V Books

This is one of the most awesome soundtrack sheet music books I've ever seen! All of the pieces sound like they do in the movie, and the grand staff notes are close enough to the original melody to sing along to. The key is hard to get used to, but once you do, it's amazing!!

This book is a challenge even for the most experienced pianist. His music is fun and intricate and complex. I recommend this book for anyone who is not only a fan of the movie but a fan of excellent music who is looking for music that takes their knowledge of music theory to the max.

I love all things tim burton, especially the soundtracks to his movies. danny elfman is possibly the most talented composer in hollywood and it baffles me that not all his music is sold as a piano vocal series, since it is so very suitable for just that. consequently I was thrilled to find this little book, and I was not disappointed. it is simple enough for a novice to play along based on the chords, and yet sophisticated enough for the more experienced pianist to get a lot out of the instrument. as has been noted elsewhere, the guitar chords are indeed systematically drawn every tim they occur, which to me is a fantastic idea. every tim burton/danny elfman fan who likes singing and playing the piano should own a copy of this!

the second I got my hands on it, I went directly to my piano and did not get up for the next four hours. that's how great it is to be your very own nightmare before christmas soundtrack!

I'm not musically gifted like the rest of my family; I only took 4 years of violin to get out of gym, but wouldn't know what to do with one if I picked it up today. But I do know that this music/lyric book has every song from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" movie. anyone that's watched it KNOWS that every song is hauntingly, melodiously beautiful, just like any other Tim Burton production. Even if you can't carry a tune or don't know the words, you have to try to sing along. But with this musicbook you can! -at least know the words -you know best if you can actually sing... I would highly recommend this product! Kudos to the Hal Leonard Corp for making it available! :)

There's lot of stuff in this tiny cheap book. It's obviously not aimed at orchestrators but more at the movie fans who expect some nice evenings, singing these excellent tunes.
I give this book a 5 because of the guitar chords which are systematically drawn each time they occur. It wasn't expected, especially as we're dealing with a piano vocal song book, so: 2 thumbs up=5 stars !

Tokyo Mew Mew TOTALLY rocks!!!!!!! Trust me I've read the WHOLE series and they all ROCK!!!!!!! Even Tokyo Mew Mew A La Mode ROCKS!!!!!!!!!

This book was pretty good, with the story advancing along well.

Basically, Ichigo has to find a way to hide her secret from Masaya, but he keeps showing up in places that she needs to transform! The girls all go on a cruise where more aliens show up and send out 'kirema animas' but they stop them. Ichigo turns into a cat when Masaya is around, and he takes her home. But the cliffhanger endings make me sad!! :(

The artwork was cute, just like before! If you have read the series so far, I recommend continuing. However, a warning to newcomers. The storyline is very confusing for people who haven't read the first 2 books, so I recommend reading them first.

~*chikorita1999*~

This is about five girls. They are: Ichigo Momomiya (part cat), Mint Aizawa (part bird), Lettuce Midoriwawa (part porpoise), Pudding Fong (part monkey), and Zakuro Fujiwara (part wolf).
I noticed a big mistake on the page that introduces all the characters. Pudding and Zakuro's pictures are mixed up. It says Zakuro Fujiwara under Pudding's picture and Pudding Fong under Zakuro's picture. So it also says Pudding's name is Zakuro and she is "a cool and beautiful model." That is, obviously, not right. Pudding is not a model and she isn't really that pretty. In this book Lettuce gets a mermaid-like tail with the Mew Aqua when she jumps in the ocean to save a baby.

I loved this book! It was another cliffhanger though:( Ichigo turns into a little cat and gets taken home by Masaya! She runs out of his house while he sleeps and some fat alley cat tries to kiss her but she gets saved by another cat, Alto, but then he kisses her! But he did it to turn her human again. A lot more happens in this story but to find out what or how Alto knows Ichigo's secret you have to read this book!!!!

Best volume yet! I have only read up to three though! It is so cute when ichigo turnss into a cat. At the end something shocking happens (not gonna tell!) and there is some rivalry over the love of ichigo. two more aliens get introduced. A little confusing at the beginning though. What do you think is cuter, masaya and ichigo or ryou and ichigo? (...)

Andy Runton, Owly: The Way Home and The Bittersweet Summer (Top Shelf, 2004)

The first book in Runton's widely (and justly) praised Owly series, this wonderful little book contains two stories: "The Way Home," in which Owly meets Wormy, who gets lost in a storm and wants Owly to help him find his way home, and "The Bittersweet Summer," where Owly and Wormy become friends with some hummingbirds. Owly is, for the most part, wordless; everything is conveyed with expressions and thought bubbles. It's clever and funny and heartwarming, a definite change of pace from most of the graphic novels that have been appearing for the past few years. Definitely recommended for when you need a pick-me-up. ****

I ordered the book for my daughter, although it was a little easy. Better for younger readers, but still a cute book.

