Rating: 
Summary: You don't need the Bible to believe in God!
Review: I am not an intellectual, as many of the reviewers here obviously are, so I could not argue the "rightness" or wrongness" of Mr. Barker's concepts. I can only say this. I stopped believing in the Bible, too. I did not stop believing in God. I recognize all the problems with Fundamentalist Christianity and have chosen (knowingly) to remain in a Fundamentalist Church. I spent years teaching the Bible and the concepts of salvation to women in prisons, to children in ghettoes, to homeless people in shelters, etc. (I was very passionate). Although, I no longer believe many of the concepts I taught, I do not regret the fact that I spent many years doing so. For whatever "evil" the Bible may contain, it also contains much beauty and truth (whether taken as the literal word of God or not). It indeniably changes lives--something I saw happen again and again and again over the years. I have known many people who were hurt by "legalistic" & rigid, judgemental attitudes in Christians. I have seen the same happen in businesses, in families, in any institution where humans are functioning together. The hurtful thing in Christians is that it is an underlying "assumption" that these things should not be so in the church, (as if becoming a Christian suddenly dismisses a person from being "human.") I have also seen some of the greatest acts of love and giving and sacrifice among Christians (more so than any other group of people). My own beliefs shifted from the Bible to belief in eastern religions, which includes a belief in reincarnation as opposed to hell. I believe that all of nature attests to the fact of birth, death, rebirth, etc. I also believe that where we are in this life depends on the "age" of our "soul" or how many times we have existed as humans on this earth. Fundamentalist Christianity, for all of its goods and bads and rights and wrongs, serves a purpose for "young" souls who need the structure of organized religions and have not yet reached a point in "soul" development of "questioning" their beliefs. I believe that Mr. Barker is a "mature" soul and has come to that place of "questioning," (and rejecting) but has not yet opened his mind to consider other aspects of "God" or "existence." I would not be surprised in 10 or 15 years to see him write another book reinstating his belief in God (although, he will never return to the Bible or to his previous beliefs). We are all on a spiritual journey. Mr. Barker, whether any of us agree or disagree, is exactly where he needs to be at this moment, as we all are (including fundamentalist Christians). I rememember the moment when God spoke to me and said, "There is no hell." I asked him, "Why didn't you tell me this 20 years and 20 churches ago?" He answered and said, "You weren't ready 20 years and 20 churches ago." Life is a process and a journey, and we enter into each higher level of consciousness as we are ready. There should be no judgement or criticism for anyone in this process. I choose to remain in the fundamentalist church (and not to share my personal beliefs) because I love the people in this church, and they love me. I have no need for them to believe what I believe. One of the greatest lessons in life, which generally comes in the "mature" or "old" soul stage is "Acceptance" of all people and all beliefs. One thing I might say as far as "hurt" in the church. Jesus was literally "unoffendable." It was impossible to hurt him because he was the very essence of "love." A person who has reached this point in life and become "unoffendable" will never be hurt in any church. Buddha, who was born within 600 years of Jesus was the very essence of "truth." They were very different in their teachings, but they both have impacted this world for centuries. I believe they would have been great "friends!"
Rating:
Summary: Compelling evidence
Review: After I read Dan Barker's book LFIF, I returned to this page to see what other readers were saying. I read nearly all 75 reviews and it became clear that the individuals who were critical of this book failed to address, or acknowledge, one basic issue. The burden of proof is on the individual(s) making the affirmative claim. All arguments critical of this book, and others like it, are supported by faith. Faith is not proof. On the contrary faith is merely a firm belief in something, without proof. To those individuals who claim that Dan Barker was closed or narrow minded I found the opposite to be true. He could easily change his mind about religion if there were compelling/verifiable evidence to support religious beliefs. The Bible does not provide the evidence required, nor does the testimony of emotional experiences by the faithful.
Rating: 
Summary: This book misses the mark. Literally so.
Review: It is not Christianity that fears questions, and Christianity does not teach that you should be afraid to think. It is the fundamentalists and their spiritless dogma that causes these attitudes. This book is directed at fundamentalism only. This book misses something important. There is more to Christianity than fundamentalism. Something much more.
