Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Section 1 The Evolution of Religion
Chapter 1 – God in the Stone Age
Chapter 2 – The First Priests and Priestesses
Chapter 3 – The First Empires Built with Gods
Chapter 4 – Egypt – 2000 years of God’s Rule
Chapter 5 – The Hebrew Innovation – One God
Chapter 6 – God, Science and Philosophy Unite
Chapter 7 – Paul Turns Jesus into God
Chapter 8 – The Middle Ages and Islam’s Birth
Chapter 9 – Reforming and Reshaping the West
Chapter 10 – Conquering with God
Chapter 11 – Superstition and Reason Collide
Chapter 12 – Life after the Death of God
Chapter 13 – Epilog to Our History
Section 2 Why We Want to Believe
Chapter 14 – Race of Believers
Chapter 15 – Religion and Mind-Control
Respect Authority
Charisma at the Top
Demonizing the Enemy
Constant Consistency
Reciprocation and Easy Riches
God Makes Everyone Special
Blurry Reason and Weird Science
Chapter 16 – We Are Born Believers
Chapter 17 – God Feels Good
Chapter 18 – God the Pain Killer
Chapter 19 – Silly Mind Tricks
Chapter 20 – God Feeds our Needs
A Purpose
Dependence
Subconscious Well-Being
Excitement
Meaning to Life
Hope
Chapter 21 – Pascal’s Wager
Chapter 22 – God the Feel-Good Drug
Chapter 23 – Modern Shaman
Chapter 24 – Mass Hysteria at Mass
Chapter 25 – Millionaires for God
Section 3 Mistakes and Bloopers of Our Religions
Chapter 26 – God Exists
Chapter 27 – Logic without Reason
Chapter 28 – Prayers Unanswered
Chapter 29 – This Year’s Eternal Truth
Chapter 30 – Scientific Proofs without Science
Chapter 31 – Genesis: The First Mistake
Chapter 32 – Divine Human Founders
Chapter 33 – Bible: Fillet or Sausage?
Chapter 34 – High Morals Falling Short
Chapter 35 – Adam, Eve, and Sex
Chapter 36 – Peace for Belief
Chapter 37 – The Religious Experience
Experiencing Miracles
Faith Healing
Speaking In Tongues
The Near-Death Experience
Chapter 38 – I’m Going to My Heaven
Chapter 39 – I’m Living Forever
Chapter 40 – The Spirit World
Chapter 41 – The Dirty Past
Chapter 42 – Prophesying the Past
Post-dated Prophesies
Generalized Prophesies
Fraudulent Fortunes
Chapter 43 – A Wake-Up Call for Intelligence