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Facing Oblivion: Essays on Life, Death and Grieving from a Nonbeliever
Life is an amazing thing, filled with happiness, optimism, sadness and pain. Theists have said atheists are incapable of experiencing the beauty of life because they do not believe in a god. Furthermore, theists have said the grieving process is ruined because atheists generally do not believe in an afterlife.In his fourth book, Facing Oblivion, J. D. Brucker argues against those claims to show it's possible to live fruitfully and grieve properly without a belief in a god.
58 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 2015
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About the author
J.D. Brucker
5 books3 followersJ. D. Brucker is an atheist author and blogger, a secular humanist, and an outspoken anti-theist. He is the author of 'Improbable: Issues with the God Hypothesis' and 'God Needs To Go: Why Christian Beliefs Fail'. Currently, Brucker writes for the Atheist Republic and Patheos websites. Other works can be found on various secular websites, including The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science and The Natural Skeptic.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 23, 2016
"Don't live your life by someone else's agenda. Do what makes you happy, not someone else. Only then will you understand what it means to be alive."
I stumbled upon this book after browsing the website: AtheistRepublic.com. As an atheist myself, it felt natural to purchase this book and I wasn't disappointed. Facing Oblivion deals with the common experience of grief and loss from an atheistic perspective. It's fact that everyone will deal with these experiences, but it is how we choose to deal with them that is the key in separating the theists and the atheists.
To best describe this book I quote Keith Chezem, who so eloquently wrote the forward: "Using a shrewd line of reasoning to dismantle the contemporary religious arguments of today concerning the promise of an afterlife. The concern of eternal salvation or damnation is not applicable to atheists and J.D provides sound argument as to why atheists are right to have pulled themselves away from such an archaic practice that torments its willing followers with fantastic unknowns and empty promises."
If you have ever found yourself, as an atheist, in need of a guide on how to deal with the hardships of grief and the loss of a loved one then this book is for you. We have all lost someone, and if you haven't you eventually will.
I stumbled upon this book after browsing the website: AtheistRepublic.com. As an atheist myself, it felt natural to purchase this book and I wasn't disappointed. Facing Oblivion deals with the common experience of grief and loss from an atheistic perspective. It's fact that everyone will deal with these experiences, but it is how we choose to deal with them that is the key in separating the theists and the atheists.
To best describe this book I quote Keith Chezem, who so eloquently wrote the forward: "Using a shrewd line of reasoning to dismantle the contemporary religious arguments of today concerning the promise of an afterlife. The concern of eternal salvation or damnation is not applicable to atheists and J.D provides sound argument as to why atheists are right to have pulled themselves away from such an archaic practice that torments its willing followers with fantastic unknowns and empty promises."
If you have ever found yourself, as an atheist, in need of a guide on how to deal with the hardships of grief and the loss of a loved one then this book is for you. We have all lost someone, and if you haven't you eventually will.
October 14, 2018
Although the book was a little too short for me, J.D. Brucker did an excellent job of making his topic of death and bereavement acceptable as part of one's life. I love the respect he showed of others that were not Nonbelievers. The aspect of being a "Free thinker" Great job!
September 30, 2015
Brucker's works tend to be blunt, concise, and insightful takedowns of the Abrahamic faiths. If nonspecific to those, then supernaturalism, in general, is given a proper thrashing with Brucker's words.
In his latest, the author gives heart-wrenching details about the passing of his grandparents, separated by a few short weeks, and how the effect rippled through his life. His relationship with his wife strengthened, his appreciation for the time we have realized, and the minutia of life put under a magnifying glass. It becomes hard to hold back the tears.
All told, we all grieve in very similar ways. The question that Brucker then addresses, and answers, is what do we do with the time we are given? And, better still, why giving supernatural destinations and answers for questions about life beyond life are fruitless, and indeed harmful. Please read this book!
In his latest, the author gives heart-wrenching details about the passing of his grandparents, separated by a few short weeks, and how the effect rippled through his life. His relationship with his wife strengthened, his appreciation for the time we have realized, and the minutia of life put under a magnifying glass. It becomes hard to hold back the tears.
All told, we all grieve in very similar ways. The question that Brucker then addresses, and answers, is what do we do with the time we are given? And, better still, why giving supernatural destinations and answers for questions about life beyond life are fruitless, and indeed harmful. Please read this book!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews