Rating: 
Summary: PLEASE READ ME!
Review: You should know some of Dan Barker's presuppositions: Barker believes that taking the Bible in context is not important (has 19 years in ministry not teach you anything, Mr. Barker?). He believes logic is a function of the brain. He believes that rationality comes from irrationality, and morals come from non-morals, and that life came from non-life. He believes that questioning the justification of induction or reasoning is not important. He believes that if people didn't exist, rationality wouldn't exist (really, Mr. Barker? So, durring the Jurassic age when there were no people, the laws of physics didn't exist?).Barker believes that it isn't important to compare body counts from atheism to Christianity (historically, atheism is responsible for more deaths), yet he believes it's important to compare divorce rates from atheism to Christianity (he doesn't consider the fact that there are more self-proclaimed Christians than atheists). He also believes that Christianity is false because Christians don't agree with each other on certain issues. Well, don't atheists disagree with each other on certain issues? Atheists can't even agree with each other on the definition of "atheism" (whether it's the nonbelief of gods or the belief that there are no gods)! So, from Barkers reasoning atheism as a logical issue is false. So, why buy into it? Surely, you guys can see the philosophical hypocrisy Barker asserts. I mean he likes to say that Christians commit sin although he doesn't believe in the concept of sin! Barker likes to call Christians "dumb" because they can't think of morality outside of the Bible. Yet without the Bible as a presupposition how can you possibly have objective morals? Morality is only subjective and arbitrary in an atheistic humanist worldview. He arbitrarily defines morality as the infliction of unnecessay harm (or pain) without mentioning why that's the case. How would you like it if I said that morality is what God says it to be, and it's no use asking why because your dumb for thinking otherwise? Barkers says it's because it's human nature not to like unnecessary harm. Why is that the case, Mr. Barker? He never answers this simple question. Mr. Barker is the example of how much faith it takes to become an atheist. Oddly, I actually liked this book because it reinforced my faith in God, because if you have an atheistic presupposition, you'd have the thoughts of Mr. Barker. AND THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT! If you want great books on Christian thought get EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE or VAN TIL'S APOLOGETIC (both books available here at AMAZON). And if you want a book on so-called problem verses in the Bible get WHEN CRITICS ASK (also available here at AMAZON).
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Some of the same arguments I have been trying to deal with for the last 29 years. I was born into this world naturally and will go out of it naturally. Barker comprises his book with some of the newsletters that he has written in the years after his conversion to reality. The only thing that is wrong about some of his writings is that he uses the abreviations "BC" and "AD"; which are used only by the uneducated christian who thinks that their "savior" was born in the year one - what happened to the year zero, where is the historical proof of his birth, etc....? The proper designations are C.E. and B.C.E. The book is a good reference style book. Very good book and open minded. I need to get one of his shirts ... because I am your "happy neighborhood athiest" also.
Rating:
Summary: Some good, some bad
Review: It's hard to say what I thought of Barker's book. I discovered it hot on the heels of leaving Christianity myself, and it was a great comfort to me in a time when I felt all alone. There certainly is a great deal of good content in there--I particularly liked the autobiographical section and the "Dear Theologian" chapter--but there really are a number of problems as well. Several reviewers have noted that Barker's essays are superficial and lack scholarship. However, the book is basically a compilation of short essays and was never meant to be more than an overview of the subject matter, so I'm not sure that's a valid complaint. More serious, in my opinion, is Barker's tendency to attack a straw-man version of Christianity. He was a smart Christian for a long time, so he should know better. Take the contradictions section for example. Here he often seems to be reaching--many of the contradictions he cites could be resolved based on little more than semantics. This really is a shame since it's so unnecessary--there are more than enough *real* contradictions out there for the iffy ones to be left off the list. Including bad arguments just serves to reduce the credibility of the good ones. Barker says he sometimes feels that he's still a preacher, but for the other side. Unfortuately, I think he's taken some of the bad preacher qualities along with the good ones. I'd be willing to recommend this book to deconverts, but don't read it first and don't read it last. And don't try to use it for "reverse evangelism"--Christians and other religious people would be too offended by the overall tone and occasional bad arguments to consider the valid ones seriously. But if you read it with a few grains of salt handy and the understanding that you probably won't like everything in there, you'll be in for a treat.
Rating:
Summary: quite frankly, I was amazed by this book
Review: Losing Faith In Faith is a very fair, objective view of Christianity. Barker does not sit on a high stool and wave his finger and say, "Christianity is bad." Rather, he says "I don't believe in Christianity and here is exactly why." He takes what is in the Bible and critically evaluates what it actually says and how people interpret it. It is also is a humorous/sad account of how some (by NO MEANS all) Christians react to him when they find out he is an Atheist. The book fascinates me. I showed a friend of mine a three page excerpt of it and he immediately ordered a copy. One warning - read it with an open mind. If you aren't willing to look at Christianity unbiasedly, you're wasting your time reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Painful but eye opening book.
