Rating: 
Summary: His story was well written; His attack on Christianity wasnt
Review: Even as a Protestant, I still enjoy Dan's writing style. He has good voice. I ordered LFIF (Losing Faith in Faith) a month before it finally arrived at my household (last time I buy from BN), and I was excited to get my hands on Barker's book every day. Overall, I thought it was seriously lopsided in terms of one section being excellent, and another being the opposite.The section I enjoyed the most was "Part 1: Losing Faith". In it, he has excellent voice (as noted) and gives a very open testimony. It doesn't seem like he is holding some of the facts back as some biographies do. After reading the book I am still confused. Confused to exactly why Barker left Christianity. When I think back through the book I can't think of any part where Barker tells us why he left. Though I greatly enjoyed Barker's sincere, open autobiography in the first 'part', I felt it went downhill from there. Part 2 was a steady decrease. It is titled 'Finding Freethought' which is both a bit of autobiography and a bit of attack on the overall concept of God. His critique (of sorts) is very odd. Take for example "Refuting God" (pg. 122) where he spends usually less then a page 'refuting' arguments for the existence of God. Cosmological never comes up (though it does elsewhere) but I find it amusing that he attempts to 'refute' an argument in a single page where theistic philosophers have spent books writing about it. His other VERY interesting read was "Dear Theologian" which I chuckled at (I can't tell whether Barker was trying to be serious or not). I wonder why such chapters as "What Is A Freethinker" (pg. 133) are even in the book. It is just shameless self promiting (Christians do it too). My biggest (humbug) over his writings (ESPECIALLY Part 5) always put him into the best possible perspective. Though I will take Barker's word for it that he did all those things (I don't doubt) his inclusion of only the good victories (...) over religion (see chapters 38-45 basically) are very uneven. Though the event happened later than the publishing of his book, take for example Barker's debate with Philosopher Michael Horner. Overall, 195 voted, 55 of which voted for Barker (140 voted for Horner). Barker even asks at the end, "Do we have one last question, or are we done? Can we be done now?" Surely we dont' find any events such as this found in his book. Everyone makes mistakes, even has things they wish to forget, but Barker makes it seem like he always came out on top. I doubt that many won't agree that Barker's attack on Christianity (Part's 3;4;7) is rather weak. He almost never quotes scholars (there are no footnotes in the book) and his attacks really make my wonder just why he left. Let me briefly review some of the specific attacks of part 3: Bible contradictions -- I was astounished at some of his contradictions. I am ABSOLUTELY boggled how he doesn't know if we are "are we saved through works". I've been a Christian for a year (he was for 19) and I can easily answer that contradiction. This one really makes me wonder just how 'Christian' he actually was (though I wouldn't be so arrogent as to deny that he was a Christian). THough all the contradictions have been refuted (even specifically. As some people focused on his), some really stand out as DUH! Just a few -- "How many Gods are there" and "When was Jesus Crucified". His "easter challenge" I also found to be weak. 'Just because it doesn's state the positive affirm the negative' clears up about 95% of the 'challenges' without further study. His 'Cross Examination' (pg. 201) was actually accurate. Bravo. I found his "Dear Believer" chapter to be very offensive. While I agree with his concept that we don't need Bible's in every room, I found this chapter to be extremely hostile (he notes it too). The only other 'attack' is part 9 where he does an analyzis of the historical merits for Jesus. I found this to be very unimpressive overall, as he quoted almost no scholars in the entire chapter. It's not to say this was the worst review of the secular references to Jesus (Acharya S recieves that title), it just wasn't useful (excluding his part about Josephus). To conclude my ramblings. I actually loved (slight exaggeration) his autobiography in Part 1. He had very good writing style. But as it progressed, I found his writing to be less good. I note this because after Part 1 quite a bit of the writing is simply copies of articles he wrote for "Freethought Today". These essays are the bulk of the latter half of the book and are not connected in any way (so that part is just a collection of unconnected essays). His 'crique' of Christianity was unimpressive and didn't convince me in any way (and I try not to be a presuppositionalist). I do agree with his views that there should be a separation from church and state and that atheists can be very moral. But in the end I found this very large book wanting. I still don't know why he "lost faith in faith" (whatever that means).
