Her books, about her philosophy...? Just curious.

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Not me. She's very anti-religion.

I've read We the Living and The Fountainhead. Both were very good though I liked The Fountainhead most. I have a copy of Atlas Shrugged that I'm going to start on when I finish up two books I'm working on now. Both of the books I have read are very well written and interesting.

I haven't read any of her books on her philosophy, but I have never got the impression that she was vehemently against religion. She is very individualistic and believes that we as people should be free to chose the life that we want.

If your interested read the books. The stories are great.

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

Not yet but Anthem is on the summer reading list...

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"Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

~Mark Twain

Anthem is pretty much a toilet-read It will take you all of four hours to read it (well, maybe that's a bit more than a "toilet read"). It's a very entertaining story and, as much as a dumbass like me can appreciate something like this, an interesting statement against communism. Of course, the last time I read it, I was about 12, so I could be wrong

And I take it that you're "pro-religion"? Isn't reading the thoughts of the "enemy" a good way to understand it?

Ayn Rand was an atheist but not terribly anti-religious. IMO, the only thing she really held against religion - at least some practices - was that it got in the way.

Go ahead and read some of her works. I've read the Bible, Qur'an and other religious writings, and I'm still an atheist. So don't worry, it won't rub off...

The real object of her 'worship' was the individual.

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Well, now, color me interested. You've read the requisite religious texts, and also a bit of Rand in your spare-time? Can I ask you (and forgive me if it's too bold) what led you to atheism?

I'm 68 to put this in perspective.

I was raised in the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod). When I was 17, I entered Valparaiso University (also Lutheran). During the first semester of my freshman year, I had to do some research in the library. I came across a book, The Biography of the Gods, a discussion of the five major religions of the world.

In the last paragraph of the last chapter, the author simply said, "For too long man has put off unto the gods those things which he should do for himself.", and it's been etched in my mind ever since. That made sense to me, and now for over fifty years, I've been an atheist.

I have no problem with any religious practice (except Islam), and in fact I've been married to a born again Christian Baptist for 28 years. Nor do I proselytize. To each his own so long as no injury is done to another. The Golden Rule is sufficient for me.

BTW, I'm also very pro-life.

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