Review: I feel this book is a must read because it is a careful, clear review of the fundamental beliefs Christianity. And the author carefully shows why many of these beliefs appear to be irrational, illogical and even fanciful, when viewed objectively. This book carefully points out how we accept facts, dates, statements or stories when we are told them in the Bible which appear to be impossible, improbable or even fantasy. And how we would not accept these type of statements from any other source without proof, or would dismiss them immediately as childish tales. But when they are religious tales our reason appears to be suspended and we accept things as fact without question. In short we suspend our thinking and reasoning processes, in order to believe and call it faith. The other painful, but eye opening aspect of this book is that it carefully quotes the Bible and points out many aspects of Christianity clearly detailed in both the old and new testament that are repulsive and virtually ignored today. This begs the question of how can we selectively believe and support some aspects of our faith and not others. How can we swear allegiance to the Bible as the Word of God when so many things spoken of as important rules to follow in the Bible are ignored by our society, and even our churches. As a Fundamentalist Christian who has tried to make sense of all the stories in the bible, which I found hard to accept as the will of a loving, just God, the book was a huge step forward in my understanding of the Bible and Christianity. I was offended, angry, and very sceptical of this former preacher. But when I reread the passages in the book and in my own King James Bible, I found my belief systems permanently changed. I am now unable to blindly follow things which don't make sense to my brain and my heart anymore.
Rating: 
Summary: You are all wrong
Review: Both believers and non-believers that have read this book don't know what they are talking about. You all fight for your little opinions. Atheists don't want to believe because they would have to change their life and theists want to believe because it gives them assurance. Only a person that doesn't know reality becomes a believer/non-believer. Once you know reality belief is not needed. You don't know reality and so you become a believer or a non-believer, which is the same thing.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for the nascent atheist.
Review: I had wanted to get this book for some time, then finally got it with a gift certificate from my SO (thanks, honey!). Well, after having devoured it, I'm sorry I didn't get it sooner. Sometimes Barker does appear to have a tinge of bitterness in his writings, but overall, it is a rational, well-thought out defense of his lack of belief. I couldn't put it down! I'm starting to read it my second time through now.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Mr. Barker!
Review: I, too, have spent years in an Assembly of God Church. I started out in a Church of Christ, which taught me to hate the Charismatics (who were deceived by Satan), who in turn, taught me to hate the New Agers (who were deceived by Satan), who in turn, taught me that everybody is on their own spiritual path, and we are all brothers. I was watching "Prince of Eygpt" with my 4 year old niece recently. There was a roomful of Christians present. The movie was on the Passover scene where the firstborn of Eygpt were dying, and my niece suddenly looked up and said, "This story isn't true. God wouldn't create people and then kill them." It stunned the adult Christians in the room. One of them said, "But, honey, you don't know the Bible yet." She said, "I know that God isn't mean." That, in a nutshell, is where my spiritual journey has finally taken me--through the years of dogmas and theatrics of Christianity and back out again. I learned to think for myself, and I discovered what my 4 year old niece knows instinctively, without any Bible telling her differently. God isn't mean. I no longer see through the eyes of "Christianity" in terms of "good" or "bad"--"lost or unlost." That, to me, is one of the most damning things about Christianity--it divides mankind from his brother. I struggle with what I know is my approaching "emancipation" from the Church. I love my friends, and I know that when that day comes, I'll never be a part of it again, and it makes me sad. In many ways, it served my needs, (until it didn't anymore). But I also know what Mr. Barker came to know---that once you come to this truth, there is no going home again. You can never turn back. Once you know--You "know." It's not something you can change. Mr. Barker's book encouraged me in so many ways and assured me that I will meet other people who are free thinkers and will again feel the bonds of fellowship that I have known in the church. And because there are people who exist without the "divisions" of Christianity in their hearts & in their minds, I will not have to be afraid of being "rejected" or cast from the fold if my belief system does not correspond to their own. This is a well-written book. Walking away from a belief system that has been ingrained in you from birth is not an easy thing to do. I remember when I finally realized that the end was coming, I lay in bed night after night and was literally numb. Fundamentalist Christians may think this is a "light" thing or some kind of serious "deception," but it is neither. It's like a light finally shining on darkness and a terrible fear of moving away from that darkness because it's all you have ever known. It's a soul-tearing, gut-wrenching, coming apart at the seams kind of realization, but when it's all over, there is peace. I believe in a better God today and in a better world. I believe that every man is truly my "brother." I only wish that every man believed that of me.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book!
