GODLESS -- Living a Valuable Life Beyond Beliefs Paperback – October 30, 2014

It was Mr.Rasley who attempted to meet a polarized American voting populace with good advice about debate on Facebook, and in “Godless” he attempts to solve the problem of violence generated by political and religious ideologies by suggesting living by core values but without believing trenchantly in one political or religious belief which he argues will or may lead to a feeling of being right, to arguing and eventually to violence and even murder. His book may upset some or even many because he argues logically, philosophically and intellectually against believing in handed-down dogma which requires an act of faith rather than a belief in fact. Surprisingly, he also argues against atheism which he challenges, making it clear he believes it is an ideology like any other, based on not knowing rather than knowing, and therefore to be avoided. No stranger to multidisciplined studies, Mr. Rasley quotes from Greek philosophers, multi-faceted literature, the Bible and modern learning to assert his tenet – that religious and political ideologies should not govern our minds, especially when based on blind belief or even mere belief, not knowledge. How to know when something is “known” is also well explored! If you are free to be challenged, then you will probably enjoy this book. I wasn't sure about figures like John Lennon or The Who who Mr. Rasley promotes without going into how a song like “Imagine”, written by a millionaire who never got rid of his money, is relevant. It could be argued it just proves "grass-roots impossibility"! Mr. Rasley comes from a historical, geographical, political, sociological and other-definitely-orientated backgrounds with gender, skin-colour, condition and conditioning so these facets need working through to see if they have been erased from his task or if they are so ever-present as to invalidate some of his research and ideas. For example, at one point in his book, he comes across as a man with a tendency to give more importance to individual American lives than to individual lives on other continents……but overall he has written an excellent and thought-provoking book which possibly suffers from a belief in America though he would probably not agree given his travels in Asia.

Drawing strong analogs with Quaker values and values of the animist Rai people of Basa Village on Nepal, the author presents the case that not believing in an explicit deity (Godless), but rather in positive values, is a basis for a valuable constructive life in the modern world. He starts with a historical perspective with Aristotle and Plato and then onto Galileo and beyond showing the conflicts between religion and science. Faith based beliefs create hard-line positions that have led to countless wars. Creeds and doctrines of traditional religions can't be proven and are not consistent with modern science, however, religions based on positive values and respect for self and community are enduring draws. He doesn't try to answer definitively that a Godless world is better, but does argue life based on positive values and regard for self, others, and community, are key to a future on this Earth with increasing diversity and increasing population all striving to upgrade their lives. John Peer

I think this book is trying to explore how to determine the meaning of life when you try to make the transition from a religious person to a spiritual person. I, like Jeff, have major concerns about the often detrimental role organized religion has in our society. I personally have abandoned my Roman Catholic upbringing but still regard myself as a deeply spiritual person. This divorce from the Roman Catholic Church is very much a personal decision and I strongly believe organized religions help many people - a helpfulness that I would never discourage. In fact, I would encourage the foundations of organized religion in early life. Jeff's book is an occasionally wordy analysis of creating a new spiritual edifice when you have abandoned the foundations of organized religion. Jeff's path was not a particularly easy one (nor was mine). Given his University of Chicago background, it is no surprise that in the process he became familiar with many different religious traditions and in the process became a more spiritual person taking what he regarded as the best philosophical aspects of each religious tradition into his own personal belief system. I personally found the most interesting aspect of the book was how to live a meaningful life when you don't have the easy organized religion answers of heaven and hell or obtaining nirvana. Jeff's explorations were not only intellectual but involved a number of life changing experiences. I liked many of his conclusions though I think Jeff would advocate for arriving at your own conclusions. It is only fair to mention that the author is a friend and I was honored by a brief mention in the book but I think Jeff knows that if I thought his book deserved only one star that is what I would have rated it.