Spirituality and popular culture: Amazon's #1 Atheist Book is Christian

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 200th birthday of Charles Darwin may have grabbed the headlines yesterday, but it was a new book by a Christian that stole the show. You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence but You Can't Make Him Think (WND Books, hardcover, ISBN 978-1935071068) by TV personality Ray Comfort soared to the top of the Amazon sales charts during its first day of release.

Atheism, once confined to the margins of civilized debate, has grown militant and mocking - often characterizing Christianity as foolish, dangerous and evil. Nowhere is atheism's unprecedented recognition more evident than in yesterday's celebration of "Darwin Day," with 600 events held worldwide to honor Darwin's bicentennial birthday and the mainstream media lauding him like a saint. The NY Times proclaimed it was "A Bad Day for Darwin Haters," and an atheist foundation prepared for the event by erecting billboards across America with messages like "Imagine no Religion" and "Praise Darwin: Evolve Beyond Belief."

But apparently God still has a loyal following, too. Comfort's book debuted in the top 50 overall on Amazon and climbed to the #1 ranking in the "Spirituality" category. The book also checked in at #1 in the "Apologetics" category, and ironically it claimed the top ranking in "Atheism," as well, dethroning Richard Dawkins from the top spot.

This release moved on February 13. I am still clearing out my Inbox.* Right now (2:20 pm EST), Dawkins is #1 and horse is #2.

But I bet the horse wins this one. People are getting bored by Dawkins, now that he is fronting atheism full time, and hasn't done any serious science for well over a decade. At least, the horse is still a horse full time.

*Thanks to all kind enquirers; my mom is still holding her own, and for the first time we went out together today to do some errands. I keep reminding her that it takes a while for a person nearly 85 to recover from a heart attack. Luckily, she understands that realism and focus on essentials is the key to success.

At MercatorNet: Why women love shopping, and other myths

The world today is drowning in false knowledge - the things we know that ain't really so. The false knowledge is often bolstered by apparent - but not real - science, typically driven by wicked new toys.

Social neuroscience is a major contender in the current false knowledge industry. This "discipline" depends on statistics derived from current brain imaging techniques.

As Newsweek's Sharon Begley, co-author of The Mind and the Brain, notes, social neuroscience supposedly shows why women love shopping, why gay guys read maps like women, why jealous guys (as opposed to gals)...

Come to think of it, why does social neuroscience only tell us what we keep hearing from that high school drop-out cousin who listens to a lot of TV while shooting pool down in the rec room, between his split shifts at the loading dock?

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