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daviddiamond's review against another edition
4.0
While not the best writer, there is no doubt Dan Barker knows his bible. He breaks down the bible and highlights its many flaws and debunks the claims of its believers. His journey from evangelical minister to atheist runs the gamut of emotions.
clmassey24's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed Barker's thoroughness in dissecting biblical discrepancies – my own bible is now filled with my markings, highlighting them all – and his biographical account of his apostasy. His knowledge of biblical history, language, and Christianity is immense given his past as a preacher and evangelical missionary, and it's all for the better.
He's an excellent inspiration for freethinking individuals who may be doubting their once-cherished religious beliefs.
The writing style is fine, although his knack for not spelling out numbers drove me mad, the content is what really matters. My favorite quote is this:
Four stars because some points were slightly too repetitive and the writing is simply ordinary non-fiction prose.
Thanks for the inspiration, Dan, to continuously strive toward knowledge and skepticism.
He's an excellent inspiration for freethinking individuals who may be doubting their once-cherished religious beliefs.
The writing style is fine, although his knack for not spelling out numbers drove me mad, the content is what really matters. My favorite quote is this:
"If we waste any moment of our precious lives on the hope of an afterlife, we rob ourselves of real joy and value in the here and now. Our lives are all we have, and we should enjoy them to the fullest, minute by fragile minute."
Four stars because some points were slightly too repetitive and the writing is simply ordinary non-fiction prose.
Thanks for the inspiration, Dan, to continuously strive toward knowledge and skepticism.
bird_smuggler's review against another edition
5.0
Simply monumental. The greatest of the modern atheist canon.
rlnj's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book fascinating. Barker's personal story of his time as a Christian, followed by his deconversion is powerful on a human/personal level. Later in the book he methodically deconstructs faith, primarily Christianity. His presentation does not come across as combative, which helps his argument stay on course. His whole point is that theism, belief in a god, is myth fraudulently created by mankind. Christianity is the myth he (and the vast majority of his readers) are most familiar with, therefore it gets the bulk of the critical attention.
If you are a skeptic, or 'on the fence' about religion this book will probably nudge you further toward atheism. If you are staunch believer/defender of faith you a) aren't likely to pick this book up to begin with, b) not likely to get far into if you do, c) walk away thoroughly upset/confused if you do finish it.
I personally believe that the more informed we are, both as individuals and as a society, the better. This book is informative, grounded in logic and reason. You may choose to ignore, discredit or simply not believe the information presented here, but at least know that it exist and if you have a curiosity, explore it!
If you are a skeptic, or 'on the fence' about religion this book will probably nudge you further toward atheism. If you are staunch believer/defender of faith you a) aren't likely to pick this book up to begin with, b) not likely to get far into if you do, c) walk away thoroughly upset/confused if you do finish it.
I personally believe that the more informed we are, both as individuals and as a society, the better. This book is informative, grounded in logic and reason. You may choose to ignore, discredit or simply not believe the information presented here, but at least know that it exist and if you have a curiosity, explore it!
steveinadelaide's review against another edition
2.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. Part 1 of the book entitled "Rejecting God" is the most interesting as it is the author's personal story of his journey from fundamentalist Christianity to atheism.
Part 2, "Why I am an atheist" is very dense and philosophical - and I appreciated some of Baker's arguments and critiques regarding God and the various arguments often offered for God's existence by Christian apologists - some of which are clearly wanting.
Part 3, "What's wrong with Christianity?", was the worst part of the book. It consists of a hurried survey through the Bible intended to prove that inerrantism is unsustainable (I agree that it isn't sustainable). But in this section Baker proof texts in much the same way as many fundamentalist Christians do - he gives almost no consideration to context (cultural, historical, or textual) unless it serves his purpose. For example, he criticises what he sees as the moral commands of the Beatitudes and doesn't realise that these are not moral commands. The context is Jesus blessing the marginalised oppressed group of people in front of him who were going through the experiences he was describing in each of the Beatitudes. While some Christians see the Beatitudes as a moral code, this is not the only way of reading the text. Baker's book fails in genuinely engaging with the text and sharing alternative perspectives with the reader. It is highly biased towards Baker's conclusions (which may not be wrong but are not offered fairmindedly).
Because Baker came from a fundamentalist background, he falls into the trap of treating the text of the Bible as a flat set of propositions. Apart from the fundamentalist, few educated Christians would take it that way. So this whole section of the book, in my opinion, would have been better left to another, more scholarly book, rather than plonked into this book in the way it is.
Part 4, "Life is Good!" becomes a boring listing of all the people Baker has met that he deems important to the atheist/humanist cause (it is hard to avoid thinking he is engaging in name-dropping) and events he has participated in. There are a few autobiographical stories that are of interest. His brief discussion on the scientific hypotheses for the origin of religion and his discussion of the basis of meaning and morality without God are worth reading but are overshadowed by the interminable minutiae of the rest of it.
In summary, Part 1 is worth reading to gain an insight into Baker's journey and what was going on inside his head as he struggled with the loss of his faith. I think there are other books that do a better job of the material in the other parts of the book. Baker needed a good editor to make this book shorter and more powerful.
Part 2, "Why I am an atheist" is very dense and philosophical - and I appreciated some of Baker's arguments and critiques regarding God and the various arguments often offered for God's existence by Christian apologists - some of which are clearly wanting.
Part 3, "What's wrong with Christianity?", was the worst part of the book. It consists of a hurried survey through the Bible intended to prove that inerrantism is unsustainable (I agree that it isn't sustainable). But in this section Baker proof texts in much the same way as many fundamentalist Christians do - he gives almost no consideration to context (cultural, historical, or textual) unless it serves his purpose. For example, he criticises what he sees as the moral commands of the Beatitudes and doesn't realise that these are not moral commands. The context is Jesus blessing the marginalised oppressed group of people in front of him who were going through the experiences he was describing in each of the Beatitudes. While some Christians see the Beatitudes as a moral code, this is not the only way of reading the text. Baker's book fails in genuinely engaging with the text and sharing alternative perspectives with the reader. It is highly biased towards Baker's conclusions (which may not be wrong but are not offered fairmindedly).
Because Baker came from a fundamentalist background, he falls into the trap of treating the text of the Bible as a flat set of propositions. Apart from the fundamentalist, few educated Christians would take it that way. So this whole section of the book, in my opinion, would have been better left to another, more scholarly book, rather than plonked into this book in the way it is.
Part 4, "Life is Good!" becomes a boring listing of all the people Baker has met that he deems important to the atheist/humanist cause (it is hard to avoid thinking he is engaging in name-dropping) and events he has participated in. There are a few autobiographical stories that are of interest. His brief discussion on the scientific hypotheses for the origin of religion and his discussion of the basis of meaning and morality without God are worth reading but are overshadowed by the interminable minutiae of the rest of it.
In summary, Part 1 is worth reading to gain an insight into Baker's journey and what was going on inside his head as he struggled with the loss of his faith. I think there are other books that do a better job of the material in the other parts of the book. Baker needed a good editor to make this book shorter and more powerful.
slapshottechnology's review against another edition
4.0
Very good. Nice argument about all the areas of God/Jesus not being believable. I like the section on all others in religion who have since deconverted.
cpa85's review against another edition
4.0
Very engaging and interesting read with plenty of sound arguments to support his beliefs. The writing is fairly cheesy at times though.