Peter Boghossian - A Manual for Creating Atheists

Peter Boghossians techniques of friendly persuasion are not mine, and maybe Id be more effective if they were. They are undoubtedly very persuasiveand very much needed.

Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion

Up to now, most atheists have simply criticized religion in various ways, but the point is to dispel it. In A Manual For Creating Atheists, Peter Boghossian fills that gap, telling the reader how to become a street epistemologist with the skills to attack religion at its weakest point: its reliance on faith rather than evidence. This book is essential for nonbelievers who want to do more than just carp about religion, but want to weaken its odious grasp on the world.

Jerry Coyne, Ph.D., author of Why Evolution Is True

There is nothing else on the market like this book that helps atheists talk believers out of their faith. Every atheist interested in doing so, or who talks to believers about faith at all, should read it. Its both needed and brilliant!

John W. Loftus, author of Why I Became an Atheist and The Outsider Test for Faith

Boghossian has provided an indispensible chart book for all of us who must navigate the rising sea of magical thinking that is inundating America today.

Victor Stenger, Ph.D., author of God: The Failed Hypothesis and God and the Atom

Excellent application of science, philosophy, and strategy for breaking through ideological and psychological barriers to freethought, all in terms anyone can understand and apply. Delightfully novel and controversial, this is the kind of thing Ive long wanted and we need more of: bringing practical philosophy to the common man and woman.

Richard Carrier, Ph.D., author of Sense and Goodness Without God

This book is a feisty, tough-minded attempt to undo what the author sees as the profound damage done to society by faith. There is something here that lots of people are likely to get angry about: liberals, academics, feminists, psychologists, politicians, progressives, and libertariansand everybody in between. The book is a Molotov cocktail of ideas, arguments, policy proposals, thought experiments, encouragements, and denunciations.

Steven Brutus, Ph.D., author of Religion, Culture, History

If we want to live in a world that is safer and more rational for all, then this is the guidebook we have been waiting for. Relying on extensive experience and a deep concern for humanity, Peter Boghossian has produced a game changer. This is not a book to read while relaxing in a hammock on a sunny afternoon. This is the how-to manual to take into the trenches of everyday life where minds are won and lost in the struggle between reason and madness.

Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian and Race and Reality

Dr. Peter Boghossians A Manual for Creating Atheists is a precise, passionate, compassionate, and brilliantly reasoned work that will illuminate any and all minds capable of openness and curiosity. This is not a bedtime story to help you fall asleep, but a wakeup call that has the best chance of bringing your rational mind back to life.

Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio, the largest and most popular philosophy show on the Web: http://www.freedomainradio.com

A how-to book for the ages. Boghossian manages to take a librarys worth of information and mold it into a concise and practical tome to guide through the murky waters of magical thinking, docking the reader safely on the shores of reason, logic, and understanding. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and highly recommend it.

Al Stefanelli, author of A Voice of Reason in an Unreasonable World

This is a manual that we can use in our everyday interaction with those infected by the faith virus. The skills and concepts are both practical and learnable. As the founder and Chairman of the Board of RecoveringfromReligion.org, I recommend that all of our facilitators and leaders not only read and share this book, but actually learn how to use the questioning and dialogue techniques Dr. Boghossian illustrates. It will help you avoid common mistakes and give greater value to the conversations you have with the religious.

Darrel Ray, Ed.D., author of The God Virus and Sex and God

The fact is, this book is perfect. Its simple, and (most importantly) accessible. The same techniques it outlines can be used in all walks of lifefrom social justice issues to boardroom negotiations. It does what no other atheist/skeptic book has done in the past: it gives you somewhere to go to after youve read everything and said, well, that was fascinating, where the hell do I go to now? It works. It really does.

Jake Farr-Wharton, author of Letters to Christian Leaders

Since atheism is truly Good News, it should not be hidden under a bushel. Peter Boghossian shows us how to take it to the highways and the byways. I love it!

Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation

A book so great you can skip it and just read the footnotes. Pure genius.

Christopher Johnson, co-founder, The Onion

After the Four Horsemen comes the infantrythe army of evangelical rationalists making the world safe from faith. Boghossians book is both clarion call and roadmap for these heroic new battalions. Onward atheist soldiers!

Tim van Gelder, Ph.D., Principal, Austhink Consulting, Principal Fellow, University of Melbourne, Eureka Prizewinner for Critical Thinking

I predict that within one week of the publication of this book it will be banned in at least 20 countries.

Kevin Boileau, author of Essays on Phenomenology and the Self

I was so impressed by your book, and have been using the techniques every time I go out against the street preachers on a Friday or Saturday night with my atheist group. The fact is, its perfect. Its simple, and (most importantly) accessible. The same techniques you outline can be used in all walks of life, also, for social justice issues, to boardroom negotiations. Your book does what no other atheist/skeptic book has done in the past, it gives you somewhere to go to after youve read everything and said, well, that was fascinating, where the hell do I go to now? It works. It really does.

Jake Farr-Wharton, author of Letters to Christian Leaders: Hollow Be Thy Claims, and host of The Imaginary Friends Show

A brave, clear book, crammed with useful insights. Boghossians call for honest, evidence-based thinking has implications far beyond its focus on debates about God and religious faith. A Manual for Creating Atheists is a strong challenge to ideology and propaganda, wherever we find them.

Russell Blackford, author of Freedom of Religion and the Secular State and co-author of 50 Great Myths About Atheism

Pitchstone Publishing

Durham, NC 27705

www.pitchstonepublishing.com

Copyright 2013 by Peter Boghossian

All rights reserved.

To contact the publisher, please e-mail

Front cover design by Corey Van Hoosen, coreyvanhoosen.com

Author photo courtesy of Steve Eltinge

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Boghossian, Peter G. (Peter Gregory)

A manual for creating atheists / Peter Boghossian ; foreword by Michael Shermer.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-939578-09-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN: 9781939578150