As half of the Penn & Teller magic act, Penn Jillette was a Character Approved entertainer long before the category officially existed. But if you've ever listened to Jillette on the cable series Penn & Teller: Bull----!, watched his video blog, or even just followed his Twitter stream, you know that he's a fierce advocate for rational skepticism towards all aspects of life, including politics and religion. His new book, God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales, is largely focused on that side of his life, providing a platform where he can expound upon his beliefs without restraints.

Jillette is an absolutist on the subject of atheism; all religious faith is equally "bugnutty" in his eyes. At the same time, he respects the convictions of people who want so strongly for him to share their faith in God that they'll pray for him: "If you believe something, you must share it; it's one of the ways we all learn about truth."

Although God, No! is loosely organized around the concept of a secular take on the Ten Commandments, it's far from somber. Jillette is as likely to talk about taking an Orthodox Jew who's abandoned his faith for a bacon cheeseburger as he is to discuss his run-ins with airport security. On the other hand, he'll start off explaining why he doesn't lie to his children about Santa Claus, then shift gears into moving accounts of dealing with his parents' declining health and death. And there are a few stories far too raunchy for us to describe here (although most of them are pretty hilarious). Put it all together and you've got an entertaining tour of the mind of one of a handful of celebrities who can genuinely be called iconoclastic.

[Image: Michael Cogliantry]