Ebook: Life Driven Purpose: How an Atheist Finds Meaning

Every thinking person wants to lead a life of meaning and purpose. For thousands of years, holy books have told us that such a life is available only through obedience and submission to some higher power. Today, the faithful keep popular devotionals and tracts within easy reach on bedside tables and mobile devices, all communicating this common message: Life is meaningless without God. Former pastor Dan Barker eloquently, powerfully, and rationally upends this long-held belief in Life Driven Purpose. Offering words of enrichment, emancipation, and inspiration, he reminds us how millions of atheists lead happy, loving, moral, and purpose-filled lives. Practicing what he preaches, he also demonstrates through his own personal journey that life is valuable for its own sake-that meaning and purpose come not from above, but from within.

"A lovely book!" --Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion

"One of the biggest misconceptions about atheists is that without God they can have no morals, values, or meaning in their lives. In this lovely secular sermon, Dan Barker handily rebuts that claim, showing that true meaning and morality can come only from accepting our finitude, and dealing with it rationally and humanistically." --Jerry Coyne, author of Why Evolution Is True

"Dan Barker has cleverly reversed the arrows of purpose so they fly from the bows of life instead of raining down from an imaginary archer in the sky." --Victor J. Stenger, author of God: The Failed Hypothesis

"If you've been searching for meaning and purpose in life, it's a sure bet you've never found answers in a book--at least not answers that are grounded in any kind of objective reality--until now. Dan Barker's Life Driven Purpose deserves its own category. It's a book of emancipation, a book of vitality, a book of enrichment, a book of celebration, a book of inspiration--put simply, a book that honestly and rationally teaches how to live." --Peter Boghossian, author of A Manual for Creating Atheists

"Religions hijacked the meaning of life long ago and now Dan Barker is stealing it back. In this brilliant and inspirational book, he shows that value, worth, and meaning can be discovered and created by anyone--no religion required." --Guy P. Harrison, author of Think: Why You Should Question Everything and 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian

"This book is really 'Something' (see chapter 5). In his calm, patient voice, Dan Barker helps us understand and untwist black-and-white thinking so we can see and appreciate all the colors of the rainbow." --Linda LaScola, co-author (with Daniel Dennett) of Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind 

"Life Driven Purpose is an important book that puts the lie to the strange notion that without God life has no purpose. Living is great, fulfilling, and meaningful without God. Like his previous book, Godless, Life-Driven Purpose is a book that every one with an interest in spirituality, religion in political life, and how to lead a meaningful life will want to have on their shelves." --Daniel Everett, author of Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes and Language

"Dan says he's certainly not pretending to be a Deacon of Atheism or Bishop of Freethought, but he is. In this book Deacon Dan uses good scholarship in offering convincing answers to some of the most important reasons why believers keep on believing despite the lack of sufficient evidence. Writing with the wit and storytelling of a preacher, this series of 'sermons' will definitely reach the masses. I heartily endorse it. May it produce a revival, one of reason, logic, and science." --John W. Loftus, author of Why I Became An Atheist and The Outsider Test for Faith

Dan Barker, a former evangelical minister, is co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, co-host of Freethought Radio, and co-founder and board member of the Clergy Project. A widely sought-after lecturer, debater, and performer, he regularly discusses atheism and life's meaning and purpose in the national media, with appearances on Oprah Winfrey, The Daily Show, the O'Reilly Factor, Good Morning America, and many others. 

Daniel C. Dennett is university professor, professor of philosophy, and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. His books include Brainstorms, Elbow Room, Consciousness Explained, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Freedom Evolves, Breaking the Spell, and Intuition Pumps.