Why I Am Not a Christian Book Reviews

AUTHOR
Bertrand Russell
SCORE
4.5
TOTAL RATINGS
1,237

Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell Book Summary

This is a famous but very controversial piece by Bertrand Russell. It was a lecture delivered in 1927 at National Secular Society, London. Later in 1957 it was part of a book with the same title and reached international fame. He examines one by one several highly regarded arguments for the existence (or necessity) of God. His main point however is the possibility of morality based on another principle than God. It is quite a challenging reading and one we must all face, regardless of our belief or lack of it, thereof. Enjoy!

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Book Name Why I Am Not a Christian
Genre Philosophy
Published
Language English
E-Book Size 338.76 KB

Why I Am Not a Christian (Bertrand Russell) Book Reviews 2024

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Very Weak.... ...arguments for not being a Christian. Before I read this book I was fearful that it would dissuade me from being a Christian. Having read the book not only did the author present a very weak case for why he’s not a Christian he did even less to convince me to not be a Christian.

Religion or Politics?, What’s the Difference?. Its funny that people will invest time in other views that knock their own, as an axe hitting a tree. The fear of coming down from the tree with help leaves chance little leverage to do bone crushing damage when the axe takes its final bite. What are those who inflate themselves with religious belief so afraid of? Bertrand Russell holds the axe of intellect, will you come out of the tree in which Russell is trying to save you from or will you send a form of gratitude to the light shining through the clouds, hoping that your imagination will send a set of wings to save you from shattering your bones in order to save your dignity?

Shallow diatribe from a deep thinker. Russell condemning christianity because of certain Roman Catholic practices is like a soccer fan condemning the NFL because the Cleveland Browns play poorly.

Why I am not a Christian. I found this a powerful read, even though it is dated! The all to short story 47 pages, packs quite a punch. Very much for today’s reader! I highly recommend it for those of us walking the fine line between pagan and Christian.

Worthless drivel. Nothing here with sharing

Interesting. Raises points that those of us who consider ourselves Christians need to look at more closely.

It may hurt but it's all true. A must read for everyone, believers and atheists alike.

Brilliant. Every educated, self-respecting person should read this!

Faith not sight. 2nd Corinthians 5:7 states that we live by faith, not by sight. How totally absurd. In other words, don't allow the reality you see challenge the ancient myths. Yet that's what so many accept, and Russell wrote his essay in 1927. It's only getting worse with the fundamentalist Christians and Muslims God help us😄

I loved it!. This is great for anyone who needs to understand why the arguments for the existence of God don't work.

Poor attempt to debase. Pretty poor explanation of why Christianity should not be believed. Misquotes and out of context translations are used throughout and still his argument doesn't seem to address the main issues with Christianity or the thrust of it either.

Russell that I can comprehend. I have struggled with many of Russell writings not being nearly intelligent enough to follow his logic. The constraints of time forced him to boil down his views to get to the heart of the matter without leaving me in his intellectual dust. I will recommend this to many of my friends who are believers in science to define our existence and our futures

What I expected. I thought it was a good speech. Obviously Christians, and other worshippers of God, may not think so, but there is a lot of truth in the words of this transcript, the history of our species, that would make a stranger of religion ask “why?”

Quite illogical. This essay, supposedly by an educated man, is quite illogical at its core. It presents no cogent or complete arguments and picks and chooses biblical verses without reference and conveniently removes the bulk of Jesus’s teaching about love. The author attacks the church, and therefore its members, as being imperfect - which seems to also omit that the fact that only requirement to be a Christian is to not be perfect. If one was perfect, one does not need Jesus to save them.

No stars. Mr. Russell’s argument is decent, but he has not read the correct or complete story. As a result, his argument and reason are incomplete. See LDS.org

I can’t say it better than Russell. Excellent arguments by a very wise man. I can only hope that his words are heeded by the Young before their minds and hearts are warped and damaged by the Fears of their Elders.