Rating: 
Summary: Great for some... terrible for others
Review: I've read this book cover to cover a couple of times...I come from a church of Christ backround with a father who is a minister in an Indiana bible belt church, and a father-in-law that is a deacon in one of the largest conservative churches in California..I was a youth minister who taught at various camps including Lubbock christian university's "encounters" summer camp. This book is an awesome book attacking christianity...not just conservative (fundamentalist) christianity....If you have to "FIND" Jesus, I have to ask why he was hiding at all!!!! This mentality of fundamentalist not being "true" christians and missing the mark makes me sick.. If ANYONE is doing what they believe that the bible is telling them to do, then they are "TRUE" christians...From HITLER on down <---check their belt buckles....Truth is relative to the teller....and to all you Christians.. OBEY PSALMS 137:9 <--no wait, let me guess.. I'm taking that out of context...or 2 Kings 2:24... Dan Barker..You are great!!!! Jesus..You are a myth!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating insight
Review: It's true that many of the arguments against religion presented in this book are quite well known. However, this is not where the value of this book really lies. The truly enthralling parts of this book are Dan Barker's brutally honest account of his own journey towards atheism, and, just as important, the insights his own experiences have given him into the workings of the Christian mindset. His account of his final performances as a Christian musician, when his heart was no longer in his material, are truly poignant. It really demonstrates just how much a person invests in the religious world-view, and the corresponding emotional cost associated with its renunciation. It's hard, but Dan's book demonstrates that it's possible, and very worthwhile. In all, this book will offer spellbinding insights for both the Christian and atheist alike, as it eloquently and honestly dicusses life in both camps and the transitional stage in between.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Dan Barker for writing this book!
Review: Wow. What a great book. He went through so much of what I've gone through in the last year and a half as I struggled with my faith (in my case, in the Catholic Church) and ultimately abandoned it. At first I thought I was just giving up the religion part and keeping the God part, but ultimately, after reading a lot of evolutionary biology and astronomy, I came to the same conclusions that Dan has. But he has expressed it so well, he is so even-handed and so compassionate towards Christians who are struggling to stay in their faith. I couldn't sleep the first few nights I was reading this book, it effected me so much. It's so amazing to have a resource like this. I feel very lucky to have stumbled onto this book. I imagine there are thousands of others out there who have gone through the same experience but haven't been willing to speak or write about it. There is such a pressure in our culture to adhere to it's Christian underpinnings and squelch any dissent. I wish I could write "God Bless Dan Barker" but I can't, unless it was faceteously. I guess I'll just say THANK YOU!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Boring
Review: Dan Baker's book is boring in everyway. All the arguements he uses to refute Christianity have been articulated better by better atheists and agnostics. Baker essentially misunderstands Christianity and is therefore a poor critic. What Baker needs is a library card so he can read what some truly thoughtful atheists have had to criticize in Christianity. This book will be a waste of time for deep-thinking atheists and a hindrance to amatures. His style is droning. He over-simplifies everything showing no apptitude for understanding the complexity of the issue. The general mood is of a teenage boy who revels in talking bad about his dad. Atheism used to have more dignity. Humanism used to show more restraint and compassion.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't read the whole thing....