Andy Runton has really hit on something here. He's managed to allow readers to remember what it was like to be a kid - the hurt, the hope, and the perseverance that comes from not having a clue as to what can't be done. That's something that both Adults and Kids should be exposed to liberal doses of.

A friend gave me this book...and now I want to buy it for just about everyone I know!

It's a beautiful book with great art and lovely, touching stories.

This would make a great gift for people of all ages - and you will love it, too.

I wanted to give my 3 1/2 year old daughter a present for Valentine's Day that shared something I love with her. And, as I love comic books, I was lucky enough to come across Owly.

She loves it! And I love it! And her mom loves it!

It is the perfect 1st comic to give to a kid. Moreover, as there are no words, once you go through the joy of working through the story with her once, she is able to "read" it by herself or to her little friends! What more can you ask for?

You could ask for a wonderful story - Owly has it. Or beautiful art - check. Or great basic lessons of friendship and the beauty of nature - Done and done.

So I highly recommend this book to you and your little ones. It introduces them to a style and method of storytelling in the perfect way.

I got exactly what I thought I was buying. This is a really convenient way to have a textbook, because you can just stick it in a three-ring binder and take it with you! Also, you can just take a few chapters if you want, or the whole book! The pages are a little thin, but it's a wonderful educational textbook. As a B.A. in psychology, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to have a great learning experience and a textbook that doesn't cost a fortune.

The book was in excellent condition mater of fact it was new. I was very please with the time of shipment.

The Seller was great - item shipped in a timely fashion and the looseleaf version is much easier to work with than regular hardcover texts.

The book is easy to read and it gives great examples to better understand the concepts. I would recommend this book.

The book treats many cases and reaches high level of coverage; it is very helpful, that in practice one can find many similarities, since the cases are very realistic and explained in depth. My opinion is, that it is valuable because it is applicable.

This is MOST DEFINATLY a MUST-HAVE item. One of the most beautiful books I have seen! Perfection is the one word that sums up this purchase! And wotta deal!! What are U waiting for??????? Order this NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The quality of this fist stories are still the best. There is drama and humor, there is action and quit moments. The revolutionary visions of Steve Ditko shine in this oversized pages. I review the second printing and the binding is different to the older Omnibus editions. The binding is better because now it is possible to wide open the pages.

Marvel did a good job on creating this book. If you are a spiderman fan get this book, you will not be disappointed.

Steve Ditko's art work was an acqired taste for me. His old people all looked Asian, his girl's were too thin, and his adversarial figures had
bowed lower legs. That said, he was more adventurous than King Kirby, es-pecially when he tackled Dr. Strange. Ditko was perfect for that strip,
but his breakthrough was the early Spider-Man, and for that, I will always be grateful. Get this one, if you're young. Compare it to the
masturbatory, nihilistic issues of today, and come to your own conclusions, if you can.

Simply put... If I was stranded on a desert island and I could have only one book... this would be it. Quite possibly the greatest run in comics history. These are not only the best Spider-Man stories ever, they're some of the best comic stories... PERIOD. Stan Lee's writing is fun and upbeat with a great sense of comic timing and adventure. Steve Ditko's pencils are tight and bursting with kinetic energy. (Definitely the best work of his career). Even though I have all of the original issues, as well as the Marvel Masterworks collections of these stories, I still bought this book. It is loaded with extra goodies, like all of the letters columns and some early guest appearances of Spider-Man in other comics, such as, his first team-up with the Human Torch in Strange Tales Annual #2. However, it's the attention to detail that really makes this collection shine. The publishers even went to the trouble of exactly matching the colors to the original comics (i.e. in the first few issues the blue in Spider-Man's costume looks purple, just like it did in the original printings). It may sound cliche, but the bottom line is, if you are a Spider-Man fan or just a comics fan in general, this book is a MUST HAVE!

Carbonel took me away when I was a child,I loved every well written detail,and could imagine every event as it took place-the only problem was,when I got older (alot older!!)I had forgotten the title and despaired of ever finding the book again-Imagine my joy when I found a used copy in a thrift store-it looked familiar,could it be....? Hooray!It was!Carbonel!I bought it immediately and read it asap and will never ever let it out of my hands again!This is a fabulous book for children of all ages,and if my opinion counts for anything,I would advise to get a copy of your own right now!Truly a wonderful,wonderful book.

