Albert Ellis, Ph.D., father of modern psychotherapy, author of 'A Guide to Rational Living' and 54 other books.
"David’s work will be very useful for anyone combating harmful religious beliefs. Honest, frank, and right to the point!"


Ashley Montagu, Ph.D., Harvard and Princeton anthropologist, author of 'The Elephant Man'
"I like this material very much. David Mills says very ably and clearly all that needs to be said."


Book Description
Is there really a God? Or does God exist only in our heads? Is the Bible truly God’s Word, or a jumble of fanciful myths? This book is your front-row ticket to mankind’s most enthralling debate. An atheist for thirty years, David Mills argues that God is unnecessary to explain the universe and life’s diversity, organization and beauty. This unique and captivating book rebuts every argument ever offered to "prove" God’s existence and the Bible’s credibility — arguments from logic, common sense, Christian apologetics, philosophy, ethics, history, and up-to-the-minute science. Among the intriguing questions addressed in this all-inclusive volume: * What, precisely, is atheism, and why is it misunderstood so thoroughly? * If God is a myth, then did the universe appear from nothing? * Does the meticulous clockwork of planetary motion result from mindless random forces? * Do atheists believe that human beings evolved through blind accident from lifeless matter? * Do the splendor and intricacy of life on Earth reveal evidence of intelligent design by a supernatural Creator? * Can atheists prove that God does NOT exist? * What about Creation Science, and the popular new movement to reconcile Scripture and science? * Have recent scientific discoveries pointed to God’s governance of the cosmos? * Did Albert Einstein believe in God? * Does the fact that energy cannot be destroyed lend credibility to a belief in eternal life? * Without God, can there be a valid system of ethics or an objective "right" and "wrong"? * Does religion encourage moral conduct and civilized behavior? Is the Golden Rule really such a bad idea? * What is the meaning of life without God? * When we die, are we simply dead like dogs? * Did atheists suffer a trauma in childhood that warped them into blasphemous rebellion? * Because of ubiquitous injustice on Earth, is an afterlife required to redress the imbalance, where evil is ultimately punished and virtue rewarded? * Is atheism just another crackpot religion? * What’s the harm in a person’s private spirituality? Does humanity have everything to gain, and nothing to lose, through belief in God (even if He’s only imaginary)? * Apart from the Bible, is there secular historical evidence of Jesus’ miracles and resurrection? * How do atheists explain "near death" experiences and medical miracles which amaze even skeptical doctors? * Why should a tiny minority of atheists be able to force their opinions on everyone else by banning prayer in public schools? * Since "there are no atheists in foxholes," have famous nonbelievers recanted on their deathbeds? * Did Old and New Testament prophecies correctly predict events which actually unfolded during our own lifetimes? * What about the Shroud of Turin and the discovery of wood fragments from Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat in Turkey? * Does the Law of Entropy (or the "running down" of the universe) contradict evolutionary theory, which asserts that Nature’s complexity is increasing? * Is there absolute proof that man evolved from a lower form of life? * Even if you believe that all life evolved from a single cell, how could complex cellular life originate without a Creator? * Is atheism a totally negative philosophy, leading only to cynicism and despair? * Does communism’s past embrace of atheism prove that atheism is an evil and failed philosophy? * Was America really founded upon Christian principles by Christian believers? * What is the true, behind-the-scenes relationship between politics and religion in 21st-century America? All of these questions — and hundreds of others — are fully confronted and methodically answered in the riveting pages of Atheist Universe. It’s all here for you in one richly entertaining, comprehensive, and easy-to-read volume. Few other books provide such spellbinding inquiry and arrive at such a controversial and well-documented conclusion.


From the Publisher
I’m pleased and excited that your search on has beamed you to this page, showcasing my new book, Atheist Universe. I want to thank you personally for your interest in this title. Many years of painstaking work, research, and thought were devoted to this project. I am delighted with the finished volume. Compared to most authors, I write slowly. I could never crank out five or six books a year as Isaac Asimov did so brilliantly throughout his incredible life and career. I like to believe, however, that my unhurried pace permits fine attention to detail and to precise use of language. One of my favorite quotations is that of Thomas Jefferson, who, in a letter to John Adams, wrote "I apologize to you for the lengthiness of this letter; but I had no time for shortening it." Jefferson meant that a skillful writer uses as few words as possible to communicate his message. If I can successfully convey my thoughts to you using a 12-word sentence, then I am watering down my own message — and wasting your limited time — by stretching my sentence to 13 words or to 30. Concise writing saves time and effort for the reader, but demands more time and effort of the writer, as Jefferson pointed out. In writing this book, I did devote the time necessary to shorten each sentence to its minimum length. Another priceless tip for good writing — a tip which I strive to follow — was articulated by the 20th-century philosopher, Mortimer Adler. Adler taught that "writing should be clear without being plain, and elevated without being obscure." By contrast, much writing in contemporary circles is plain without being clear, and obscure without being elevated. I will leave to your personal judgment whether I have successfully followed Adler’s prescription for good writing in Atheist Universe. Since you have honored me by visiting this page, I will share a secret with you that is closely guarded by authors and publishers. Even Amazon.com keeps this privileged information tightly under wraps. Most books, you should know, contain a maximum of two or three meaningful ideas. Authors and publishers sell you mammoth volumes, however, by cleverly reiterating their two or three ideas throughout the entirety of the book. Authors sometimes write as if they are being paid a penny a word. Yet, substantively, they say little. After reading Atheist Universe, you may find yourself in complete disagreement with every word. You may be offended by some material. You may question my very sanity. But you will not believe that Atheist Universe had little to say. At the end of the book, readers are given my private email address, available only to those who possess physical copies of the title. I carefully read each message sent to me, whether it’s laudatory or scornful. I hope that your purchase of Atheist Universe will open a fruitful and pleasurable dialog between us. David Mills, Atheist Universe Publisher: Xlibris Books


