God, No!

It’s been awhile since I last posted anything on The Pretty Little Atheist. Life got a little hectic on my end with a very large move, a fruitless job search, and an engagement. But I’m back and ready to blog!

Back in July, I promised to do a follow-up to my last post entitled, “In the Beginning… (Part One)”. However, since it’s been a whopping six months since my last post, I think I’ll save Part Two for sometime in the near future. Right now, I’d like to talk about the book I’m reading called God, No! Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales by Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller).

I’m only a third of the way through Mr. Jillette’s no-nonsense, no-holds-barred commentary on the ridiculous nature of The Ten Commandments, and I’m so captivated that I need to write about it NOW. Each chapter accounts an atheist-inspired story; and each story is categorized into one of ten sections that in some way reflects the different biblical commandments. Each section opens with the biblical version of the appropriate commandment, followed by a brief statement disproving the need for said commandment, ending with an atheist version of that particular commandment – appropriately titled The Penn Commandments.

Here’s a brief sample of the first section of God, No!:

**The Bible’s First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

“The greatest thing about provable reality is that by definition reality is shared. Every argument is really an agreement – an agreement that there is a reality that can be shared, judged, and discussed. To argue over whether the speed of light is constant or Batman could beat up the Lone Ranger is to share the parameters. God is solipsistic; reality is shared” (Penn Jillette, from God, No!).

One atheist’s first suggestion: The highest ideals are human intelligence, creativity, and love. Respect these above all.**

To us atheists, this seems like a pretty tame way to start a book about non-belief. Penn Commandment number one makes sense to those of us who appreciate honesty and integrity above anything else. But if anyone in the super Judeo-Christian community got their hands on this book, those heads must be reeling with the immediate-action responses they’re taught to spew at non-believers during Sunday morning worship. Or, perhaps there are a few Bible-thumpers out there who read this first page and actually took the time to think about what it means. THAT is what Mr. Jillette seems hopeful in achieving with this book: The power to think beyond what we are told, and instead, start to question the validity of such nonsense.

God, No! is a fantastic read that includes Mr. Jillette’s first-hand experience with people turning to a life of atheism. In this book, you’ll find stories about: Why Penn thinks it’s ridiculous for a magician to never reveal his/her secrets; the real reason why Penn adores the most obvious of fake boobs; why Penn believes that agnostics are full of shit; and how he ended up eating bacon with an Ex-Hasidic Jew.

If you have the chance to pick up a copy of Penn Jillette’s God, No!, please do. I promise you, it’s worth a few laughs, sighs, and head shakes. A big thank you to my brother, Steve, for buying me this wonderful book.

Thanks for stopping by The Pretty Little Atheist.

Heather <3