Review: Well, I took this out of the library after an atheist friend said it was good. Being a Catholic who honestly believes in God if not always in the church, I read the first general part. Reading this book, if you're a practicing Christian, could change your mindset. Quickly. The last thing I need right now is a battle about religion in my mind, so I set it down and never picked it up again. Returned it when it was due. I guess this shows how strong my hold on God is, but this book is a strong book. Dan is a good writer who is extremely convincing, and in the part I read, he hardly even talked about anything of the sort. It's probably a good book, but for now, as long as I'm leaning on God to get through whatever, I can't have any doubt in my mind. If you feel like this too, I don't recommend this book. I'm not going to come online and post some scary jesus freak comments, but this is a good book as far as I can tell. If I were an atheist...it'd be better. Dan should be given a lot of credit for his whole life.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for the X-tian
Review: Looking at some of the other reviews, it's obvious that this book polarizes readers, being rated either very highly or very poorly. I'm not surprised. The high ratings are to be expected - there's a real shortage of good quality material for former Christians. That, too, is understandable since America frowns so mightily on unbelievers. That brings us to the negative reviews, frowning mightily. Personally, I appreciate Barker very deeply. I came to the same conclusions via a slightly different path. I was also a devout Christian, though never a preacher. I was Washed in the Blood of the Lamb at 16, Sanctified and Born Again. I had a personal friend in Jesus. I also had a thirst for understanding, so I studied the Bible for years and took everything to the Lord in prayer. I studied and prayed until one day I realized that I didn't believe anymore. No tragedy; no rebellion; just realization. It was only after I came to grips with this change in worldview that I came to understand just how much Christianity warps a person's thinking, denigrating reason and elevating faith. It's been a long climb up from the muck, but it's great to be clean now. Christians reading that will be as outraged by the thought as they would be by reading Barker's book. Former Christians know precisely what I'm talking about. This is an excellent book for recovering Christian.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful reading
Review: Having read the previous reviews, it comes as no great surprise that the negative reviews have generally condemned Barker: whether it was him never having been a "true" Christian to begin with, or spewing threats of eternal damnation for his apostasy, or simply throwing out some version of Pascal's Wager. These are the standard responses to people such as Barker who have rethought their faith and ultimately abandonded it. Such character attacks and judgmentalism are pointless, and I was rather hoping to see some thoughtout refutations of his arguments by these inviduals. But they were not to be seen. As an atheist myself, though, I did not necessarily agree with all Barker had to say. I could see how some could have seen this book as "preaching to the choir", but I took from it mainly one man's testimony on his deconversion, a view into what his world was like as a fundamentalist and the steps he took to get out of it. Along the way he shares his thoughts about fundamentalism, separation of church and state, biblical errancy, and the like, and throws in the lyrics of some freethought songs he has written for good measure. For me it was a window into his mind and his life. Never having been a fundamentalist or really religious myself, it was interesting to compare how both he and myself settled into atheism, and how different those paths were. Read "Losing Faith in Faith" for what it is, an autobiography. If it make you re-think some things about your beliefs, great; if it doesn't, but rather reaffirms your faith (or lack thereof), wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: A truly remarkable book.
Review: I've read the reviews... Most of them are good, some of them are ignorant on both ends of the spectrum. Some people shouted, "Yeah! There is no god(s)!" Others shouted, "Hey! There is a god(s)!" Both sides have missed the point. This book wasn't about whether a god exists or not. The people who say Dan Barker missed the point have missed the point themselves. Dan does not assert that a god does not exist, he only asserts that he does not believe a god exists, there is a huge difference (although it may be a confusing concept at first, it did confuse me at first, too). He is only saying that the Judaeo-Christian/Zoroastrian concepts of God cannot exist. He is also saying a god does not intervene in our lifes. Dan himself may not believe in a god or an afterlife, but he does not say that there is not one. He is only not assert any positive beliefs for anything outside our own understanding. I could go on and on about the whole situation, but I'd suggest people read about it for themselves. A few other good books are George Smith's Atheism: The Case Against God, Walter Kaufmann's Critique of Religion and Philosophy, Friedrich Nietzche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience, and many, many others.
Rating:
Summary: Singing pigs: The battle against the bible quoters
Review: This book was just plain fun. It is filled with biblical quotes and specific references that will have you looking forward to your next encounter of the fundamentalist kind. There are many books on the market that make a stronger technical case against mythological idolatry, but there are precious few that use bible quotes to expose the "tricks of the (Christian) trade".* It's as if you've been invited to step behind the curtain and see how OZ performs his tricks... It is easy reading and Barker is especially fascinating when he translates the New Testament from the original Greek. My favorite parts include: his discussion of the multiple conflicting tales of the most important event in the New Testament-the death and resurrection (something on which you'd think God would want to be clear), his discussion of the use of the cross symbol, and his recounting of stories of verbal sparring with Christian fundamentalists. The parts that I found less than satisfying were: the constant defense of freethought (perhaps because I take freethought as a given,) the vague implication that nonbelievers might be morally better than believers, and the musical lyrics. Highly recommended. If you're interested, another fun one is "The X-rated Bible" by Ben Edward Akerley
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