Anthropocism. Humans are the center and the highest order of intelligence. Those not human like us, do not have to be treated humanely or justly. Excellent overall picture of why we have religion.

A favorite of undergraduates rebelling against their parents. Comforts atheists and annoys Christians by using straw man arguments.

Sad but laughable. Beside taking the Bible out of context (bad context is a grave sin any academic professor will tell you), the first thesis that everything must have a cause or nothing has a cause is ironically flawed. Russel states with ease that to question our origin is flawed because it must question god's origin (but he never says why it must). Then, he reasons the universe could of always existed or never had a beginning. It is illogical to argue against the eternal nature of God by saying eternity is a fallacy and then conclude the universe could be eternal!! In other words, Russel condemns the Christian for believing God always existed without a beginning but then concludes the universe could of always existed without a beginning. So, why is he able to believe his theory but the Christian not able to believe God always existed? Who made Russel judge? He says we must open our imagination. Well, that is exactly what the Bible says: even though we have a beginning (something science and even evolution hold to) God did not have a beginning. Russel begs the question yet ends up agreeing with the Bible's very premise but only attributes it to the universe. That's like me saying: there can never be the color red because the origin of color is unknown yet then I argue that if we all expanded our mind for a second, we could imagine the color blue existing. The fallacy is that in his argument he said God's eternal existence without a beginning was not possible (because of mandatory cause) yet then argues the universe may be eternal without a beginning or cause. Laughable!

Its Faith!. It is an interesting read, my question is, why is it that it seems one who tries to disprove the existence of God almost never is knowledgeable of both sides? They are quick to explain why God is fiction yet, never take the time to do the necessary research (Bible) to ensure He is not? This author bares his ignorance on many occasions in this book.

Not that impressed. While he makes the best arguments against a supreme being, early on in the book, it’s clear as you read in that he is a bitter, angry man. Perhaps this is why he died so empty and helpless.

Good but dated. A lot of these arguments are against outdated theses, but those which do strike a chord with the reader are concise and well said. I wish some of these were more clearly fleshed out, or depended less on, "trust me, this part is in the Bible."

Succinct. To the point with fearless clarity.

Why I am not a Christian. Great book. Quick read. He asks the same questions I do. He reads the bible using logic. Why did Jesus tell his disciples that he would return in their lifetime? I never hear anyone ask that question, and most Christians don't even know that Jesus said that. Please read the bible. It will give you more questions than answers.

Well-written. I think this book is short but well-written and the author's views are clearly stated. This was an excellent read.

Disputations. Russell’s argument as to why he is not a Christian is not merely a compendium of disputatious rants, it is diligent, steadfast in its effort, persistent and is a result of years of study, reflection, and consideration of what is good and just as opposed to what is right or wrong, as defined by any institution or organized religion. Elated was I as a teenager when I came across Russell’s work for it gave me perspective: grounding in a space that was notably dogmatic in perspective, illumination in that which was elusive, which often evaded my (and notably my elders') grasp. This work does not strive to emulate, equal, or excel over another, it instead reflects a candid examination of the divergent aspects of religion from the same point: that of fairness and goodness, not just the act, itself, but also in its resulting effect. I highly recommend this book for others, be them religious or not, so that in reality each might find their own voice and considerations along the path of higher understanding … Bravo!

Ahead of his time. Clever, concise and to the point, so typical of Russell's style. This is a remarkable work especially considering the times when he delivered this lecture. Just as powerful today.

A Form in Logic and Reason. Mr. Russell has boiled down and reduced the most common and effective objections against Christianity to simple syllogisms. Here, you will find that Christianity is not only immoral but also cruel; its position on unending, eternal, and infinite post-humous punishment is beyond tenable (it is an atrocity). If you have doubted the efficacy Christianity and other religions have on morality and cosmology/ontology, this work is perfect for your development.

Well written. I enjoyed the arguments and how they are presented. Sometimes it is difficult to get followers to see past their blind devotion. Their fear of death binds them to this delusion that once they go, they will live forever in some celestial paradise. Thank you.

