With fully comprehensive examples of the Bible’s many contradictions, absurdities and immoralities, along with documented examples of an overtly antagonistic God’s indulgence in atrocities and the unfulfilled prophecies of his representatives here on Earth, this book is both the perfect weapon and a potent source of ammunition for those times when our fundamentalist brothers and sisters insist on calling uninvited. Such hardcore Christians might be too indoctrinated to be convinced by mere reason, in which case one can always use the book to hit them with, which alone justifies a hardback edition. While the Bible remains a much-misquoted and particularly flawed dogmatic tract, it’s convenient to have a reference source at hand with more than enough information to counter some of the more outlandish claims made on its behalf. Every school and hotel room should come equipped with this tome. BW

Publisher: American Atheist
Paperback: 372 pages

Published by the American Atheist Press, this pamphlet traces the origins of Christmas back to its original pagan roots. Yes, the word Christmas, is, of course, Christian, but it was unknown until the 11th century! Many unknown facts are revealed for the edification of the reader, along with a number of illustrations. JB

Publisher: American Atheist
Pamphlet: 20 pages
Illustrated

Illustrated with a number of Yoni-Lingam line drawings, this booklet purports to be a scholarly study of ancient sex worship in which phalli and cunni played a prominent role. Included is a section explaining the sexual vocabulary of the Bible, religious prostitution, and sun worship. JB

Publisher: American Atheist
Pamphlet: 55 pages
Illustrated

“A real revelation—that the Bible is one of the lewdest, most licentious, and vilest books ever printed.”

Publisher: American Atheist
Paperback: 428 pages

A highly readable work by a leading African-American atheist academic. Following the folkoric approach of Sir James Frazer (author of The Golden Bough), Jackson has found 30 religions of antiquity that worship Savior-Gods with the following similar traits:
1) They were born on or near Christmas.
2) Their mothers were virgins.
3) They were born in a cave or stable.
4) They worked for the salvation of humanity.
5) They were called saviors, mediators, healers, etc.
6) They were overcome by evil powers.
7) They each made a descent into Hell.
8) After being slain they arose from death and ascended to Heaven at Easter.
9) They founded religious institutions.
10) They were commemorated by Eucharistic rites.
11) Many of these Savior-Gods were believed to make a second coming to the world.
Jackson cites numerous details to prove that the Christ myth was a deliberate amalgam of all the existing Savior-God cults of its time, including that Adonis had a sacred grove dedicated to Him at Bethlehem; and that followers of Mithra ate wafers marked with a cross, celebrated their sacred solar day on Sundays, and were led by a figure known as the Papa who was seated in Rome. SS

Publisher: American Atheist
Paperback: 238 pages
Illustrated

Relying upon such notable authors such as Sir James George Frazer, T.W. Doane and Gerald Massey, this informative little booklet condenses much information into a valuable introductory tool for those interested in the subject of comparative religion and the origins of Christian myths. JB

Publisher: American Atheist
Pamphlet: 32 pages

Rius, the cartoonist responsible for this booklet, is described on the back cover as the Mexican equivalent of Doonesbury. Don’t let this scare you away. Rius attempts to destroy the story of the alleged miraculous appearance of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) on a piece of cloth on December 9, 1531. The alleged relic is still on display and has become a unifying symbol of the Mexican people, as well as a favorite tattoo image for for Hispanics in prison.
Rius makes his case, for the most part, not by attacking the image itself, as others have done. Instead, the bulk of his argument is the lack of historical record supporting the origin of the artifact. He shows that a number of attempts to verify the timeline of the relic have come to the same negative conclusion, regardless of the religious feelings of the investigators. In the end, Rius makes a strong case to doubt the artifact’s authenticity without even having to examine the image in question. The entire booklet is written in longhand and profusely illustrated with Rius’ cartoon illustrations. Although the style is meant to be informal, after a while it becomes distracting and feels like you are reading a friend’s way-too-long letter about his summer vacation. Perhaps the most annoying part is when he prints a long account of the appearance of the image, and interrupts the telling every few lines to belittle the story. Here he comes off like Courtney Love reading Kurt Cobain’s suicide note. The booklet is published by the fundamentalist atheist publishing house American Atheist Press, the publishing arm of the mysteriously missing Atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair. TC

Publisher: American Atheist
Paperback: 69 pages
Illustrated

Those darn atheists! Instead of happily swallowing the age-old dogma fed to them by authorities of organized religion, they chew it up, defiantly spit it back and go about studying the stuff to find out what’s really in it. Arthur Frederick Ide is one of those. He’s written over 200 books, many on the subject of the Christian religion and its influence on politics and prejudices during the mid-’80s. Here, Ide takes on the Roman Catholic institution of the papacy, researching early church writings and historical documents to expose the undeniably fallible human side of the men who, in the Church’s own words, “can only be judged by God Himself.”
Reciting a seemingly endless litany of corruption, coercion, torture, murder, sex fanaticism, insanity and absolute authority, the author nearly numbs us with his well-documented indictment of an office many people worship on a level nearly equal with the Deity. After awhile, just when one is tempted to say, “Enough!” the author has thoughtfully included reproductions of images of torture and Inquisition devices used to convert uncommitted souls in the past. And just in case you think all this happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, and not in our own “enlightened” times, Ide reminds us about the unfortunate John Paul I, who in 1978 died mysteriously after only 30 days in office. There is the theory that he was poisoned. Remember that this was only one pope ago. AS

Publisher: American Atheist
Paperback: 189 pages
Illustrated

If you like your history fully documented and objective in standpoint, look for a book other than Soledad de Montalvo’s Women, Food and Sex in History. If, on the other hand, you can’t resist a chapter titled “The Pioneers of Civilization—Sluts In Huts,” then by all means read this chatty, highly “original” and decidedly non-P.C. take on the origins of humanity and religion. According to de Montalvo, a fourth-generation atheist, “the history of food and the history of mankind are indissolubly linked.” What’s more, it was woman who pulled man out of his cannibalistic past and “booted civilization into orbit” by cooking the first soup. But food soon takes a back seat to wild hypotheses and an anti-religious screed, and from there de Montalvo is off and running, comparing one of the earliest known hominid skulls to Leonid Brezhnev or a Mohican-wearing punk rocker, and the Bible to Mein Kampf. Some will consider Women, Food and Sex in History blasphemous, while others will merely find it questionable in taste—but only a very few will find it dull. LP

Publisher: American Atheist
Paperback: 278 pages