I was at the library today, and as I so often do when I’m there, I checked out a book: The Portable Atheist, which is an anthology of “essential” atheistic writings collected and edited by the inimitable Christopher Hitchens.

I’m not going to read it in order, and I’m not going to read the entire thing, but I am going to read an essay or two each day and post some thoughts.

The first essay I read was “Can an Atheist be a Fundametalist” by A.C. Grayling. Grayling has a notable hatred of religion in this piece, which failed to argue its premise. Rather than actually argue if the term “fundamentalist” is appropriate to call an atheist, the piece instead focused upon the “evils of religion,”and all of the usual canards that go with it. It closed by saying that “naturalist” is a better term than “atheist.”

Well, so far, I’m not impressed. I do, however, see why this book is aimed at the unbeliever. This essay was preaching to the choir, not trying to reason with someone who might be curious about entering the fold of atheism. We shall see if any of the other pieces in the book are actual arguments or if it is just a collection of hit-pieces against religion.