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For other skeptics out there, what are some books from your youth that influenced you in your journey to skepticism?

I grew up evangelical Christian. Even so, we had these books which I found quite interesting. I was about 8 to 10 years old when I read them:

Astronomy Magazine, Dec. 1974 - The Zeta Reticuli Incident
God Drives a Flying Saucer by R. L. Dione -1973
Chariots of the Gods Unsolved Mysteries of the Past by Erich Von Daniken -1974
The Search for Bigfoot (Monster, Myth or Man?) by Peter Byrne - 1976
Project Blue Book edited by Brad Steiger - 1975
The Spaceships of Ezekiel by Josef F. Blumrich - 1974

I’ve read quite a few books over the decades including Genesis Revisited by Zechariah Sitchin - 1990, The Case for Astrology by John B. West - 1991 and many others. I dismissed their content a long time ago but along my journey to being a critical thinking skeptic these broadened my thought sphere from a very young age and I feel helped me to be the well rounded skeptic I am today.

One thing younger folks should realize is that before the internet, information was a lot less readily available. One of my favorites that I found quite illuminating was Watch the Skies! by Curtis Peebles - 1994. The thought process that exploring these subjects helped me develop was an integral part of my path to Atheism. I do not believe in anything that is considered supernatural. Math, science, physics and cosmology provide me with a view of the universe that satisfies my ongoing quest for knowledge and understanding.

Van_O 5 Nov 18
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I read the bible twice when I was 7 & 8 .That sent me rolling down the road to questioning everything that is presented as fact not to be questioned. Often there is a person or people with an agenda that don't want to be questioned. Scientists and mathematicians welcome questions and new points of view. I take comfort in that.

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"Why Bad Things Happen To Good People", "One" and "Illusions" other titles by Richard Bach and yes, the Bible. As one friend referred to it: that dam fool black joke book.

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Please excuse my VERY warped sense of humour when I write this. My old mother, now dead, had a very small book collection- it was about the same height of the broken bed post leg. But if there was ever a hypochondriac's bibliography she must have had it- and contributed a few hundred thousand entries.. She loved going to the doctor. She had pains in places that hadn't been invented yet. Sick people die- some very young. She died at 86, due to gluttony and lack of exercise.

There is a cardinal point here: LEARN, by whatever means, even exploring bad examples. I dropped out of school much too soon. There was no second choice. But I have taken many credits, and I constantly read. Religion disgusts me- needless to say.

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Isaac Asimov Books.
Carl Sagan books.
1984
Later everything by Dawkins, Hawkins, Krauss and Sam Harris

I’m an old fart and it took a long journey to get from there to here.

gearl Level 8 Nov 19, 2017

Hey, I am an "old fart", probably the oldest on here---- stop trying to take my 'title'. LOL

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The bible

Ha ha ha! I'm still reading that book and I'm already finding so many things wrong! ????

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Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan.
Greek myths, Tolkien. Really, just read anything other than a bible and it will expand your mind. SciFi is great for that.

Tolkien was a much needed escape for me. In school I would finish Return of the King and start Fellowship. Mixed the Hobbit Silmarilion and unfinished tales in periodically. Middle Earth and Sherlock Holmes were imperative distractions from the reality surrounding me then.

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