...It was my FAVOURITE when I was a kid - ...Why is this fantastic book out of print??

When I first read this book, I was 10-years-old. I grew up and never forgot the joy that I received from its pages. I kept looking for it when I got older and now have my own copies of all the Carbonel books. I am now in possession of an amazing child's book that deserves to be shared throughout centuries to come. Wonderful book - deserving to be named a favorite classic.

This book captured my imagination as a child and was a pleasure to read again after 17 years. I feared I might ruin a childhood memory by tracking it down and reading it again but it was well worth the effort. I hope it's magic will still reach young readers even though it is now out of print.

My mom gave me this book when I was 8 years old. Hesitantly, I started reading it, and was immediately hooked. It is the first chapter book I remember reading, and I owe my love of literature to Barbara Sleigh and Carbonel. Before the advent of the Internet, I spent many years trying to track down copies of all the Carbonel books, with limited success. Then one day, I discovered that they had had been reissued in the United Kingdom. I was in law school at the time, and my wife told me we couldn't afford them. Imagine my surprise, that Christmas, when I found them under the tree! My wife had called a bookstore in London, and had them shipped to the US just in time for the holidays. I'm now 39 years old, and still reread those books about once a year. I have read them to both my children, and they have read them by themselves. I think we can all look back on our lives, and find one or two events that shape aspects of our future. For me, a British book about a little girl, a witch and a magical, royal cat set me on a road where books became some of my most cherished possessions, and reading my most enjoyable pasttime. Read the books; feel the magic.

Sakura, the Clow Card girl, is back! She's not capturing the Clow Cards again... She's got to find out who else is making mysterious situations! Her magic is weaker than somebody else's. Who is this person and why is he(or she) doing this? Sakura's gotta find out, and get stronger than this person. One day, she defeats the magic with the firey card, but the card changed. Then, she figures out she makes this card and names it a Sakura Card. Now, she's got to change all of the cards too! Double trouble! Can she do it when she has to go to school and with her sixth sense brother lurking around?

Sakura and her friends are back in the first book of the follow-up series to Cardcaptor Sakura. Sakura has passed the trial by Yue the Judge and rightfully become Master of the Clow Cards. But when a new force shows itself, Sakura's magic isn't strong enough to defeat it. Can she somehow find a strength in herself to overcome?

I was so happy to find this book and to revisit my favorite Cardcaptor characters once again. Full of the same wonderful story, art, and characters as the first series, this book is sure to please any manga-lover. Find out what happens next!

Master of the Clow is the sequel to the original 6-part Cardcaptor Sakura manga. Sakura has collected all of the cards and has even beaten and subjugated the other guardian, Yue, to prove that she was worthy of being the "Master of the Clow". Perhaps, after that, Sakura believed that she would be able to go back to a normal life. But in a vision in the last volume of the first series, Clow Reed, who is believed to be dead, appeared to her and told her that he "might cause her some trouble". Now, what this means is anyone's guess. But soon after some unnatural occurences begin to happen and Sakura steps in to stop them, she finds her card magic is useless! Sakura is going to have to step it up a notch to face this new threat. And do two mysterious transfer students have a hand in this magical test?

I don't know if I'm going to like this second series. I enjoyed Cardcaptor Sakura a lot and got in her corner as Sakura had to overcome trial after trial to prove her power of spirit. But I think it's a little cruel to have to start all over again from scratch. To me, it's already been done. The formula of discovering new powers to lick new enemies just doesn't sound promising the second time around. Don't get me wrong, this book wasn't bad, it just seemed to be a repeat of something I've already read. I'll go one more volume to see if it has any surprises.

SF : THIS REVIEW IS RATED SPOILER-FREE

After watching the CCS anime up to the part when she faces Yue in the final test, I was agast (sp??) that my beloved Sakura had ended. But, much to my glee, I discovered a WHOLE NEW ARC OF CCS!!! Bigger, bolder and far, far better than the first arc, sakura faces a whole new posse of villains (or ARE they?) out to get her, the plot becomes even thicker than before, and relationships begin to develop. This is the bigger cliffhanger EVER -- the plot out-does LOTR, Harry Potter, Sailor Moon...in fact, ANY OTHER BOOK I'VE EVER READ!!! it is simply incredible. I am told the next books are even better. Don't know how that one works..............