Rating:
Summary: A religion that fears questions is not worth believing
Review: This book has become one of the most treasured tomes to sit on my shelf. The negative reviews of this book merely echo the same irrationality that Dan himself talks about in his book. So much of Dan's journey is also my journey. I was raised to be a firm Bible believer, yet from early childhood, I felt something was wrong. I dared not voice my concerns for the fear that I would be punished and damned to Hell. I finally decided to take a stand for personal integrity and admit to myself that I was an atheist, rather than live a lie. If you consider yourself a Christian, I implore you to read this book thoroughly, and carefully consider what you find, even if it may disturb you. If a religion teaches that you should be afraid to think, then that is a clear sign there is something wrong with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Escape from fundamentalism
Review: I was given this book by a friend to read when it first came out, but I didn't get round to reading it until about three years ago. It certainly opened my eyes, and it confirmed what I had already started to learn. The problems going on here is that when un-worldly fundamentalist Christians, like Barker used to be, get into the real world and finally realise that the God of extreme fundamentalism cannot exist, (it took me a year or so in the real world to realise this), they immediately jump to the conclusion that "God does not exist at all! The whole of Christianity is nonsense! " This is what Dan Baker has done, and it seems it is what many other Christians are doing, which is a deep shame. They realise that extreme fundamentalism is probably false, so they discard the whole lot as nonsense. 'Losing Faith in Faith' is an account which shows that our friend Dan fled the realms of fundamentalism all the way to the other extreme, quickly concluding "There is no Creator! Truth at last!", unbeknown to him that he was jumping into another faith-system. Interestingly, after listing a number of fundamentalist beliefs in the Chapter 'Standing on the Premises', Barker says "The point is, that many people accept them without thinking." Ironically, the same can be said of Barker's new faith - especially for those who are unaware of both sides of the story. For instance, many former fundamentalist Christians pick up 'science' books written by the likes of Daniel Dennet, and they will learn that a literal reading of Adam and Eve could not possibly be true. Therefore, they readily accept the author's conclusions that "there is no creator", and that "our existence is an accident", and they perceive it as absolute truth. Unfortunately, Daniel Dennet has (con)fused his own belief system with 'true' science, and has sold it to the public as though it were pure science. Of course, it is beyond the realms of science to claim that the Universe has no meaning, that God does not exist, and that there is no life after death. Here is my perspective: After reading Dan's book, we can start learning from his lessons. Firstly, we can learn that the Bible contains a deeper tapestry of meaning than shallow literal readings which miss the true meaning of God in the first place. Secondly, we can start changing our PERSPECTIVE of God and Christ, moving away from the clinical perspective of fundamentalism, which claims that God can do absolutely anything at our every whim, and that He happily breaks the laws of nature during our every-day life. I have learned that God is far deeper and broader than the narrow concept of extreme fundamentalism, and that a deeper sense of meaning, fulfilment and completeness can be attained through Christ. (The fundamentalist reviewer from March 6th must bear in mind the fact that an extreme fundamentalist Muslim would tell him that he will be punished in the Muslim Hell). Barker says that "all Christians have an element of doubt". I disagree with this comment, although in the case of fundamentalists, I feel he is right. Jesus Christ is in the business of bringing joy and liberation to people's lives. I have learned that fundamentalism cannot attain that, and Dan Barker's book confirms this for me. It might work for a few people, but it would only work for those who don't venture out into the real world - so fundamentalists should stop shouting from the streets that other people will be punished in Hell if we don't become like them. Once in the real world, the fundamentalist concept of God brings guilt, suppression, doubt and a denial of reality. We can learn from Barker's book how to get away from the fundamentalist nonsense, while still retaining a "hot" faith in Christ, (as opposed to the "lukewarm" faith mentioned by Jesus). From there, we can discover a deeper grounding in Jesus Christ, and we can finally attain the joy and liberation promised in the Christian message. I am speaking here from experience - not from some clap-trap notion of my own. I have learned that Jesus Christ exists; but I have learned that He cannot be found satisfactorily within the framework of extreme fundamentalism. I've just been reading Dan Barker's 1998 book 'Just Pretend : A Freethought Book for Children', and it sent shivers down my spine. It's frightening that a man can go from one extreme to the other, but that's just the way the world is. Like a lot of things in life, "balance" is the key. But more than this, "depth" is the word which logically sums up the nature of God. As Dan Barker shows in this book, this is a word which fundamentalists know nothing about.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting. Funny. Easy-to-Read.
Review: If you are religious, and read this book with an open mind, BE PREPARED for changes! This was one of a few books that transformed me into the happy, well-adjusted atheist I am proud to be today. Great arguments refuting Bible "truth". Interesting personal accounts. Truly a life-transforming book. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Finding faith in Dan
Review: At 80+ years, I've never been much of a 'book reader' but this book was tough to put down once I started reading it. Each chapter was more enlighting than the previous one. After reading, I can't imagine anyone believing in a god, ghost, Santa Claus or other supernatural being.
Rating: 
Summary: Questions are okay, but better answers are available.
Review: Someday Dan Barker will write a sequel to this book entitled _Finding Faith in God: From Atheist to Believer_. There's nothing wrong with questions, but he really should have come up with better _answers_ than he has here. People who put their faith in "faith" generally do get their false religion kicked out from under them; that's how God works ;-).
Rating:
Summary: Oh really!
Review: Well, unfortunately the previous reviewer has proved Dan Barker right - at least in one aspect. In this book Barker makes the point that most Christians naively believe that all atheists are "immoral" and "selfish". Come on, please. We can do better than that. A lot of my friends are atheists (agnostics if they were to search themselves deeply), and most of them are decent, loving, moral people. Barker's book cannot reveal an irrationality to God, rather it shows the irrationality and hypocrisy of extreme fundamentalism. If anyone sincerely believes that fundamentalism is all there is to religion, and that there is no deeper meanings of truth to religion, then they themselves are naïve and narrow minded. If you want to engage both your brain and your heart in a fantastic book, then I strongly suggest you read John F. Haught's "Science and Religion: from Conflict to Conversion". After reading that book, you'd have to have a mind of a sprout and a heart of stone to deride belief in God. In the mean time, Barker's book here does the job against fundamentalism.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT INSIGHT!
Review: For the atheist, this is a book to affirm their pride-hardened hearts and their immoral, selfish lifestyles. I used to be there myself. But God saved me. He wants to save you too...if you let Him. It's sad to say, but you're just digging your own graves. Happiness is debased to total dependence on circumstance, selling one short of the ultimate joy God offers through a relationship with Him...one you can have! For the Christian, this is an eye-opening book to spend a good chunk of time digesting. But, it's frustrating and truly sad. :( Barker clearly never met Jesus. If he had, there'd be no reason to turn his back on Him. If one was homeless for thirty or so years of their life, only to be given a million dollar mansion to live in, do you honestly think he/she'd ever leave it? Nope. The only logical thing to conclude is Barker never experienced the mansion on any level. Anyhow, there have been several other reviews worth reading, so I bid you to look over them. I don't need to say anything else. Ouy Evoli -Susej
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