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Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam (2005)

by Michel Onfray

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1,0902418,374 (3.69)5
Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. HTML:

This hugely controversial work demonstrates convincingly how the world's three major monotheistic religionsâ??Christianity, Judaism, and Islamâ??have attempted to suppress knowledge, science, pleasure, and desire, condemning nonbelievers often to death.

Not since Nietzsche has a work so groundbreaking and explosive appeared, to question the role of the world's three major monotheistic religions. If Nietzsche proclaimed the death of God, Onfray starts from the premise that not only is God still very much alive but increasingly controlled by fundamentalists who pose a danger to the human race. Documenting the ravages from religious intolerance over the centuries, the author makes a strong case against the three religions for their obsession with purity and their contempt for reason and intelligence, individual freedom, desire and the human body, sexuality and pleasure, and for women in general. In their place, all three demand faith and belief, obedience and submission, extol the "next life" to the detriment of the here and now. Tightly argued, this is a work that is sure to stir debate on the role of religion in American societyâ??and polit… (more)

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» See also 5 mentions

English (12)  French (5)  German (2)  Spanish (1)  Dutch (1)  Italian (1)  Swedish (1)  All languages (23)
Showing 1-5 of 12 (next | show all)
Em nenhum lugar desprezei aquele que acreditava nos espíritos, na alma imortal, no sopro dos deuses, na presença dos anjos, nos efeitos da prece, na eficácia do ritual, na legitimidade das encantações, no contato com os loas, nos milagres com hemoglobina, nas lágrimas da virgem, na ressurreição de um homem crucificado, nas virtudes dos cauris, nas forças xamânicas, no valor do sacrifício animal, no efeito transcendental do nitro egípcio, nas moinhas de preces. No chacal ontológico. Em nenhum lugar. Mas em toda parte constatei o quanto os homens fabulam para evitar olhar o real de frente. A criação de além-mundos não seria muito grave se seu preço não fosse tão alto: o esquecimento do real, portanto a condenável negligência do único mundo que existe. Enquanto a crença indispõe com a imanência, portanto com o eu, o ateísmo reconcilia com a terra, outro nome da vida. (M.O)
  luizzmendes | Mar 10, 2024 |
On a second reading after a few years, I have revised my opinion. I think I can see its weaknesses now, There are some factual assertions which are simply false. Among some examples, he states that no Christian or Muslim thinkers condemn the violence and misogyny so evident in the churches and mosques. That's simply false: has he never heard of Christian pacifists? I'm persuaded by atheism/agnosticism, but this falsity really weakens the book, making its opponents into straw people. Also, a second reading shows how wedded he is to Foucault, not surprising in a French thinker. (He criticises Foucault's attitude to Iran, in the end.)
Knowledge is inextricably linked to power, says Foucault, and Christian power in the west pollutes all medical and other knowledge. Assertion, assertion. Is there no room for independent knowledge? How else did the Enlightenment emerge?
He then seeks to base a new epistemology on Bentham's utilitarianism with its very obvious weakness of oppression of the minority for the benefit of the majority, the greatest number.
Towards the end, the book is less atheist than hostile to religion. The two are not the same.
I enjoyed the first reading. Not so much the second, despite the clarity of his writing and strength of his anti-religion arguments. ( )
  elimatta | May 10, 2021 |
As an atheist manifesto, it does poorly. This is not that book. Atheism is discussed very infrequently. One passage of note, near the end gives a brief synopsis with no expansion or explanation:

"...condemnation of superstition, rejection of intolerance, abolition of censorship, resistance to tyranny, opposition to political absolutism, an end to state religion, proscription of magical thinking, extension of freedom of thought and expression, promulgation of equal rights, the notion that all law arises from contractual immanence, the wish for social happiness here and now, [and] the aspiration toward the universal reign of reason."

However, as a deconstruction of the three major monotheistic religions, it does a smashingly detailed job. ( )
  illmunkeys | Apr 22, 2021 |
Si je suis en accord avec le fond, je ne suis pas accroché par la forme.
I like this charge; we have to be lucid about religions. ( )
  Gerardlionel | Apr 2, 2016 |
This is the type of book I "believe" one has to read several times to absorb the vast array of ideas expressed. Obviously "true believers" of the garden variety religions will not touch this small tome. Of course if they are looking for material to fuel their fires of righteous indignation they will have come to the right place.

Many of the ideas supporting the arguments of those who don't quite get the draw of mainstream religions appeal are of course here. Onfray goes even further in pointing a finger at the atheists, a belief system in its own right, who use the same shared religious persecution principles. There is something for everyone here in the arguments especially the devoted non-believers. ( )
  knightlight777 | Mar 23, 2013 |
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Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. HTML:

This hugely controversial work demonstrates convincingly how the world's three major monotheistic religionsâ??Christianity, Judaism, and Islamâ??have attempted to suppress knowledge, science, pleasure, and desire, condemning nonbelievers often to death.

Not since Nietzsche has a work so groundbreaking and explosive appeared, to question the role of the world's three major monotheistic religions. If Nietzsche proclaimed the death of God, Onfray starts from the premise that not only is God still very much alive but increasingly controlled by fundamentalists who pose a danger to the human race. Documenting the ravages from religious intolerance over the centuries, the author makes a strong case against the three religions for their obsession with purity and their contempt for reason and intelligence, individual freedom, desire and the human body, sexuality and pleasure, and for women in general. In their place, all three demand faith and belief, obedience and submission, extol the "next life" to the detriment of the here and now. Tightly argued, this is a work that is sure to stir debate on the role of religion in American societyâ??and polit

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Hachette Book Group

2 editions of this book were published by Hachette Book Group.

Editions: 1559708204, 1559708506

Arcade Publishing

An edition of this book was published by Arcade Publishing.

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