No Religious Texts on the 100 Greatest Non-Fiction Books List

June 15, 2011

The Guardian has put out their list of the “100 greatest non-fiction books” of all-time.

Forget the debate about the list for a moment. I just love this explanation of why no religious texts made the cut:

… after some debate we decided that religious texts were a little too, well, fictional.

Didn’t know a debate was needed to make that decision, but it was the right one 🙂

(Thank to Rich for the link!)

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Nikita

That is awesome!! Thanks for posting. 🙂
Jeff P

I would be for the bible making the top 100 fictional list.
Danish Atheist

So there IS hope 😀
Anonymous

Hamilton Nolan at Gawker ruffled some feathers by dropping this into his reporting on Southern Baptists:

It doesn’t change the fact that all that stuff they believe is mythology.

http://ca.gawker.com/5812107/southern-baptists-could-soon-have-a-black-leader
Dorothy

I notice the Selfish Gene and the Origin of Species are both on the list
Gibbon

I’m surprised. The Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume is on that list, but religious books are too fictional to be included? Hume’s Dialogues is largely fictional; it details a conversation between four men that never existed. In most respects a piece of fiction. I’m starting to question the criteria they used for distinguishing between fiction and non-fiction for this list.
Tom

Even by the Guardian’s standards, that remark is refreshingly open (and, if I don’t misread the tone, gleefully cheeky) in its utter irreverence for certain ancient, unjustified, socially entrenched superstitions. Good show!
Slugsie

Excellent. For once the British press does something right.

Now, we just need to get someone in the American press to do the same.
Angry Vince

Stunned by the comment from The Guardian.
Just freakin’ awesome.