"The Portable Atheist" -- Book Review

 

Over the recent holidays, I read “The Portable Atheist:  Essential Readings For The Nonbeliever” by the late Christopher Hitchens. 

“The Portable Atheist” is an anthology of writings on atheism that Hitchens collected for inclusion in this book.  Hitchens wrote the introduction; if you buy the book and read nothing but the introduction, then that alone is completely worth the price of the tome.  Each chapter is by a different author, some of whom are very familiar names.  My favorites included a controversial piece by Salman Rushdie, which was commissioned by the United Nations; a short-but-to-the-point essay by comedian/magician Penn Jillette (from Penn & Teller); and a truly heartfelt tale by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a previously unpublished story, stemming from her own book, “Infidel”. 

The book is 47 chapters long and also includes such luminaries as Charles Darwin (with an excerpt from his autobiography), Albert Einstein (selected writings on religion) and Carl Sagan (“The Demon-Haunted World” and “The God Hypothesis”, from his lecture at The University Of Glasgow).  Needless to say – but important to point out – no book on atheism would be complete without a section by Richard Dawkins (“Why There Is Almost Certainly No God”, “Gerin Oil” and “Atheists for Jesus”).  The stories these people tell are as varied as their backgrounds; they either evolved into atheism over time or have always been non-believers. 

It is noteworthy that many of the contributors to this work are scientists, who base their beliefs on facts which can be observed and proven by evidence; since the existence of god can be neither proven nor disproven (i.e., you can’t prove a negative), then the discussion of such a being is something of a moot point.  Where “The Portable Atheist” comes up a little short, however, is on the subject of faith; many people who believe in god will tell you that while they cannot prove the existence of The Supreme Being, they do, nevertheless have faith that their chosen god does in fact exist – which is the basis of just about any organized religion.

Despite that niggling shortcoming, “The Portable Atheist” will help answer many questions for those troubled by their religious beliefs and reaffirm the convictions of non-believers.  Whether you are an agnostic or an atheist, this book is most definitely a must-read.  For those who cannot be swayed, this work will either be an annoyance or an amusement – but it is quite unlikely that many who fall into that group would even consider giving it a read.  If you are one who belongs to the undecided camp, this book can serve as a new perspective on matters – not just from a single individual’s viewpoint, but from the perspective of many. 

Among the explanations some give regarding their non-belief is the fact that many of the original religious ideologies originates from myths, superstitions and the unfounded existence of demons.  An ancient term for a demon was a “mare” and it was thought that people who had bad dreams while sleeping were visited by evil demons (“mares”) – this is how we got the term “nightmare”.  Of course, there are those who used religion to control and manipulate people through fear; live your life this way or you’ll burn in hell forever (and they make a decent living this way). 

Religion-for-profit was also used during the Salem Witch Hunts; a panel of “experts” would be formed when someone was accused of being a witch; here, the burden of proof was on the accused, who had to pay the committee for their time.  When it was seen that the easily manipulated could be coerced, this spawned a racket which continues to this day, especially for people who fear what fate may await them in the hereafter.  The bible itself is also taken to task by none other than Mark Twain, who notes that while The Good Book embraced slavery, it was society that had to correct scripture by outlawing the practice.