The Good Book: A Humanist Bible

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

It seems the philosopher A. C. Grayling has come out with "The Good Book," an edited collection of works which attempts to be a sort of Bible for atheists:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Book-Humanist-Bible/dp/0802717373/

 

The Good Book mirrors the Bible in both form and language, and is, as its author says, "ambitious and hubristic – a distillation of the best that has been thought and said by people who've really experienced life, and thought about it". Drawing on classical secular texts from east and west, Grayling has "done just what the Bible makers did with the sacred texts", reworking them into a "great treasury of insight and consolation and inspiration and uplift and understanding in the great non-religious traditions of the world". He has been working on his opus for several decades, and the result is an extravagantly erudite manifesto for rational thought.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/03/grayling-good-book-atheism-philosophy

 

I'm not sure what to make of it. So far the only reviews on Amazon aren't very illuminating; the only negative review comes from someone very annoyed at Grayling's attempt to replace the Bible, and the positive reviews have very little substance.

 

It's a fascinating idea, though. Anyone get a copy? It's at the top of my list, although I'll be waiting for a few more in-depth reviews.

 

(And, if you're an atheist, do you feel the need to have your own Bible?)

[lemur]

(And, if you're an atheist, do you feel the need to have your own Bible?)

You have to put your hand on something when swearing and taking oaths and such, right?

[ydoaPs]

(And, if you're an atheist, do you feel the need to have your own Bible?)

Nope.

[John Cuthber]

You have to put your hand on something when swearing and taking oaths and such, right?

Look up the origins of the word "testify"

[imatfaal]

would be interested to see any reviews from SFN - I saw it in the bookshop yesterday and was sorely tempted but I am still wading through Dworkin's latest opus and I don't think I could cope with both

[Christian Romney]

I just ordered my copy from Amazon. It's a curated collection of wisdom distilled from some of the best literature ever produced by the human mind. If that's not ample reason to part with twenty dollars, but a glowing review on the Internet is—well…

[JillSwift]

(And, if you're an atheist, do you feel the need to have your own Bible?)

Nope. Since one of the many things atheists self-identify as is "freethinker" (including moi), a "bible" seems a bad idea. I assume he's being a bit tongue-in-cheek with the title, though, but it still rubs me the wrong way.

 

I do intend to buy and read it, however. I'm madly curious as to what A. C. Grayling thinks counts as important "good stuff", plus he rather makes good reads IMO anyway. ==

[ydoaPs]

Since "bible" means "book", I guess I do feel that it's good to have bibles-lots of them. Knowledge is power, yo.

[Laurens]

As an atheist I'm kinda opposed to the notion of a singular book 'to live by' as it were, to me that's part of the problem of theism...

 

I'd much rather live by the knowledge gleaned from multiple books

[imatfaal]

Laurens - AC Graylings book is, I believe, a collection of multiple authors works - just like the bible. And I really don't think he would intend you to live by it - at best seek inspiration from certain parts that appeal to you personally.