About the Author
David Mills has been an atheist for thirty years and has authored three successful books on the battle between science and religion. This book just might be his favorite. David has also written best-selling psychology and self-help literature for the Albert Ellis Institute in New York and for psychotherapy clients worldwide. During the 1980’s, David worked as a journalist covering NASA’s Space Shuttle program at the Kennedy Space Center.


Excerpted from Atheist Universe: Why God Didn't Have A Thing To Do With It by David Mills. Copyright © 2004. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 2 Interview with an Atheist Interviewer: You openly refer to yourself as an "atheist." What exactly does that mean? Mills: Essentially, an atheist is a person who rejects the concept of god. The word "atheist" is derived from the Greek word "theos," which means "god" or "gods." The word "theology," for example, refers to the "study of god." When the negative prefix "a" is added to "theos," the derivative form becomes "atheist" and simply means "without god," just as asexual reproduction means reproduction without sex. Interviewer: But doesn't the word "atheist" really mean a lot more than that? You don't believe in life-after-death either, do you? Mills: No, I don't. And I think you're quite correct that the word "atheist" can be extrapolated to mean a rejection of all supernatural beings and phenomena that are normally associated with the idea of god. Atheists, for example, do not believe in Heaven, Hell, devils, angels, miracles, holy ghosts, or rising from the dead. Bishop Fulton Sheen, unwittingly speaking the truth, once defined an atheist as "a man who has no invisible means of support." Interviewer: So when you die, you're dead like a dog? Mills: That's hardly an attractive or appetizing way to phrase it; but, yes, that is what I believe. Interviewer: What's the difference between an atheist and agnostic? Mills: The words "atheist" and "agnostic" have totally disparate origins. But the real answer to your question is guts. It is more socially acceptable to be an agnostic than an atheist. While the two philosophies overlap to a considerable degree, atheism, it seems to me, represents a more specific and firmly-held position than agnosticism, which, in current usage, can mean a hundred different things. Interviewer: I'm sure that you're familiar with public opinion polls which consistently show that 94 to 96 percent of all Americans believe in God. Is everybody else wrong but you? Mills: No. If the United States has a current population of approximately 280 million people, and if, let's say, 5 percent are atheists, then that's 14 million atheists in the US alone. So, like it or not, there are plenty of us out there. Most atheists, however, tend to be less vocal in espousing their beliefs than are members of various evangelical religious denominations. It's easy therefore to underestimate the number of atheists. I am somewhat dismayed when people tell me that I'm the only atheist they ever met. That's nonsense of course — they've certainly met hundreds. But few atheists ever speak up to be counted. Interviewer: Does that indicate that atheists might be ashamed of themselves? Mills: Not at all. There's an old saying that "If you want to keep your friends, then you should never discuss politics or religion." Atheists recognize that their philosophical position is misunderstood by many people. Most atheists see no reason therefore to deliberately piss off their friends and to bring upon themselves an unwanted and very unfair social ostracism. If some atheists fear to speak up, it's more of an indictment against the religious bigotry they encounter than it is an indication of "shame" in affirming the atheist position. Interviewer: In looking at all the wonders of the universe, how can you possibly say there's no God? Even the Bible says, "The fool hath said in his heart 'There is no God.'" Mills: Whenever someone quotes that Bible verse to me, I usually recite to them another Bible verse, Matthew 5:22 — "But whosoever shall say 'Thou fool' shall be in danger of hell fire." Interviewer: And what do Christians think of an atheist quoting the Bible? Mills: They're unprepared. Christians imagine that I, and other atheists, know nothing about the Bible or its history. When you respond in kind, they tend to be taken aback. I was on a talk show in the late 1970's and a woman stood up in the audience and quoted the verse "The fool hath said in his heart 'There is no God.'" When I humorously quoted Matthew 5:22, which threatens eternal damnation for calling someone a fool, she angrily retorted that "Even the devil can quote the Bible, and I think you are the devil." The fact is that most Christians know next to nothing about the Bible which they carry proudly to church every Sunday. I would be happy and confident to take a standard Bible-knowledge test against any churchgoer you might arbitrarily pluck from a pew next Sunday morning. Interviewer: But let's get back to my fundamental question. Why don't you believe in God? Mills: Clarence Darrow, the famous trial attorney, once remarked that "I don't believe in God because I don't believe in Mother Goose." Until about ten years ago, I was of the opinion that, in order to qualify as an "official" atheist, a person had to intimately familiarize himself with the multitude of specific arguments for and against God's existence. Indeed I've written three full-length books devoted to thrashing out these arguments myself in great detail. But I now believe that it is a perfectly acceptable philosophical position to dismiss the god idea as being self-evidently ridiculous as Darrow quipped. Christians instantly disregard the Greek gods as being figments of an overactive imagination, and so I view the Christian god in the same way that the Christians view the Greek gods. Remember that when the Romans threw Christians to the lions, the Romans shouted "Away with these atheists" because the Christians did not accept the local Roman gods. But to answer your question directly, I am an atheist because no more evidence supports the Christian god than supports the Greek or Roman gods. There is no evidence that God — as portrayed by any religion — exists.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Is there really a God? Or does God exist only in our heads? Is the Bible truly God's Word, or a jumble of fanciful myths?

