Rating: 
Summary: A must read for all
Review: This book is well written. Anyone will find it
entertaining and thought provoking regardless
of their religious belief...Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Must reading for those who are/have abandoned Christianity
Review: This is an excellent book describing the journey one takes in the process of questioning and ultimately abandoning their faith. It specifically deals with reasons why Christianity lacks credibility and why it should be abandoned as a useful religion
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: We highly recommend this book to readers of The Skeptical Review. In addition to exposing many flaws in the Bible inerrancy doctrine, it has an interesting story line in the parts that tell of Dan's transition from fundamentalist preacher to freethinker
Rating:
Summary: Great Story
Review: It's quite clear that many of the detractors posting "reviews" have never actually read the book. The book has three sections. In the first section Barker describes his deconversion from Christianity after spending 17 years of his life converting people as a minister. This section is worth the cost of the book alone. The often angry and arrogant responses he often got from close friends demonstrates the true underbelly of Christian evangelism. He also honestly points out the not so nice things he did as a Christian in the name of God. His change from christianity to atheism is described as painful, and difficult. He describes the process to atheism as occurring over a long period of time. It reminds one of an alcoholic kicking his/her drinking habit. You get good emotional picture of a true change in world view in one person's heart. It is quite clear that is was not an easy experience for Barker but he appears to give us an honest picture of his pain.
Rating: 
Summary: A valuable experience
Review: Dan Barker's "Losing Faith in Faith" was the first book I read upon realizing atheism. His is a fast-paced and enlightening introduction to freethought for anyone in doubt, or anyone wanting to understand on what grounds a Christian might come to reject his faith. A personal narrative, his words encouraged me to explore rationalism further, comforted me that I was not the only person in the world with these sorts of thoughts running through my head, and fascinated me with his story of deconversion. Barker's perspective of having interpreted the world from within two opposing worldviews puts his book in a special category. The only thing about the book I found disappointing was the amount of space given to his deconversion experience. I'd have really liked to get into his mind more on that subject. But, that one complaint isn't enough to dissuade me from considering this read a very valuable experience during my own conversion, such as it was.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful refute of Christianity. Score one for Skepticism.
Review: There is one word that can sum up the effect of this book for me: "powerful". Most of the books I have read about religion have been pro-religion and this is very different from the old "We need religion to fill the spiritual side of ourselves" claims they always make about it. These books produced a response from my heart, but this book produced a response from my mind. It makes the claim that there is no more evidence of God than there is of Zeus, or any other god that humans have created for their stability throughout history, and it is very effective in proving this claim. It is about time someone cries out for the intellectual awakening of people instead of one more emotional one. Dan Barker was an evangelical minister and missionary who did everything from writing songs and skits for children to working with youth groups to preaching street sermons to adults. However, somewhere in the course of this career he began to be aware of the fact that his religious beliefs were in serious conflict from his intellectual knowledge about our scientific world. This book brought many negative aspects of Christianity to light that had been completely ignored, conveinently explained away, or totally unknown to me in my super-religious past. I never realized the Bible was so anti-family and that the various qualities we attribute to God are so self-contradicting. It also further examined some parts of the Bible I had already wondered about, such as its blatant sexism and racism, and its inaccuracy in accordance to history, although I had been told by every preacher out there that it was correct. If you are from a Christian religious background I can only imagine the response my little book review is illiciting, and I totally expect to receive self-righteous hate mail under the guise of loving Christianity. However, I completely understand, for if I had read a book review like this during my very devoutly religious stage, I would have felt the same way. All I can ask you to do is read the book for yourself. If you read it and disagree with my conclusions, that's great and there is no harm done. I think that if anyone can truthfully answer to themselves the questions that this book raises about religion and can still say that it is in accordance with what they feel is moral and intellectual, their faith will only be strenghtened. But if you have ever been able to sing along with good old Alanis "In the name of the father, the skeptic, and the son, I have one more stupid question..."- in other words, if you have had some doubts about religion that you would like to explore but have never known a way to do this, you will really appreciate this book. All I can say is that it totally changed my perception of religion and I was as strong a believer as anyone out there, having been in church since I was an infant and continuing it in my youth by going on many mission trips to foreign countries. I was not an atheist who picked up this book so that I could prove I was still right; I was actually a pretty strong Christian who was beginning to have some doubts, and when this book was offered to me by someone I had serious pre-conceived judgements about it and even started reading it with the desire to prove the guy totally wrong. I was sure everything he would say would be like "I don't believe in God because I want to do what I want and no one can tell me what to do." However, this book appealed to my mind as well as my sense of moral rightness, and although I started page one with a preconception that it was totally offbase, I finished it with a strong "Amen, Amen. Finally a book about religion makes totally sense!"
Rating:
Summary: Dan Barker
Review: As a Pastor Dan Barkers book was indeed very interesting. Unfortunately it does not hold water in several areas and arguments. Anybody with more interest in this topic and an intelligent response should see or listen Dan Barkers debate with Dr. Robert Morey a christian apologist. It was quite embarrassing for Mr. Barker I am afraid. It is one thing to write a book, quite another to have to defend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Preacher?
Review: I'd really like to hear Dan's answers he had as a preacher to the questions he raises as an atheist. I believe this would show us the depth of his previous (questionable) faith.
One of Dan's reasons for saying there cannot be a God is that you cannot reconcile the justice of God and the mercy of God because by definition, the two are opposed.
What did Pastor Dan give for an answer to the seeker when asked this question, or did he have no answer?
