From the Publisher
Silverman's methods are refreshingly honest. He uncompromisingly believes in equality for everyone and the end of religious privilege in America, and he is not afraid to fight, using words, to bring about that reality. –Library Journal
“David Silverman is the bad boy of atheism and we need people like him. There's a tiresome breed of so-called atheists called the "I'm-an-atheist-BUT-heads". They love to put the emphasis on the "but", and go out of their way to emphasize how deeply they respect all faith although, with mawkish regret, they can't actually share it. David Silverman is not of their number, and how refreshing it is to read a book that is not afraid to speak the truth, sans apology.” —Richard Dawkins
"This is one of the more enjoyable atheist reads I've come across.... I came away from Fighting God with some new ideas (which is saying something considering I do this for a living)....[I]f we [atheists] buckle down, work together, and have some fun while we're at it, we can make a real difference in the world." — JT Eberhard, American Atheist Magazine
“To get Americans to accept gays as citizens and neighbors, we needed sensible understated gay people, but we also needed flaming queens. As atheists strive to be understood and accepted...well, let's just say David is kind of a flaming queen and I love him. Fighting God is David having it and flaunting it.” —Penn Jillette, New York Times best selling author of God, No! Signs You May Already Be An Atheist and Other Magical Tales
“In all developed Western nations the arc of the moral universe has been bending toward justice because of secular forces. Since the rise of the Religious Right, however, America has been held back. Until now. Thanks in part to firebrand freedom fighters like David Silverman, we atheists are on the march. Silverman's Reason Rally was just the start. His new manifesto will help take our movement to national prominence and into the corridors of power where we can effect real change.” —Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, and author of The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
“David Silverman is an uncompromising hardliner with a deeply compassionate heart...his voice is clear, passionate, thoughtful, and funny.” —Greta Christina, author of Why Are You Atheists So Angry?
“A sometimes funny, always informative look into the mind behind America's frontline of atheism. Dave reminds us that religion is everyone's enemy.” —Taslima Nasrin, International Freedom Fighter and author of Shame and Revenge
International Freedom Fighter and author of Shame Taslima Nasrin
A sometimes funny, always informative look into the mind behind America's frontline of atheism. Dave reminds us that religion is everyone's enemy.
Library Journal
10/15/2015
Dubbed "Mr. Atheist Pants" by Stephen Colbert, Silverman has been the president of American Atheists since 2010. In this, his first book, he unapologetically argues for the effectiveness of "firebrand atheism," over more diplomatic, "nice-guy" approaches. Although over the top at times, Silverman's methods are refreshingly honest. He uncompromisingly believes in equality for everyone and the end of religious privilege in America, and he is not afraid to fight, using words, to bring about that reality. This work provides a mixture of atheistic arguments, rationales for his hard-nosed strategies, and stories from the front lines of advocacy, including key court cases, the 2012 Reason Rally, and American Atheists' controversial billboard campaigns. Throughout, Silverman makes provocative arguments on topics such as Jewish atheism, Islamophobia, and cafeteria religion. Bolstered by recent polling data, he is confident that atheists are winning in America. VERDICT This book is more about rallying the troops than convincing outsiders to join the battle. Thus, believers will most likely be so busy being offended at Silverman's barbs to notice the excellent points interspersed. Nonbelievers of all kinds are more likely to appreciate and be challenged.—Brian Sullivan, Alfred Univ. Lib., NY
Kirkus Reviews
2015-08-15
An evangelical manifesto to recruit "closeted atheists" to become firebrand activists. Silverman is the president of American Atheists, the same post once held by the late Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who long took pride in being called the most hated woman in America and whom Silverman tries to emulate. Thus, his brand of militant atheism is not one of gentle persuasion, nor does it employ the more intellectually nuanced arguments made by the likes of Sam Harris. For Silverman, there is no continuum of belief, no gradations, no alternative such as "agnostic" or "humanist" or "freethinker." Either you believe in a "literal god," which he calls a "living, thinking, supernatural being," or you don't. This means that all agnostics, most Buddhists, and likely many Christian ministers and parishioners alike are, in fact, atheists. And that some are charlatans, others fools, though, like the Christian who claims to hate the sin but love the sinner, the author maintains that what he describes as a war is against religion (all of them), not the religious (whom he mainly pities). "I have read, thought and studied enough to satisfy myself that there is no god, all gods are imaginary, and actively believing in a god is silly," he writes. For the author, the ultimate arbiter is human rationality, which he holds supreme. Some might argue that it is reductive to restrict a divine spirit that inspires faith and awe to a god that is living and/or thinking. Some might claim that plenty of value transcends logic—the meaning of a poem, the power of an abstract painting, perhaps the creative impulse itself. To Silverman, however, anything that lies outside the realm of human logic is unprovable and therefore false. Some issues worth raising—such as the relationship between church and state and particularly the tax-exempt status of religious institutions—are undermined by assertions such as, "atheism is perfect" and "the Ten Commandments are not benevolent but barbaric." Silverman's unrelentingly combative tone will likely only appeal to the choir.
