Book Review: THE NECESSITY OF ATHEISM

 Book Review: THE NECESSITY OF ATHEISM By DR. D. M. BROOKS. The book begins with an interesting quote from "Thus Spake Zarathrustra" of Friedrich Nietzsche. "..old Gods came to an end long ago. And verily it was a good and joyful end of Gods! They did not die ..but laughed themselves to death!" The last one to die perhaps announced, "There is but one God! Thou shalt have no other Gods before me." 

The first chapter is about THE EVOLUTION OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, which says, "when man began to persuade the idols or spirits to do things for his benefit that religion began". As man progressed, his self-made religious conceptions too advanced, reaching finally, "the modern religionist who believes that the worship of a deity in our own age is far removed from the worship of an idol by our savage ancestors, and retraces his steps and calls itself a civilized mind. With whom, we all identify ourselves, worshiping his deity."

A good discussion on "THE KORAN, THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, THE PROPHETS MOHAMMED, JESUS, AND MOSES and other fundamentals of later religions, then follow. It is quite critical in both nature and content; the examination is through the eyes of a Martian. Further chapters examine other effects of religion, like the conception of physical disease as the result of the wrath of God, or the malice of Satan, or by a combination of both.

Another chapter examines the relation of astronomy and religion. In the very early days, the book observes, "..heavenly bodies were looked upon by the theologians as either living beings possessing souls, or as the habitation of the angels. However, as time passed, the geocentric doctrine, the doctrine that the earth is the center of the universe and that the sun and planets revolve about it, was the theory that held the highest respect." And many centuries had to pass, before astronomy could flower as a worthy discipline. 

Witchcraft, slavery, and exploitation of labour are some of the entities that flourished with the help from religion, further discussions show.

The author I think is absolutely right, when he says, "..theology is based on science", and "we have a Theology of Gaps". That is, "wherever there are gaps in scientific knowledge", theologians insert a fitting idea, and calls it God. We are in fact living with agonies that are caused, whenever such ideas become a misfit. Rather, we can try atheism to act as a filling agent.