I really question if he was as diligent in his efforts to understand Christianity as he is in his efforts to refute it now.
The clear answer to the dilema over justice/mercy is the atonement. God can both have his justice satisfied by the sacrifice of Christ as our substitute and sin bearer, and his mercy satisfied by not punishing us based on Christ's sacrifice.
Dan, at another time uses Ps 137:9 in an effort to show the horrors of the Bible. It says, "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."
However he does not read this in the context of what is written. Had he read the entire chapter, he would see this is not an encouragement to kill babies, but rather concerning the destruction of the Babylonians for their evil deeds.
And again, Dan complains about the evils of God, and Christianity, however he forgets that in the worldview of an athiest there can be no such thing as objective moral values. You are nothing more than an accident in an accidental world with no purpose other than that you give yourself, and who cares what one bag of chemicals does to another? So with that said, watch for those calls of "right" and "wrong," of "good" and "bad."
Rating:
Summary: A valuable experience
Review: Dan Barker's "Losing Faith in Faith" was the first book I read upon realizing atheism. His is a fast-paced and enlightening introduction to freethought for anyone in doubt, or anyone wanting to understand on what grounds a Christian might come to reject his faith. A personal narrative, his words encouraged me to explore rationalism further, comforted me that I was not the only person in the world with these sorts of thoughts running through my head, and fascinated me with his story of deconversion. Barker's perspective of having interpreted the world from within two opposing worldviews puts his book in a special category. The only thing about the book I found disappointing was the amount of space given to his deconversion experience. I'd have really liked to get into his mind more on that subject. But, that one complaint isn't enough to dissuade me from considering this read a very valuable experience during my own conversion, such as it was.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books on Christianity and Theists
Review: The best and most persuasive parts of this book are (in good evangelical tradition) the "personal testimony" portions. Barker's own story of how he spent nineteen years in various Christian denominations, as singer, preacher, and itinerate evangelist, certainly turns the tables on the typical Christian testimony. He talked about how for five years, he tried to retain his faith in Christianity, but God didn't seem to hear or answer. That touched me, and seemed real. At times, he did manage to effectively challenge my faith, on an emotional level. Another part of Losing Faith that flowed well was his "low-down" on pastors he knew. As he says, "They are not all Elmer Gantry;" most were, like himself, sincerely mistaken, in his view. Still, he begins to show a pretty heavy hand at this point: a few pastors are con men, and the rest, it seems, are all clowns. Those of us who know intelligent, compassionate and humble ministers -- and I know many, and missionaries who are simply heroic -- may begin at this point to wonder either how broad Barker's experience was (and he says it was very broad), or how honest he is in reporting it. When Barker verges onto verifiable issues, a knowledgeable believer may conclude, "We need to improve Christian education, if only to improve the intellectual reach of our infidels." I wouldn't call Barker's arguments "straw men," only because people who hold to the views he attacks really can be found. But he is often attacking a kind of American folk religion, rather than Christianity as it is held by knowledgeable adults. Barker's letter from "God" to a "theologian" is a clever idea, and he pulls it off well rhetorically. But I couldn't help remember (as I read it) the replies real Christian theologians, and philosophers, have given to these very same questions. (Including some by C. S. Lewis, whom Barker weakly attempts to refute in this book, but obviously does not know or understand well.) Barker's complaints are often not just wrong, but show a fundamental misunderstanding of Christian views on things -- he should read Lewis' explanation of worship in Reflections the Psalms and Weight of Glory, and begin his argument against it from square one. (If possible.) Another major problem with this book is Barker's misunderstanding of "faith." Christian faith, in the orthodox (as opposed to folk) understanding, has nothing to do with believing what you know isn't true, or forcing yourself to believe ten impossible things before breakfast. I think Lewis actually corrects this error in Mere Christianity, as have numerous other Christian thinkers. Barker ought to read more attentively. This error gets him into trouble in his reply to "Pascal's Wager." I think his reply to Pascal's argument (which I never much cared for) is actually pretty interesting, otherwise. (Though see Peter Kreeft's expanded version of that argument.) But Barker betrays the fact that he probably has not actually read Pascal for himself, when he assumes that the Wager was his only or primary argument for Christianity. Most of the rest of Barker's arguments will be familiar to most educated Christians, and replies will likely spring to mind. Barker tries to automatically rule miracles out with his definition of history. ("A criterion of critical history is the assumption of natural regularity over time. This precludes miracles.") This is, of course, simple dogmatism.
"Christianity is harmful. More people have been killed in the name of a god than for any other reason. The Church has a shameful, bloody history . . . " Barker's understanding of history is highly questionable, but an even greater problem is that he seems as credulous in accepting the "authorized" skeptical version of history (ignorant, it seems, of the enormous positive accomplishments of Christian faith) as he once credulously his parents' Christianity. His arguments against the historical Jesus, the resurrection, and so on, are simply lame. All in all, despite its weaknesses, I found this book interesting, readable, and sobering. While a bit egotistical (Barker loves to highlight his own witty replies to Christian challenges), on a personal level I found him often likeable. He has trod a well-beaten path, from what M Scott Peck describes as the first three stages of spirituality. I hope he is as honest and open-minded as he claims. While he rejects a childish and unexamined form of Christianity, it seems clear to me that he has yet to honestly perceive, let alone consider, the Christian faith as it is understood by mature and knowledgeable adults. Perhaps he will move beyond the adolescent reaction represented in this book, and learn to be skeptical about skepticism, as well. It'd be something to have a heart-to-heart talk when that happens. author, Jesus and the Religions of Man
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