Review: I thought Mr. Barker's book was very good at exposing the myth of Jesus and the Bible, however, it did not convince me that there is no God. There have been many atheist or agnostic psychiatrists and psychologists in the last few years (medical doctors from Harvard and Yale) who have become convinced in the existence of God through their hypnotherapy with people (and children)who are living and breathing today. These people come from all different walks of life and under hypnosis all relate the same thing---we have lived many lives on this earth. They all relate basically the same experience in-between lives. They tell of an existence that sounds very similar to our life here on earth without the pain and the needs that we have here. They all seem to be aware of God, although I have not read a single account where any of them have actually seen God personally. They seem to have all the knowledge they require of God during that time and no great desire to see him. What they experience seems to be most similar to eastern theology, although most of these subjects (many of them born again Christians) had no background in eastern theology and most did not believe in reincarnation. Edgar Cayce went into trance twice a day during most of his life giving people valuable medical advice, etc. and speaking to them of problems that had carried forth from other lives. Most of these cases are well documented. Cayce, himself, was a devout Christian who believed thoroughly in the Bible, and he could not understand where these messages on reincarnation were coming from. It took him a long time to incorporate the experience of reincarnation into his theology. Barker simply dismisses in a couple of sentences all Eastern beliefs and the multitude of "evidence" that has been collected as "fraud." I'm sure he would not consider any of this "Evidence" but when 3 & 4 year old children relate the same experiences of "life between life" with no prompting from any adult (often shocking their fundamentalist parents), I would say there is a little more to it than a bunch of kids (or adults) having hallucinations. I agree with Mr. Barker that there is a great chance that God is not perfect. I believe it's possible that there is more than one God. I do not believe that the fact of "pain" in our lives is an indication that God is "evil." Mr. Barker should read a book by Neale Donald Walsch, "Conversations With God." He gives some of the best reasoning for the presence of pain in our lives that I have ever read and some very good possibilities for God's purpose. Although, there are many aspects of his reasoning that I don't agree with, he offers some valid possibilities. I agree with Mr. Barker that Christianity is very divisive and evil in itself in many ways. There have been some great atrocities done in the name of "Christianity". But, I spent many years in an Assembly of God Church and experienced many of the same things that he writes about in his book. I have met many beautiful Christians during this time, and I have to conclude that for those people who are unable to think for themselves and to see the obvious fallacies of their belief, religion does serve its purpose. Most of the people I know are very happy and content with their beliefs and their feeling of "purpose" in life (to save the lost). While much of it seems ridiculous and a delusion to me, they do some very good things. They spend a great deal of money to feed people who are hungry, they open shelters and soup kitchens, they offer "hope" to people without hope (people who truly are incapable of thinking for themselves and may never reach that point during their present lifetime). While I know that athiests do the same things, it's just a matter of what belief makes you the most happy in this life (or where you'd rather be--singing songs in church or sleeping in on Sunday). I don't think it ultimately matters whether we believe in God or not. I do believe a God of some form exists, but I don't believe God (or the Gods) are capable of "offense" if I were to choose not to believe. And I do agree with Mr. Barker that lack of belief in God does not make one any less moral than the person who does believe. I believe this was a well-written book. Coming from the Assemblies, I certainly identified with many aspects of it. I went through a very similar process in rejecting the Bible and the Jesus myth. I opened my mind to consider ALL teachings and found some great surprises. However, I would never judge a person who is not capable of considering all sides or consider him inferior to me. We are where we are! I have no doubt that none of Mr. Barker's Christian friends will ever be the same for having known him. From reading about his life, I have no doubt in my mind that he was 100% sincere in his faith. I also have no problem understanding what happened to him and why he left. If his friends honestly wanted to understand, they would have no problem after reading his book. Most people simply don't want to think for themselves. They don't want to know. It's always easier to let other people think for you.
Rating:
Summary: A Drop in the Bucket
Review: I say "drop in the bucket" because all I can do is add my praise to the many others who have said it all before. It was very enjoyable, sensible reading and while it focuses on fundamentalism (which he clearly states), Dan illuminates flaws in that mindset that can easily apply to any theistic philosophy. While most people who identify themselves as having a faith are not as myopic and rigid as those Dan describes, in a very real sense, it's just by a matter of degree. The omnipotent, omnicient, omni-benevolent god who is to be both loved and feared and who is basically a paranoid, schizophrenic, sexist homophobe with the patience of a 9 year old and who can change the laws of physics and morality at his personal whim is, of course, impossible. Fortunately. Dan Barker joins what I hope is a groundswell of humanists and liberal theists who are speaking out more and more about the absurdity of religion as it has been practiced up to now and the need for society to let go of its sentimental (and pathological?) attachment to it in favor of a more humane and realistic approach to reality on its many levels. This book will still shock and offend many of you, but I'm guessing that for most it will be a breath of fresh air.
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