Hiya! I'm an otaku-girl living in the U.K, where it's DAMN difficult to get manga! I wish I lived in the U.S,waaah! But anyway, I get all my essentials imported, so it's not too bad! Enough about me, let's talk about Cardcaptor Sakura! I didn't actually buy the manga, I reserved it from the library! Infact as I'm writing this, it's only been the second day since then! I LOVED it! I recommend it to everyone who loves art from CLAMP, and the previous series of Cardcaptor Sakura! The art is just BEAUTIFUL, the story is great and you'll just want to read it all over again once you've finished! Here are some of my favourite scenes:
1. When Li blushes when Sakura says she can't wait for the day he'll come back to visit from HongKong.
2.When Eriol and Li have an encounter over him holding Sakura's hand.
3. The way Li blushes when he sees Sakura.
4. The teddy-bear scene.
5. Rika giving the bear to Mr. Terada.
6. Li thinking of giving a bear to Sakura."Return your love......"

Well that's all, hope I didn't spoil too much! By all means buy this book, 'kay!

The Cardcaptor Sakura series is definitely for younger readers only. The whole concept of the series is about a magical girl (Sakura) who spends her time catching cards.
This is the final installment, which is very similar from the Cardcaptor Sakura anime, however the ending is quite different.
The "Original Manga" style means you read it backwards (right to left) which could be challenging for some kids to read like that.
The whole book, in a nutshell, is really, for kids aged 7-11 who are reading manga for the first time.
If your over 13 this book may not be for you. However if you like or obsessed with mangas with fairtale endings, you could buy this book. It takes around 5-15 minutes to read, cute it may be, it's not that much as a thriller, as it is predictable.
If you're 13+ I suggest reading All-New Tenchi Muyo: Alien Nation. It may have a "darker" plot, it seems more "teenage" reading on the whole.
The CCS manga contains nothing seriously explicit, meaning it's suitable for all ages. Why the anime DVDs are rated PG-13, I don't know.
If your 7-9 you'll love it. If you're 9-10 you'll find it mediocre. if you're 11+, this might be a bit of a bore. If you're anime-crazed with cutesy talking bears (Kero) or a girl in pink dresses (Sakura), you might be able to "enjoy" this book. But it's totally you're call.

The CCS saga ends with this. No magic changing in this volume. Only Sakura struggling with her emotions and Syaoran returning home. That's basically it. The front and back pictures are great. It's better in color though.

I love this book it's so cute this one won't have much card captoring in it and cardcaptor fans know why.don't read this if you have not already read volumes 1-5 or you will spoil a great ending.tokeyo pop does it again!!!!!!!!!!

CLAMP have done it again. Another beautiful book, the end of Cardcaptor Sakura. This book focused on the relationships of Cardcaptor Sakura and brings them all to a close. Everyone is shown with their loved one. Fujitaka and Nadeshiko are reunited, we are shown that Eriol and Kaho are together, as are Rika and Mr Terada, Chiharu and Yamazaki, and Eriol tells us that Yukito chose Touya to be his first love (although we already knew that from book 4), and since Touya sacrificed his magic to save Yuki and he touches Yuki's face a LOT when they talk we can assume he feels the same way. So everyone has their special, number one person except... Sakura and Syaoran. So Syaoran finally confesses... we could see this was coming, but CLAMP twists it into angst territory. I am not going to say too much, but there is a lot of angst, and then a happy ending of course!! My one disappointment was how little Touya and Yukito appear in this book, but then I am a manic Touya and Yuki fangirl, so that is probably just me. A beautiful end to a beautiful series. And this is coming from someone who hates romance novels or movies. This is the only thing vaguely near romance I can stand, and that is because CLAMP is so skilled at injecting just the right level of sappiness into it. :) And who can resist Yue at the beginning when he is sulking and Eriol is talking to him?

In this book, several characters are leaving. Eriol is going back to England, and Syaoran Li is going back to Hong Kong. Sakura finally has to decide what she really feels for Li. As usual, the most interesting thing about this series is the relationships - if the series were just about capturing cards, I would have stopped reading a long time ago. I loved this volume, because reading about Sakura as she works through her feelings was very interesting. The artwork is still beautiful, and I definitely recommend this book. I think it would probably be best to read this volume after reading at least some of the previous volumes. There is a "the story thus far" section, as well as some information about each of the main characters, but you might still miss out on the emotional impact of this book if you begin with it.

Pageturner Alert!!!

This sequel was sooo good. Just when I thought Kai Montgomery couldn't get any crazier, SHE DID! In this sequel the story opens up with Terelle in a mental hospital, Kai in prison and Marquise nonexistent to both women in love with him. Allison Hobbs created an exciting and entertaining tale that will keep readers turning the pages well past their bedtime! You have to read the prequel Insatiable to understand what's going on.

Highly recommended to Allison Hobbs fans!

