David G. McAfee - The Book of Gods

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The Book

of

Gods

David G. McAfee

Chuck Harrison

Copyright 2016 David G. McAfee & Chuck Harrison

In association with and produced by,

Atheist Republic, a private nonprofit organization.

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.

Illustrations by Chuck Harrison and David G. McAfee

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 publishers 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.

Kinda Boring Intro (for Grown-Ups)

The Book of Gods is the second in a series of books for kids of all ages on belief, gods, and religion.

The first part of this collection was The Belief Book , which helps readers learn all about the origins of beliefs and why they are important. It also discusses the difference between supported and unsupported beliefs, as well as how our ancestors turned stories into beliefs over time.

Youre holding the next piece of this complex puzzle: The Book of Gods . This work is published by Atheist Republic, but it was not written to teach kids to be atheists or to teach them that gods are somehow bad. It is to help them learn all about the different deities, their stories, and why we invented them. In the book, we delve into the rich histories of divine figures and discover how belief in them spread and in some cases ceased all together, all while encouraging everyone to come to their own well-reasoned conclusions.

We dont want to demean religion or cast belief in god(s) as something evil. Instead, our goal is to promote religious education in a friendly and secular way to children, as well as to adults who enjoy simple explanations to these complicated topics.

Thats why we broke this book up into three separate parts. The first part, chapters one through three, talks about how the gods came to be. The second part, just chapter four, introduces you to some of the most worshiped and popular gods in a trip around the world. And the third part, chapters five through eight, talks about how people worship, or do not worship, these deities.

We hope that youll join us on this journey and the next as we discover even more about gods and religions and their places in society and history!

Never stop learning or asking questions,

- David and Chuck

P.S. Every illustration in this book has been drawn with your kid in mind. They're all able to be colored! So, when reading The Book of Gods with your little one, pull out some crayons or colored pencils and let them explore the world of the gods with colors from their imaginations!

David G. McAfee is a Religious Studies Graduate, a journalist, and the author of The Belief Book ; Mom, Dad, Im an Atheist: The Guide to Coming Out as a Non-believer ; and Disproving Christianity and other Secular Writings . He is also a columnist for Canadian Freethinker Magazine, as well as a contributor to American Atheist Magazine and an editor for Ockham Publishing. McAfee attended University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated with bachelors degrees in English and Religious Studies with an emphasis on Christianity and Mediterranean religions .

To Holly, who helped me understand and talk to children, and to every young person who has an interest in gods or religion. Never stop asking questions!

Chuck Harrison is an illustrator and writer who lives with his son called, Puff and his cat named, Monkey in New York. His caffeine-fueled works have been published by DC Comics, Color Ink Book, Richard Dolan Press, and in many other fine publications. Everything else you may wish to know about him can be discovered at iLikeChuckHA.com.

This book is for the first god I ever met, my mom. Without her tireless support, countless blessings and boundless love this book wouldn't be before your eyes. I'd also like to dedicate this to all the people out there who shared their love and encouragement with us, seeing your pictures and reading your kind words helped more than you'll ever know!

Table of Contents

Lets Explore!

Welcome to The Book of Gods ! In the first part of our journey that started with The Belief Book , we talked all about belief and why people believe the things they do. We also learned about different belief systems and how they came to beand even created some of our own!

Now we are going to learn more about one of the most important human creations of all time: gods !

In this book, we will learn new and amazing things about all sorts of different gods and goddesses from all over the world. We will also find out about the very first godsthe really, really old onesand where they came from. But most of all, we will try our best to answer some really big questions:

What makes a god a god?

Should I be afraid of them?

Where do they come from?

Where do they go?

Why are there so many of them?

Can we have ice cream for breakfast?

OK that last one doesnt really have much to do with this book, but its still a very important question. Sadly, for most of us, the answer is, No, you cant have ice cream for breakfast .

But maybe there is a god out there who could bless us with ice cream every morning if we do what it says. A long time ago, people believed gods sent rain from the sky after they did a special dance. So, maybe we can make up a god who sends ice cream down instead of rain !

The real question is: do you want to believe the ice cream is coming soon or do you want the ice cream to be a reality ?

Reality [ree-al-i-tee] noun :

Something that is really happening; a thing that actually exists in the world.

Dave and Chuck both love to read. Chuck likes fantasy stories about faraway lands, but Dave enjoys learning more about the reality all around us.

Thats really what this book is all about: reality. Its important to see how stories and beliefs are different from reality because, if you dont, you could end up believing in anything! When that happens, you might make important choices based on the wrong answersand thats never a good thing.

What if you had a test in school, but you studied the wrong book? You wouldnt know how to answer the questions, would you? You could guess, but that wont get you far.

Or maybe you believe you can fly off the top of a tall building, just because you saw someone do it in a comic book or movie. How would that turn out?

A lot of people believe something magical happens with gods, just like with superheroes. They think our lives are like a game, and gods dont play by the same rules as the rest of us. In some stories, they can do just about anything they wanteven bring people back from the dead or make it rain frogs from the sky. Some people even believed in gods that shot thunderbolts from their hands, changed into animals, and destroyed whole worlds with diseases or floods.

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