael Leunig You, whose day it is, make it beautiful. Get out your rainbow colors, so it will be beautiful. —Nootka Song
Black Freethinkers
Author: Christopher Cameron
Publisher: Critical Insurgencies
Published: 2019-09-15
Total Pages: 248
ISBN-13: 9780810140790
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBlack Freethinkers is the first study to offer a comprehensive historical treatment of African American freethought (including atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism) from the nineteenth century to the present.
Meditations of John Muir
Author: Chris Highland
Publisher: Wilderness Press
Published: 2010-01-01
Total Pages: 172
ISBN-13: 0899974961
DOWNLOAD EBOOKCarry John Muir’s wisdom with you in this inspirational guide that features 60 of his most insightful quotes. As a patriarch of the American environmental movement, John Muir helped to give birth to the national park system, the Sierra Club, and a myriad of smaller groups devoted to saving rivers, redwoods, and wildlife. Yet, he is also a spiritual parent who leads us down unmarked trails of the spirit. By urging us to simply be present in the world around us, loving and honoring it as our garden home, his poetic insight liberates life. In Meditations of John Muir, editor Chris Highland pairs 60 Muir quotes with selections from other celebrated thinkers and spiritual texts. Take this pocket-size guide with you on backpacks, nature hikes, and camping trips. Let Muir’s words enrich your experience as you ponder the wilderness from riverbank, mountaintop, or as you relax beside your campfire. Inside you’ll find: 60 inspiring John Muir quotes Selections of text from other philosophical minds Short excerpts for convenient reading Muir’s exuberance for nature was the touchstone for his commitment to the earth and all of its creatures. Let him lead you along the ultimate adventure that treks every range of light. Then venture off on your own deertrails of the heart, harkening to his granite gospel that calls for you “to get as near to the heart of the world” as you can.
What's God Got to Do With It?
Author: Robert Ingersoll
Publisher: Steerforth
Published: 2011-12-13
Total Pages: 148
ISBN-13: 1586421972
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRobert Ingersoll (1833—1899) is one of the great lost figures in United States history, all but forgotten at just the time America needs him most. An outspoken and unapologetic agnostic, fervent champion of the separation of church and state, and tireless advocate of the rights of women and African Americans, he drew enormous audiences in the late nineteenth century with his lectures on “freethought.” His admirers included Mark Twain and Thomas A. Edison, who said Ingersoll had “all the attributes of a perfect man” and went so far as to make an early recording of Ingersoll’s voice. The publication of What’s God Got to Do with It? will return Robert Ingersoll and his ideas to American political discourse. Edited and with a biographical introduction by Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Page, this new popular collection of Ingersoll’s thought – distilled from the twelve-volume set of his works, his copious letters, and various newspaper interviews – promises to put Ingersoll back where he belongs, in the forefront of independent American thought.
A Manual for Creating Atheists
Author: Peter Boghossian
Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)
Published: 2014-07-01
Total Pages: 267
ISBN-13: 1939578159
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFor thousands of years, the faithful have honed proselytizing strategies and talked people into believing the truth of one holy book or another. Indeed, the faithful often view converting others as an obligation of their faith—and are trained from an early age to spread their unique brand of religion. The result is a world broken in large part by unquestioned faith. As an urgently needed counter to this tried-and-true tradition of religious evangelism, A Manual for Creating Atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith—but for talking them out of it. Peter Boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than 20 years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.
