Nick Spencer (1)

This usefully summarises some of his previous books and others which he considers significant but which most of us will never get round to reading. Particularly worth learning about is a book called Capital by Piketty suggesting that we are heading back to a society where inherited wealth counts for more than personal effort and talent. Spencer also usefully summarises what he had to say about the origin of atheism and the development of Darwin's thought. In all the areas covered, the influence of Christianity is significant, often positive but always complex.… (mer)

A history of how atheism has prospered developed and oppressed over the past 500 years. Originally a suppressed vice it gradually became widely acknowledged. Its rise is intimately linked with criticism of Christianity or the bible, in fact one message of the book is that it becomes most virulent when reacting to a powerful or oppressive Christianity. A vast number of writers are mentioned but the arguments, either way are not analysed although they are mentioned at times. The appeal of atheism to Science is a recurrent theme. I would have liked more assessment of some writers and less of an overview.… (mer)