FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Atheism
FAIR Answers—back to home page
Mormon responses to atheism: Books
LDS works
- Mormon responses to atheism
- William J. Hamblin, "The Most Misunderstood Book: christopher hitchens on the Bible (A review of "god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" by: Christopher Hitchens)," FARMS Review 21/2 (2009): 47–95. off-site wiki
- Daniel C. Peterson, "Editor's Introduction: God and Mr. Hitchens," FARMS Review 19/2 (2007): xi–xlvi. off-site wiki
- Gregory L. Smith, "'Days of Miracle and Wonder': The Faith of Sam Harris and the End of Religion, a review of The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris," FARMS Review 20/1 (2008): 147–174. [{{{url}}} off-site] wiki
Non-LDS books that treat matters of interest to atheism
Classic works
- G. K. Chesterton Orthodoxy online Many other editions exist.
- C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity (HarperOne, 2012). ISBN 9780061350214. Many other editions exist.
Biologists
- Simon Conway Morris
- Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe (Cambridge University Press, 2004). 9780521603256
- The Deep Structure of Biology: Is Convergence Sufficiently Ubiquitous to Give a Directional Signal (Templeton Press, 2008). ISBN 9781599471389
- Francis Collins (Head of Human Genome Project)
- The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief (Free Press, 2007). ISBN 9781416542742
- Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith (HaperOne, 2010). ISBN 9780061787348
Serious Philosophers
- Anthony Flew, There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind (HarperOne, 2008). ISBN 9780061335303
- Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False (Oxford University Press, USA, 2012). ISBN 9780199919758
Nagel is an atheist, but essentially endorses the "hard problem of consciousness" type of problem that Plantinga explores in his book below (including citation to it). He argues that strict materialism can't be true (i.e., matter before all, yielding minds) and theism is unattractive to him (mind before all, giving matter). So, he believes there must be a third option, which he doesn't spell out but thinks is necessary. At any rate, he regards the current materialistic atheism as inadequate, though does not yet have something to put in its place. - Alvin Plantinga, Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism (Oxford University Press, USA, 2011). ISBN 9780199812097
More Popular Books
- William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (Crossway; 3rd edition, 2008). ISBN 9781433501159 {{An|Craig has a more evangelical approach that Mormons may properly be skeptical of (such arguing for an ex-nihilo creation—see here and here for reviews of his effort to use similar non-biblical concepts in an effort to refute LDS ideas about theism) but he still does a good job showing the weakness in common atheist arguments and is only presenting age old arguments for God that have been around for centuries but yet are powerful. Videos are also available here and here.
- Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (Riverhead Trade; Reprint edition, 2009). ISBN 9781594483493
- Alister E. McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (WaterBrook Press; Reprint edition, 2006). ISBN 9780385500623
A history of atheism in the west, with a look at some of its arguments. Excellent for background to the current debate. - Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath, The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine (IVP, 2009). ISBN 9780830837212