Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Several of the hosts and guests on Point of Inquiry (one of my favorite podcasts) refer to this as The Book. After reading it, I can see why. Smith boldly states his aim early on: "It is not my purpose to convert people to atheism...but to demonstrate that the belief in God is irrational to the point of absurdity. If a person wishes to continue believing in a god, that is his prerogative, but he can no longer excuse his belief in the name of reason and moral necessity." Using amazingly clear logic, and a breadth of scientific knowledge, I'd say Smith accomplishes his goal.

Many mystics will reply "so what? We've known that god is beyond reason for some time." Smith addresses this view--and pretty much every other justification for the existence of god--in well-written prose. Since Smith wrote this, many others have elaborated on Smith's lines of reasoning, and some of them have come up with better refutations for the belief in gods. And Smith falters a bit, IMO, in the discussion of Jesus' ethics.

This book is also a bit dense. It's a tour-de-force of logic and philosophy, and it can't be read very quickly. Still, highly recommended.