Even if you haven't read the 1st part, Insatiable, this book will still have you on your toes. The book literally takes you to a climax ending that will have you turning the pages like a mad person until its finished. Allison Hobbs definately has a gift for writing the crazy characters, and she definately does a good job with Kai Montgomery. I recomend this book 100%!

Attention all Allison Hobbs fans. This erotic page turner WILL leaving you breathless. There is just something so sinister about her writing, but at the same time you just can't help being drawn into her story lines. This is a love story with a twist or two or three. Loved it from start to finish. And ooh what a finish.....

Terelle and Kai are back with even more drama than you could ever imagine. Both of these women have lost a lot in their pursuit of Marquise who is now deceased. Terelle has suffered mental breakdown and has been institutionalized after losing her fiancé. But after two years of being in a non-responsive state, Terelle is awakened by a kiss and the voice of her lover Marquise. During her recovery, Terelle clings on to the hope that Marquise is still alive and that they will be reunited once again. But her best friend Saleema thinks she's delusional and worries that Terelle may be too unstable to raise her daughter. Meanwhile, Kai is in prison serving a life sentence for a murder that she did not commit but this still doesn't stop Kai's insane behavior. Kai indulges in numerous prison sexual encounters while her mind is focused on making Terelle's life as miserable as possible.

The Climax is the perfect sequel to Insatiable by Allison Hobbs. This story picks up right where Insatiable left off starting with Terelle's mental breakdown. You will definitely find yourself pulling for Terelle's recovery so that she can get on with her life and be a mother to her little girl. Kai is back and is more diabolical than ever as she tries to get revenge on everyone she believes that has done her wrong including Terelle. Kai's actions were shocking in the first book, but some of the things that she did in this story proved that she was the devil's incarnate. Readers will be extremely delighted to know that Kai's dubious actions will not go unpunished. The Climax is full of heart-stopping drama, intrigue, and steamy sex that makes this book hard to put down. With The Climax, Allison Hobbs has brought a novel that will have you eagerly waiting for her next book.

Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
for Urban Reviews

... I wonder what goes on inside the head of Allison to come up with some of her stories and plot lines! She takes us back to what, in my opinion, was her best novel to date; Insatiable. The characters are back and so is the drama, it's chock full of sex, sex, sex, and twists that is making this sister famous!

You will HATE Kai! I'm just being honest, this lady (term used loosely... kinda like she is) has got more issues than the Ebony/Jet warehouse. You pray and pray that she will get hers and Allison does a great job of setting her character up. The other characters aren't that swift either because... well... I've seen rocks that have more brains than them. Allison brings the pain again with this novel and you can't help but become a fan.

You will cover your mouth and cringe when you read what happens to Kai in prison and what she DOES in prison! There is one scene that will literally make you feel that pain. There is another scene(s) that will make your mouth drop when you see what happens with Kai and her father and WHERE it takes place! Stop waiting yall! Allison is bad and her books are bad-der!!!!!

Apologetics Concerning the Nature of Religion

Apologetics or is it antiapologetics, I have read Hodges arguments about cause and effect, primary and secondary causes in his work on systematic theology which was written a hundred years after this work. RC Sproulamong others discuss similar issues today with a contrary conclusion. David Hume's dialogue about the existence of God and the attributes of God does form some of the frame work for further philosophic and theological discussion. Some seems quite aimless like his discussion whether God is wholly other. Some theologians may make this statement and argument, but this certainly is not fundamentalist or scriptural perspective of God. What I found most interesting in this work is his discussion of causality. Mr. Hume's focus was on Natural theology or the idea that God could be perceived or not perceived through nature. But also included was knowing God through rationalization. To this he compared three notions:

{1} That there is a self existent Being who always existed, never created, and is the ultimate Cause of the whole universe. Something that never was caused, but is the cause of all else.

{2}That there is no ultimate cause. History is an infinite amount of causes and effects that has no starts or ends. Matter in some form has always existed and matter has always been in motion. Universe or galaxy may have a point of beginning, but not what it is composed of.

{3}At a point in time there was no matter, then at another point of time there was matter. The matter move in motion to develop things as we know it.

David Hume does not discuss the concept that simply nothing really exists. I would guess in an earlier work he had dismissed it in some form. It is my conclusion Mr. Hume found point one as absurd as point 2 or 3.

The other major focus of discussion in this work how an all knowing creator, who has all power, and has the capacity to perceive every thing that is going on can create a world that has the highest being of creation suffer pain and evil among each other. The argument is made in this work that the universe does not function in a rational manner, therefore such all knowing, all powerful and all powerful God does not seem to exist. Some reviewers consider it a complete debunk of intelligent design and it certainly a source of comfort for those who do desire.

