New in the shop – 2009 Charles Darwin Diary

The Natural History Museum’s Charles Darwin Diary for 2009 is beautifully produced and a must-have for readers. This timely week-to-view diary is published to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth. Each week is illustrated with a full page picture, as well as entries reflecting the important dates or landmarks from Darwin’s life. Images throughout the book include many from the Natural History Museum’s extensive collection. Fascinating captions give detailed facts and highlights from Darwin’s life, from the day HMS Beagle returned from its most famous voyage to the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859.

This is going to be very popular, so get your order in straight away. It has all the features of an ordinary diary but would make the perfect gift to anyone with an interest in one of the world’s most famous and inspiring characters. Hardback with ribbon marker, 170 x 230 mm, 112 pp. £9.99 plus £1 p&p.

And while you’re ordering your diary, why not think about our wonderful Natural History Museum greetings cards? They are truly beautiful and produced to a very high standard. The Museum shop has them on sale for £2.99 each (they’re individually wrapped), but we have them for only £5 per pack of six. This is a fantastic bargain that you shouldn’t let pass – once they’re gone, they’re gone. Take a look in our shop.

And a new book from the United States: Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity. For about two decades, John W Loftus was a devout evangelical Christian, an ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and an ardent apologist for Christianity. With three degrees — in philosophy, theology, and philosophy of religion — he was adept at using rational argumentation to defend the faith. But over the years, as he ministered to various congregations and taught at Christian colleges, doubts about the credibility of key Christian tenets began to creep into his thinking. By the late 1990s, he experienced a full-blown crisis of faith, brought on by emotional upheavals in his personal life as well as the gathering weight of the doubts he had long entertained. In this honest appraisal of his journey from believer to atheist, Loftus carefully explains the experiences and the reasoning process that led him to reject religious belief. The bulk of the book is his ‘cumulative case’ against Christianity. Here, he lays out the philosophical, scientific, and historical reasons that can be raised against Christian belief.

From the implications of religious diversity, the authority of faith vs reason, and the problem of evil, to the contradictions between the Bible and the scientific worldview, the conflicts between traditional dogma and historical evidence, and much more, Loftus covers a great deal of intellectual terrain. For every issue, he succinctly summarises the various points of view and provides references for further reading. In conclusion, he describes the implications of life without belief in God, some liberating, some sobering. £10 plus £2 p&p.

Order any of these items securely online at our online shop or by post from NSS Books, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL.

19 September 2008