God101. God loves you! Having a relationship with God through Christ is amazing!

Why I’m not or why IM NOT PERSUADED. Some good points. Again use of hyperbole is too much in my reading. His rebuttals for all but the last two topics were somewhat vague maybe nebulous. He did have some good thought generators regarding Jesus. However he came across more of I’m not persuaded rather than simply a hard I’m not.

Still Relevant. Anyone who only watches snippets of the news or knows just a bit of the history or current state of religion will see quite quickly that Russell's words are still relevant for today. Particularly in America where we are a few decades behind England, or in the case of belief in Hell, about a century. There was no god when Russell delivered this address, and nothing has changed since then that would convince a reasonable person that there is. Russell's arguments against such a being are still valid to this day and I don't see them becoming less valid over time, only, hopefully, less required.

Boo. He’s based, but kinda a dumb dumb on certain opinions.

Love this!. I love this essay for two reasons: it echoes my opinion and it is TRUE!!!

Sublime. Must-Read.. Everything a sceptic needs to finally break free from the chains of religion.

Fine lecture, poor philosophy. Russell starts with an implied bias and builds from there. He argues against Theistic principles which are falsely constructed. This lecture would be handled very easily by Chesterton, CSLewis, or any recent seminary graduate. I’m certain as a lecture it presented well to his audience, but as a philosophical work it is significantly lacking.

a glimpse of past and future enlightenment. a simple dialogue of a deeply human being searching for the truth .

Insightful. Satisfied

Absolutely Fantastic. This is such a well thought-out, well written piece in argument against Christianity. It is kept quite simple, and rather than basing the arguments contained solely on scientific data, Russell uses fantastic common sense and common morailty questions and arguments. Contains more than a few extremely interesting comparisons as well.

Thomas Paine is Better. Russell has interesting arguments / examples. If you wish to read a thorough examination of biblical text, Paine is and remains unequalled.

Eroding away the unchanging "rock".. The most disappointing aspect of this work is that the arguments attempting to be made for religion then AND now (please see the one star comments) still fail. Please believers, can you present arguments (I'll take just ONE at this point), that are new and original? Russell is great. So is Ingersoll. Paine is fantastic. Voices from the past echoing into eternity. The constantly flowing river of enlightenment eroding away the steadfast rock of ignorance and superstition.

Why I Am Not a Christian. Questionable

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Why I am not a Christian. A must read for every doubting atheist

Valid points. Makes you think, valid points that can make great argument with Christians. I liked it overall an will be looking at more of this authors books

Still as relevant now. Wish I had been around to go and hear him speak - the message and arguments put forward are cogent, funny and still relevant

Why i am not a christian. Thoroughly enjoyed this book by Bertrand Russel and would highly recommend it. Anne maciver

G Maciver. Wise words from a wise man!

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Worth reading. An easy reader thats simplified and written with fact. Written how a book of this topic should be.

Hoarse Rustler. I was disappointed with this offering. I was looking forward to the thoughts of one I supposed was a world class thinker only to find from the outset a very superficial treatment of important matters. For the writer of a lecture called "Why I am not a Christian" to stumble from the first with the definition a Christian is to call into question its worth in plausibly addressing the question posed. Sadly the argumentation throughout did not improve. Am I correct in thinking that this is not Lord Russell's actual lecture.

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Short but Powerful. Concise and to the point. My first reading of Bertrand Russell and I loved it.

Knowledge. All children at the age of 10 should be taught and explained this book for civilization to have a chance of survival .

Interesting. I was going he would present some good solid arguments. Sadly they were all straw men arguments. If he had presented argument based on fact it would be worthy of a higher rating

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Summary of Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell

The Why I Am Not a Christian book written by Bertrand Russell was published on 21 January 2013, Monday in the Philosophy category. A total of 1,237 readers of the book gave the book 4.5 points out of 5.

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