With the possible exception of his incalculably influential A Treatise of Human Nature, this, I think, is Hume's finest work. The Dialogues is a paradigm of sustained philosophical argumentation on a single subject, and I can't think of a more inspiring work of philosophy. Another reason to read this book is that Hume is one of the few philosophical figures whose work is worth reading as literature. His prose is, of course, lovely and clear as can be; and the Dialogues is packed with the sort of evocative passages that readers of Hume except to find in his work. Furthermore, he's clearly mastered the dialogue format as a way of writing philosophy. He never turns his interlocutors into ciphers spouting the details of their respective positions. Each character has a forceful and distinct personality, and each of them comes to the debate with a well-defined position and adequate means of defending it. In short, I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Most of the Dialogues is devoted to discussion of a posteriori arguments for the existence of God. The main argument considered here is the classical argument from design, which Hume seems to understand as an analogical argument of the following sort: the complexity and order of the universe show that it is similar to artifacts created by human intelligences; similar causes have similar effects; therefore, the universe must have been created by a being with something like a human intelligence; therefore, the universe must have been created by God.

Hume's objections to this argument are legion, and many of the individual objections are both ingenious and forceful. He provides reasons for thinking that the universe isn't all that similar to artifacts created by human beings. He argues, for instance, that at least in some respects, the universe resembles animal or vegetable life more than it resembles artifacts created by human beings. Hume also provides for thinking that, even if we think the universe is similar to a human artifact, we ought to think the universe was created by a being quite unlike God. The relevant empirical evidence, he argues, provides us with no good reason to think that the universe wasn't created by multiple beings (large human artifacts are usually created by multiple beings), or that the being(s) who created it are still alive (human creators die), or that the being(s) who created it were infinite (it's not clear that creating the finite universe would have required infinite power), or that the being(s) who created it were morally perfect (the universe, with all its misery and despair, certainly isn't what one would expect from a perfect being). Furthermore, he proposes certain alternative naturalistic explanations of the existence and nature of the universe; and he claims that it's unclear why an appeal to divine creation is to be preferred to these speculative naturalistic stories of the universe's creation.

As I hope this all-too-brief synopsis suggests, Hume's cumulative case against the argument from design is quite impressive. It is, of course, possible to avoid some of these criticisms in various ways, and his speculative naturalistic explanations leave quite a bit to be desired. But the total case is a philosophical demolition par excellence. Indeed, I'm pretty sure that Hume has shown that the argument from design is more or less worthless as support for anything resembling traditional theism. So, if you're enamored of that argument, I suggest you pick up book and wrestle with the criticisms found here.

Now, this isn't all Hume discusses in the Dialogues. There's a section discussing a priori arguments for the existence of God; it focuses on arguments against a version of the cosmological (i.e. first cause) argument. And Hume's arguments concerning the cosmological argument also rule out any sort of ontological argument, as he claims that no sense can be made of the idea of a necessarily existing being. The book also includes a few some brief discussion of particular issues concerning religion.

Where, in the end, does Hume come down on the issue of theism? It's hard to tell, as it's not clear that any of the particular characters speaks for him. Philo, the character who often appears to be speaking for him, never denies the existence of a deity; he simply denies the ability of human reason to discover anything substantial about what such a being is like. That Hume agrees with this is, I think, the most we can glean from this text about Hume's own religious views. It seems clear that he has no sympathy for organized religion, or for any religious views that purport to describe the nature of God, His intentions, or how and why He created the universe as He did. And the only positive religious claim that is given respectful treatment here is the bare claim that we have reason to think that the cause of the universe as a whole is somewhat similar to a human intelligence.

But does acceptance of this minimal thesis amount to his being a theist? Again, it's very hard to tell. First, of course, one might wonder whether this fairly vague positive view is enough to amount to some form of theism. But let's put that issue to one side. Even if it is enough to support some form of theism, it's often difficult to tell whether Hume means to be advocating such a position here. The problem is that it often seems Hume's explicit advocation of this position amounts to little more than a description of what he thinks is an inevitable human tendency to think this way. Given how our minds actually work, he seems to think, we're bound to think something like this about the origin of the universe. Yet it's somewhat unclear that he thinks forming beliefs in this way is reliable. It may simply be that we have a brute instinct to think in a way that insures we'll see the world as resulting from some human-like intelligence, and it's at least not clear that that isn't a debunking account of the plausibility of theism. (For more support that this is a debunking explanation, see his The Natural History of Religion, where the explanations of various religious beliefs certainly seem to be one's that suggest those beliefs simply aren't plausible.)

