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A review by remlezar
Godless by Dan Barker
4.0
A well told, fascinating story of an evangelical preacher turned atheist. Barker begins by detailing his journey in the first half of the book, followed with the philosophical problems of the existence of god, and finishes with his critiques of Christianity.
The critiques and arguments he presents in the book are well stated, clear, and thought provoking. This is a great alternative to books such as "The God Delusion," especially for those who prefer a tad less venom in their reasonings for a godless cosmos. Barker's nearly life long devotion to hardcore Christianity puts him in the perfect position to carefully sit next to those struggling with their faith and say, "Hey, it's okay not to believe. Frankly, that stuff doesn't make a whole lot of sense anyway, when you think about it." It's less heavy handed than Dawkins (who, don't get me wrong, I love), much much less so than Hitchens, and more accessible than Dennett. I have a hard time imagining a more understanding, friendly introduction to the world of atheism/agnosticism/nontheism.
For me personally, I breezed through the autobiographical portion of "Godless" and slowed down after that. As previously noted, his arguments and critiques are eloquently written and easy to understand. It's just that I've heard them all before.
If you don't know a lot about atheism but are curious, read this book cover to cover. Unless you decide to get overzealous, you don't need to read much else on the subject. He does that good of a job covering the subject.
If you're already an atheist looking for something new to read on the subject, you will likely love the first part of this book and appreciate the review of the reasons not to believe at the end.
Either way, great book.
The critiques and arguments he presents in the book are well stated, clear, and thought provoking. This is a great alternative to books such as "The God Delusion," especially for those who prefer a tad less venom in their reasonings for a godless cosmos. Barker's nearly life long devotion to hardcore Christianity puts him in the perfect position to carefully sit next to those struggling with their faith and say, "Hey, it's okay not to believe. Frankly, that stuff doesn't make a whole lot of sense anyway, when you think about it." It's less heavy handed than Dawkins (who, don't get me wrong, I love), much much less so than Hitchens, and more accessible than Dennett. I have a hard time imagining a more understanding, friendly introduction to the world of atheism/agnosticism/nontheism.
For me personally, I breezed through the autobiographical portion of "Godless" and slowed down after that. As previously noted, his arguments and critiques are eloquently written and easy to understand. It's just that I've heard them all before.
If you don't know a lot about atheism but are curious, read this book cover to cover. Unless you decide to get overzealous, you don't need to read much else on the subject. He does that good of a job covering the subject.
If you're already an atheist looking for something new to read on the subject, you will likely love the first part of this book and appreciate the review of the reasons not to believe at the end.
Either way, great book.