Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person’s Answer to Christian Fundamentalism by David Mills is exactly what it says it is. Mills is a Bible-quoting atheist who rebuts the most common arguments used by Christian fundamentalists for the required existence of God. Many readers will be surprised to find out that Mills is a former “Jesus-freak” (his term, not mine) who used to try to convert his high school classmates to Christianity before he became an atheist.

Atheist Universe covers the following topics:

• Is the origin of the universe natural or supernatural?
• Does the universe show evidence of design?
• Is the miracle of planetary clockwork proof of God?
• Is the miracle of life on Earth proof of God?
• Can Genesis be reconciled with modern science?
• Do miracles happen?
• Is there a Hell?
• Was America founded on Christian principles?
• Can intelligent design reconcile the Bible with science?

These are all questions that make for heated debate and Mill’s book is firmly on the side of atheism. Mills deconstructs the religious arguments with science and rhetorical analysis.

I found the book interesting, since I am occasionally on the receiving end of efforts to convert me to Christianity. It helped me put my finger on the rhetorical fallacies used in some religous arguments that had previously escaped me. It also made me aware of some of the distortions of both science and scripture that are carried out in an effort to reconcile the two.

Unlike having a discussion with someone on this topic (which often ends badly unless you are talking to someone who shares your views), reading a book on the topic lets you take the information in as large or small of a dose as you want, gives you time to think about the information presented, and doesn’t harangue you when you want to do something else.

I would unhesitatingly recommend this book to atheists and agnostics who are interested in being able to better articulate the counter-arguments to religion. While it might be useful to some people of faith who need or want to know the arguments against religion and God (either to understand atheists better or to learn an opponent’s views and thinking), it is one of those books that you have to come to of your own volition.

Descartes’ Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason by Russell Shorto is an examination of how we got to where we are today by looking at the travels of the bones from Renee Descartes. To refresh the memory of anyone who needs it, Renee Descartes is the philosopher who said “I think, therefore I am,” and used that as his starting point for figuring out the world instead of what he was told by authority figures (at the time, these were primarily the church and royalty).

The publisher calls it “a grand and strange history of the 350-year-long debate between religion and science.”

I quite enjoyed Descartes’ Bones. Shorto did a good job of keeping to the history and not making value judgments on the beliefs that are part of this history. This is not a philosophy book, but a history book. The word skeletal in the subtitle is not only a description of the physical bones, but of the depth of history presented. While some see that as a weakness, I think this book fills a need. Many people need a brief introduction to the history of faith versus science and would be turned off by a deep examination of the philosophical conflicts. Using Descartes’ bones as the scaffolding for this introduction is a way to make the history accessible and interesting to readers who otherwise would never touch a book on the topic.

If you’re already aware of Descartes’ influence on modern thought, then this book is likely not for you unless you are interested in how his bones were used as relics throughout the centuries. If you don’t know what Descartes’ philosophies have to do with the conflict between faith and science, then Descartes’ Bones is a brief, readable introduction.