David Hume made a reputation by writing on reason and its limits. The main thrust of the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion is to question whether theological arguments for God that assign Him positive attributes (omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, etc.) go beyond reason's limits in assigning these attributes. We watch Cleanthes (believer in theological arguments), Demea (believer more on faith) and Philo (disbeliever in theology's efficacy) hash out whether reason and experience alone give us reason to say anything whatever about God.

Hume explores all of the major arguments for God's existence. First, the a posteriori argument is explored; the argument that just as seeing a house gives us reason to assume an architect and builder, seeing the world should give us reason to infer a designer. Hume (through the skeptical voice of Philo) sees much wrong with this argument. Why? Because the reason we infer a builder for a house is because experience has shown us that houses have builders, thus when we see a house, we assume that, like other houses we've seen, this one too has a builder. But experience does not tell us that where there is a world, there is a designer. The leap is extra-experiential. Further, even if we DID infer a designer, why infer just one? Houses have construction crews of multiple people; if we analogize between the house and the world, then why not infer that the world, too, might have infinite creators? (And why infer that the world's creator is omnipotent, if all that is needed to create something is to be more powerful than the thing created - no more, no less?)

Next, we go through the a priori argument - the argument from first cause. Hume (Philo) is quick to point out the obvious flaw with this. If everything needs a cause, then what caused God? If God is said to be eternally existing, then why couldn't the natural world - rather than God - be thought eternal instead? And further, why is a infinite chain of causes and effects so unimaginable, anyhow? (Isn't it just as sensical as an eternal God itself not caused?)

Lastly, Philo brings up the argument from evil. In a nutshell, Philo suggests that while theology sees all the perfections of the world, proclaiming them clear evidence of remarkable design, theologians dismiss or downplay the imperfections. If God is said to all-good Himself, then why did he create humans with such flaws? (one assumes that an all-powerful, all-good God could have avoided those errors).

Still, the main thrust of this book is that Philo, far from challenging whether God exists, challenges theologies capacity to assign ANY characteristics to God by reason and experience alone. Hume does a good job not only in outlaying arguments as to why reason is not capable of knowing a thing about God, but also in making believable dialogues (compared to Plato, whose characters are all made to be one-dimensional foils for "Socrates.") As in so many other areas, Hume was a pioneer in the realm of the philosophy of God. This book furnishes strong proof of that!

David Hume, a philosopher of the period often classified as British Empiricism, is the intellectual associate of philosophers John Locke and George Berkeley. Born in Edinburgh in 1711, he attended the University of Edinburgh but did not graduate. He went to France during his 20s, and spent time there working on what would become his most famous work, 'An Enquiry into Human Understanding', first published under the title 'Treatise of Human Nature'. However, Hume was a prolific writer, and dealt with many areas of philosophy, including politics and ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. He wrote in the area of history as well, and had a politic career as British ambassador to France and a post as a minister in the government for a few years. His final work, 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion', was published posthumously in 1779, although work had begun on it as early as the 1750s.

Hume was very concerned about rationality. Hume was never publicly and explicitly an atheist, but his rational mind, concerned about sensory and intelligible evidence, led him to question and doubt most major systems of religion, including the more general philosophical sense of religion and proofs of the existence of God. The primary arguments in his 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion' deal with the Argument from Design, and the Cosmological Argument. There is an assumed distinction here between natural religion and revealed religion, an especially important distinction in the Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment philosophical structure.

- Natural Religion and Revealed Religion -
Natural religion is the idea that we come to know and understand God (and, consequently, what God wants or expects of us, if anything) simply from nature and our sensory perceptions, as well as our interpretations (emotion and rational) of this kind of understanding. From very early in his writing career, Hume attacked the idea of natural religion and most of its conclusions, drawing a sharp line between what we can actually know and what ends up being fanciful extrapolations based on other-than-rational ideas and evidence. Revealed religion is primary what most religions base themselves upon - the burning bush to Moses, the resurrection and post-resurrection appearances to the Apostles, the Buddha's enlightenment under the tree - these are examples of revelation. While Hume does take on the idea of revealed religion in his other works, this particular text does not concern itself with that topic, and stays in the domain of addressing natural religion.

- The Argument from Design -
Arguments from Design have always had a strong appeal to believers within religious frameworks; they have often been used as tools of evangelism, as attempts to show that beyond the revealed doctrines, the very nature of things points to a creator. In very short order, the Argument from Design in Hume's newly-industrial time might have read like this:

- Machines are designed by beings with intelligence.
- The world and the universe it is in resembles a machine.
- Therefore, the world must have been created by means of intelligent design.

This is an argument by analogy, and is convincing to some, but often more convincing to those already inclined to believe in the existence of God.

