1 out of 4 stars
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Doomed Soul by Robert Boomsliter is a non-fiction compilation of articles, letters to the editor, and imagined dialogues reported in interview or stage format. The author is an advocate for atheism and uses this book as a platform to espouse his views and debunk those of his opponents.
The subject matter under discussion in this book is very relevant to today’s world. Between religious wars, religiously-motivated terrorism, discrimination, civil rights, and the separation of church and state, religion plays an important role in both the lives of individuals and the function of society. Religious faith can be sublimely wonderful and awe-inspiring, or it can be horrific and oppressive. Society needs to constantly re-evaluate the ways that religion bears influence and the effects derived from that influence.
While the subject is both relevant and interesting, I was extremely disappointed in the presentation. The author rants and raves throughout the book. The tone and language is abrasive and promotes confrontation over conversation. The author generalizes broadly about faith groups, and he does so in a way that would surely be extremely offensive to many people who belong to any religion. It’s true that throughout history, both distant and recent, religion has contributed to many atrocities, but that does not necessitate universal condemnation of all religious faiths and all of their devotees. That kind of generalization is disrespectful and dangerously close to bigotry.
As the author reveals his criticism, he tries to present his arguments logically, but these arguments struggle under the weight of straw man fallacies, inconsistencies, and unsupported claims. Occasionally, he makes suggestions about how society can improve its evaluation of religion, but the suggestions are poorly thought out and inadequately supported. For example, one suggestion that crops up multiple times is the notion of teaching world religions in elementary school in order to better prepare children to make informed decisions about their later religious choices. Missing from any of the mentions of this suggestion are citations of studies that show the benefit of teaching comparative religion in public school, statistics that show how many parents would accept the allocation of precious classroom time to such a complex topic, or quotations from experts that indicate the necessity or indeed the feasibility of requiring elementary classrooms to teach comparative religion.
Another example of the inadequacy of the author’s arguments can be derived from alleged studies that are supposed to provide foundations for his claims. Several times, the author mentions “studies”, claiming that, although reputable, they might not be widely published because the results could be unpopular. The problem here is that the author offers no citation - not even a title or an author that the reader could research on his/her/their own. In any publication, supporting evidence needs to be presented, not just alluded to, in order to achieve relevance.
Right from the beginning, the author declares that the writing of this book is a form of catharsis through which he can release his frustrations at being an atheist in a society he perceives as overly religious and hostile to atheism. Catharsis is wonderful, but in this case, it probably should not be widely published. While reading this book, I set aside my own thoughts and opinions on the subject matter and focused instead on the quality and presentation of the book. I cannot in good conscience recommend this book to anyone. I found it to be a collection of poorly presented arguments set amid a series of disrespectful rants. With regret, I rate Doomed Soul 1 out of 4 stars. It neither challenged nor inspired me, and I fear it would only feed into the hysterical hate and fear currently being directed at certain religious groups and contribute to the oppression of these innocent people.
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Doomed Soul
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