Review of The Conscience of An Agnostic
Posted: 26 Jul 2024, 07:34
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Conscience of An Agnostic" by Robert K. Cooper.]
The Conscience of An Agnostic by Robert K. Cooper is a very provoking book in every way possible. I don’t affirm this with any judgmental tone but rather with an open mind, as you must embark on this journey with a free spirit and ready to face some contradictory positions.
In this book, Robert K. Cooper begins by gradually explaining what constitutes an agnostic and what truly means to have any religious beliefs. As an agnostic himself, the author doesn’t believe there is a powerful supernatural force that dictates our destiny and lives, meaning he doesn’t believe in a God as his intellect doesn’t allow him to do so. To better understand his thoughts, the author references some passages in the Bible that can be extremely provoking and, in his opinion, don’t hold any accountability. Also, through the personal experiences of several other people, such as scientists, artists, doctors, and so on, the author highlights why, in his perspective and of these people, there isn’t any factual evidence to prove the existence of any God.
I must admit that as a religious person myself, I had to open my mind to his thoughts and his message, which was easier than I expected as his arguments are extremely valid and solid. For instance, when the author uses examples such as mass shootings to further enhance why he doesn’t believe a God would allow such occurrences, I must admit that those thoughts come to my mind as well, and they are quite intelligent to point out.
Nevertheless, I can’t say that this book was pure joy for me. There are some downsides that I would like to point out. Firstly, I have to say that some of the passages chosen by the author, especially from the Bible, are not exactly sustainable, as they seem to only have the purpose of provoking the reader and not explain why he is agnostic. Also, some of the quotes used in the book, such as the one by Sigmund Freud about women, have no meaning whatsoever, as I don’t see any relevance to the author’s point of view.
Unfortunately, these drawbacks did decrease my enjoyment of the book, as at some point I started to lose a bit of respect for the author's ability to describe his opinion cleverly and respectfully, rather than using sentences and opinions that only seemed to feed a controversial side of the book.
Regardless of this last perspective, I still attributed this book 3 out of 5 stars, as the book is well written, and in the majority of the book I found myself enjoying the author’s message. The book is professionally edited, and I would highly recommend it to open-minded people who, regardless of their religion, would like to understand why an Agnostic doesn’t believe in a powerful supernatural force while so many people seem to have enormous faith in a God, even if everyone has their form of faith.
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The Conscience of An Agnostic
View: on Bookshelves
The Conscience of An Agnostic by Robert K. Cooper is a very provoking book in every way possible. I don’t affirm this with any judgmental tone but rather with an open mind, as you must embark on this journey with a free spirit and ready to face some contradictory positions.
In this book, Robert K. Cooper begins by gradually explaining what constitutes an agnostic and what truly means to have any religious beliefs. As an agnostic himself, the author doesn’t believe there is a powerful supernatural force that dictates our destiny and lives, meaning he doesn’t believe in a God as his intellect doesn’t allow him to do so. To better understand his thoughts, the author references some passages in the Bible that can be extremely provoking and, in his opinion, don’t hold any accountability. Also, through the personal experiences of several other people, such as scientists, artists, doctors, and so on, the author highlights why, in his perspective and of these people, there isn’t any factual evidence to prove the existence of any God.
I must admit that as a religious person myself, I had to open my mind to his thoughts and his message, which was easier than I expected as his arguments are extremely valid and solid. For instance, when the author uses examples such as mass shootings to further enhance why he doesn’t believe a God would allow such occurrences, I must admit that those thoughts come to my mind as well, and they are quite intelligent to point out.
Nevertheless, I can’t say that this book was pure joy for me. There are some downsides that I would like to point out. Firstly, I have to say that some of the passages chosen by the author, especially from the Bible, are not exactly sustainable, as they seem to only have the purpose of provoking the reader and not explain why he is agnostic. Also, some of the quotes used in the book, such as the one by Sigmund Freud about women, have no meaning whatsoever, as I don’t see any relevance to the author’s point of view.
Unfortunately, these drawbacks did decrease my enjoyment of the book, as at some point I started to lose a bit of respect for the author's ability to describe his opinion cleverly and respectfully, rather than using sentences and opinions that only seemed to feed a controversial side of the book.
Regardless of this last perspective, I still attributed this book 3 out of 5 stars, as the book is well written, and in the majority of the book I found myself enjoying the author’s message. The book is professionally edited, and I would highly recommend it to open-minded people who, regardless of their religion, would like to understand why an Agnostic doesn’t believe in a powerful supernatural force while so many people seem to have enormous faith in a God, even if everyone has their form of faith.
******
The Conscience of An Agnostic
View: on Bookshelves