- The Cosmological Argument -
The Cosmological Argument is at once both more subtle and more simple. The most simple way of stating it would be that God is the 'first cause' of everything. If everything has to have a cause (even the whole universe), then that first cause must be God. In the twentieth century era of thinking of a universe that began with a Big Bang, it seemed to some that the Cosmological Argument was confirmed.

Hume would have been familiar with Leibniz's more subtle form of the Cosmological Argument, which argues for a world of infinite contingent causes. However, there has to be something outside of this system of infinite causes that produced the series - thus, even in a universe with no set beginning or ending, there would still need to be an overarching cause.

- Hume's Arguments -
Hume argues on many levels. His first criticism of the Argument from Design is that this analogy (as are most arguments from analogy) is faulty and not exact; we have no idea if the universe is like a machine. Even if it was, machines are often designed and built by several designers - why argue for one God rather than several? How do we know that matter and the universe don't have their own, internal self-organising principles?

With regard to the Cosmological Argument, the argument is a little more strained. Hume argues that, in any series of causality, once one knows about each cause, it makes no sense to inquire beyond the sequence of causes to some other effect. This is a very Empirical argument, to be sure, and while perhaps not entirely satisfying, it still has merit in philosophy to this day.

- Hume's Structure -
This is a dialogue, set up in the classical way of people talking with each other about the subjects. Hume draws primarily from Cicero, whose work 'On the Nature of the Gods' uses characters of the same names. However, whereas Cicero was concerned about the nature of the Gods (their attributes, powers, etc.) and not their existence, it is the very existence of God that occupies Hume's thoughts.

Hume, despite many years of work on this text, probably never quite thought it was finished. He left the work to Adam Smith (the noted economist, and friend of Hume in Edinburgh), who also thought the arguments against the existence of God were too strong, and likely too damaging to Hume's overall reputation. The tug-of-war over the publication makes for interesting reading in and of itself.

These are important arguments, worthy of discussion and dialogue in philosophy classes, theology classes, and among others who ponder the existence of God.

This short and artfully written book was published after Hume's death. Hume did not wish to experience the controversy engendered by the arguments advanced in the book. It is likely as well that Hume was concerned also with offending some of the moderate Presbyterian clergy who were his personal friends and had been his partisans in other controversies. This book is primarily an attack on the idea that the exercise of reason and logic provides support for religion, and particularly that application of reason leads to strong evidence for the existence of a beneficient God. This line of thought had become particularly popular among liberal theologians in the first half of the 18th century and was a widely held notion among Enlightenment intellectuals across Europe and North America. This idea is still widely held today and can be seen in the writings of the so-called 'intelligent design' advocates of creationism. Hume's criticisms, then, are not only of historic interest but continue to have relevance to our contemporary lives.

The Dialogues are constructed as a 3 cornered argument between three friends. Demea, a man upholding revealed religion against the idea that reason provides support for the existence of God. Cleanthes, an advocate of natural religion. Philo, a skeptical reasoner who attacks the positions held by Demea and Cleanthes. For those who like Hume's sprightly 18th century style, this is a fun book to read. Hume artfully divides some of his strongest arguments between Cleanthes and Philo, and gives the Dialogues the real sense of a dispute among 3 intelligent friends. Philo is generally taken to represent Hume's positions but Cleanthes articulates some strong arguments and provides some of the best criticisms of Demea's fideism. Much of the book is devoted to attacking the argument from design, which Cleanthes attempts to defend against assaults from Philo and Demea. In many ways, the argument from design is the major idea of those supporting the natural religion approach to existence of God. Hume's critique is thorough and powerful. It even includes an anticipation of Darwin's idea's of selection, though the basis for Hume's critique is primarily epistemological. In the later parts of the book, Hume attacks also the comsological argument for the existence of God, though this discussion is relatively brief and a bit confusing. Hume's analysis is consistent broadly with much of his philosophical work. In many ways, his great theme was the limitations of reason, and this book is an example of his preoccupation with the relatively limited role of reason in establishing certain facts about the universe. He finishes with short criticisms of the idea that religion is needed for a stable and well ordered society and defends the usefullness of skeptical reasoning.

It is important to view the Dialogues as part of a critique of religion that Hume sustained in several works. His Natural History of Religion, the On Miracles section of the Enquiry Concerning Human Understacing, and other essays comprise a broad criticism of religion. Other pillars of religion, such as the existence of miracles and revelation, are criticized in his other work. While Hume denied being an atheist and was apparently disturbed by the dogmatic atheism of French philosophes he met in Paris, he was certainly not religous in any conventional sense.

This is a short and very readable book but the power of its arguments are totally out of proportion to its length.