Why I Am Not a Christian

Betrand is not advocating for the abuse of Christians, be it verbal or non verbal. He is advocating for free thought and rational thinking to the extent that the human mind can conceive. He respectfully acknowledges the uncertainty in life. We cannot be 100% certain about most things. Just as there is no scientific proof for the existence of God, there is neither a scientific proof that disproves the existence of God. THIS BOOK IS NOT A PROOF against the existence of God. Betrand is only sharing his thoughts as he understands religion and in specificity, Christianity. These are his subjective thoughts. As reader, appreciate them and come up with your own subjective thoughts. Your thoughts will be incomplete until you READ THE BIBLE FOR YOURSELF. Don't worship Betrand, he is a human being just like you. Read the bible and come to your own conclusion on whether it is or is not absolute.

I read this book when I was 13 years old and the effect was profound.I highly recommend it. If I could give everyone on the planet a free copy of this book I would.Now I return to it decades later and Russell's logic is just as devastating as it was when I first read it.Warning believers: Cognitive Dissonance ahead. Fasten your seat belt.

The next time some superstitious myth repeating Christian moron tries to corner you, or even if they are respectful about it, there is plenty of information / ammunition in this book to help you get them off your back. You might even get them to start questioning their beliefs.

Should be read by Christians who seek to impose their religious values on others.

This book is a great systematic, logical break down, and complete dismantling of religion in general and christianity in particular. We can no longer afford to let these beliefs infect our society and our world, our species' survival depends on the death of these false beliefs and unjustifiable faith in gods.

There are a lot of ruminations to chew on, especially on religious matters. Contrary to public opinion, he’s no atheist, no purveyor of “free love”, and most certainly not communist/socialist. He’s dead set against totalitarianism. No question that he’s a pacifist. However, his information on Christianity leaves a lot to be desired. Still, a good book to be recommended.

Sir Bertrand is not just a good philosopher, but a great writer. He won the Nobel Prize for literature, so that tells you. This book has several essays on the general subject of religion and its evils, the best being the first one, "Why I Am Not a Christian". There, his discussion of Jesus is fascinating and powerful. He explains why Jesus was not really that "wise", and also why he was not really a very caring person. Everyone, believer or atheist, and everyone in between should read this book. It is wise, intelligent, honest, moral, and never angry or condescending.

An interesting take by a famous mathematician. I read this when I was just 18, and I wanted to look at it again now that I am 69 and an devoted atheist. It was fun to re-read it and trying to revisit that confused young man back then.

One of the great thinkers, Bertrand Russell explains the reasoning behind his convictions in an accessible way. His stand against war and case for rationalism are well argued. Almost a century ago he recognises the necessity of rational thinking and the difficulty of having a rationalist education system. There is so much to take onboard but the most important aspect is to have evidence for what we believe and what we convince others to believe.

These essays show their age, many of ideas can now be refuted; but the reasoning is good and in some places. A good starting point to learn about this subject.

Makes some good points, but modern research has gone into much more detail so I feel this is somewhat out of date. See '201 Things About Christianity You Probably Don't Know (But Ought To'), pub. Balboa Press.

Not really very coherent. Too personal in as much as he doesn’t look at basic principles of religion. Disappointing.! Not really helpful. Publication dates would’ve been helpful

A good historical resource, but you may get it for free from Project Gutenberg.