God Is an Atheist: A Novella for Those Who Have Run Out of Time

by N. Nosirrah

Book Overview

A hysterically funny, yet profound romp through religion, spirituality and the contemporary clash of belief cultures, with special attention to the human obsession with knowing what can't be known.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591810728
• ISBN13: 9781591810728
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Sentient Publications
• Length: 119 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

I know

I know all there is to know about n. nosirrah, facts, birth, hair color, signs and symbols, weight , cell phone number, etc. Unfortunately (fortunately?)I do not exist otherwise I would tell you.

great

the premise of the book is basically in the title... though oddly enough when most people see me reading this they only see the words god and atheist and put the two together in whatever context they've associate those words with, which is kind of funny considering the subject matter of the book. the book is about a guy who has a talk with god and finds out that god isn't religious. god doesn't see things through the moral systems society uses to explain or worship god, basically we created the ritual surrounding the concept of god because people are designed to believe in something, that is what makes us feel safe and in control, so we create stories and then create how we feel about the stories and then go living our lives around the beliefs. but god doesn't believe in the belief, as he didn't create the belief, we did. it's not just religious people that are the believers though. everyone who has a belief is a believer, so atheists are lumped together with the fundamentalists (appropriate) but it goes beyond religion. politics, interests, likes/ dislikes, anything that distinguishes you as something apart, as an individual, does so because you believe that it does so. and you follow it because you believe it to be the best choice for you at the time. so eventually the point becomes that if you want to know god or truth, you have to know that you are nothing. and yet we can't be nothing because we are something. the concept kind of reminded me of a documentary monty python did about the life of brian (called the secret life of brian). basically they were saying how they couldn't mock the basic beliefs of christianity so they just mocked the believers, and there's this one scene where brian does something with his shoe and the crowd of people watching begin fighting over what the shoe's significance is and how they should bring it into their rituals of worship. and brian kind of rolls his eyes. basically this book is underlining how we the people are the squabblers, making up beliefs as we go. i just finished reading it about 15 minutes ago so i haven't really thought over the concepts in any depth, but its definitely an interesting read. there's a kind of inner monologue quality to how the information is presented, so you don't exactly get bored reading it, but there is substance to the words so while the writing style is light, it's not going to be a nothing read that you'll finish in half an hour (even though it's only 100 something pages). yes you will have to think. the drawings kind of got on my nerves a bit... trying to play up the vonnegut -_- but it was good.

A must for anyone looking for a novel on religion with a twist.

If we believe in God, then what does God believe in? "God is an Atheist: A Novella for Those who Have Run out of Time" is a unique and offbeat story of a homosexual affair between Richard Dawkins and the pope, Islamic extremists hunting down the Christian deity, the family issues of Buddha, and other bizarre events. Sure to enthrall (and possibly perplex) readers, "God is an Atheist" is a must for anyone looking for a novel on religion with a twist.

Laugh while you wake up

I've read and reread Adyashanti, Steven Bodian, Byron Katie, Gungaji, Toni Packer, Catherine Ingram, Isaac Shapiro and other great spiritual masters. This book is on the same level of maturity only written from a sophisticated belly laugh at the hugh cosmic joke of the whole thing. As a youth, when I didn't know where to turn, I turned to the Marx Brothers. Now in maturity, I laugh in great appreciation for this magnificent book which deserves reading and rereading. I hope it cathches on.

Confabulations with God

This book is a gavotte of literary styles and daydreams. It compels you to become a partner and leads you to an understanding of God that is beyond belief. One moment the writing reminds me of the wild-eyed Richard Beymer caught in the fantastic world knot of "contrived identity" in his psychological confession, Impostor. Next moment a sensible philosophical warrior steps up. That dynamic between the wild-eyed and the sensible, the wearing of one joker's shoe and one wingtip, drives the story. The foam of humor spills over the edges and down the sides. In parts the author is freely catching images: "I had a dream last night (I think it was a dream in any case) and in it I was reading the TMZ.com website where there was an account of Richard Dawkins and the Pope as secret lovers revealed, with photos of the two grinning in bed with their morning cappuccino, apparently listening to Puccini." Then there are stories. One of my favorites is the one about Eddie Buddha, the cousin of Gautama Buddha. Eddie was never remembered because he did not leave his wife and kid and renounce the world. He hung around. He went to delis at night with his best buddy. The following paragraph I found warm to the touch. This might reveal something about the writer: "I wanted a life like Eddie Buddha's that was clear, straightforward, regular and unfettered by the dogma of belief. I wanted a life that was compelling, which is an interesting word, meaning undeniable, gripping, but I wanted it compelled by truth. Compelling is the force exerted from the future into the past as organized by our mind. There is nothing compelling other than what you actually express, nothing before, nothing after." You'll recognize much of your own foolishness or confabulations, hopefully with humor and peace. Listen: "There remains this nagging question about the universe as it is, which is something like: 'Why?' In the immortal words of the blues queen Jenn Cleary, 'Why, oh why, can't there be peace in our world?' "Why is there suffering? Why old age? Why pain? Why Barry Manilow? Why is it set up like this? I turned to God for an answer. "God would have none of it. He was hustling me towards a Quick Stop where He was intent on acquiring some Slim Jim Beef Jerky." This is a work of true madness and mad truth. Reading it might put an end to the endless chewing on beef jerky and bring the reader face to face with Eddie Buddha's unfettered life, God's "none of it," or the Pope's cappuccino. (Actually don't look for anything meaningful in the cappuccino, it just sounds good.)