This book is your front-row ticket to mankind's most enthralling debate. An atheist for thirty years, David Mills argues that God is unnecessary to explain the universe and life's diversity, organization and beauty.

This unique and captivating book rebuts every argument ever offered to "prove" God's existence and the Bible's credibility - arguments from logic, common sense, Christian apologetics, philosophy, ethics, history, and up-to-the-minute science.

Among the intriguing questions addressed in this all-inclusive volume:

* What, precisely, is atheism, and why is it misunderstood so thoroughly?

* If God is a myth, then did the universe appear from nothing?

* Does the meticulous clockwork of planetary motion result from mindless random forces?

* Do atheists believe that human beings evolved through blind accident from lifeless matter?

* Do the splendor and intricacy of life on Earth reveal evidence of intelligent design by a supernatural Creator?

* Can atheists prove that God does NOT exist?

* What about Creation Science, and the popular new movement to reconcile Scripture and science?

* Have recent scientific discoveries pointed to God's governance of the cosmos?

* Did Albert Einstein believe in God?

* Does the fact that energy cannot be destroyed lend credibility to a belief in eternal life?

* Without God, can there be a valid system of ethics or an objective "right" and "wrong"?

* Does religion encourage moral conduct and civilized behavior? Is the Golden Rule really such a bad idea?

* What is the meaning of life without God?

* When we die, are we simply dead like dogs?

* Did atheists suffer a trauma in childhood that warped them into blasphemous rebellion?

* Because of ubiquitous injustice on Earth, is an afterlife required to redress the imbalance, where evil is ultimately punished and virtue rewarded?

* Is atheism just another crackpot religion?

* What's the harm in a person's private spirituality? Does humanity have everything to gain, and nothing to lose, through belief in God (even if He's only imaginary)?

* Apart from the Bible, is there secular historical evidence of Jesus' miracles and resurrection?

* How do atheists explain "near death" experiences and medical miracles which amaze even skeptical doctors?

* Why should a tiny minority of atheists be able to force their opinions on everyone else by banning prayer in public schools?

* Since "there are no atheists in foxholes," have famous nonbelievers recanted on their deathbeds?

* Did Old and New Testament prophecies correctly predict events which actually unfolded during our own lifetimes?

* What about the Shroud of Turin and the discovery of wood fragments from Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat in Turkey?

* Does the Law of Entropy (or the "running down" of the universe) contradict evolutionary theory, which asserts that Nature's complexity is increasing?

* Is there absolute proof that man evolved from a lower form of life?

* Even if you believe that all life evolved from a single cell, how could complex cellular life originate without a Creator?

* Is atheism a totally negative philosophy, leading only to cynicism and despair?

* Does communism's past embrace of atheism prove that atheism is an evil and failed philosophy?

* Was America really founded upon Christian principles by Christian believers?

* What is the true, behind-the-scenes relationship between politics and religion in 21st-century America?

All of these questions - and hundreds of others - are fully confronted and methodically answered in the riveting pages of Atheist Universe. It's all here for you in one richly entertaining, comprehensive, and easy-to-read volume. Few other books provide such spellbinding inquiry and arrive at such a controversial and well-documented conclusion.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Ashley Montagu

Harvard and Princeton anthropologist, author of The Elephant Man "I like this material very much. David Mills says very ably and clearly all that needs to be said." (Commenting on Chapter 3) — Ph.D.,

Albert Ellis