Putting It Mildly

If the intended reader of this book should want to go beyond disagreement with its author and try to identify the sins and deformities that animated him to write it (and I have certainly noticed that those who publicly affirm charity and compassion and forgiveness are often inclined to take this course), then he or she will not just be quarreling with the unknowable and ineffable creator who—presumably—opted to make me this way. They will be defiling the memory of a good, sincere, simple woman, of stable and decent faith, named Mrs. Jean Watts.

It was Mrs. Watts’s task, when I was a boy of about nine and attending a school on the edge of Dartmoor, in southwestern England, to instruct me in lessons about nature, and also about scripture. She would take me and my fellows on walks, in an especially lovely part of my beautiful country of birth, and teach us to tell the different birds, trees, and plants from one another. The amazing variety to be ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Name an ethical statement or action, made or performed by a person of faith, that could not have been made or performed by a nonbeliever.
2. Do you agree with the author's assertion in chapter two, "Religion Kills"?
3. Do you think religion's cultural contributions have outweighed the tribal conflicts it has provoked?
4. Do you believe there is a biological or psychological basis for religious faith?
5. Does discussion of personal religious faith belong in the public square?
6. Do you believe an atheist could be elected President of the United States?
7. Should political speeches include the phrase, "God bless America"?
8. Do you agree with the author's analysis of the central paradox at the core of ...