Theos-Talk Archives (March 2009 Message tt00544)

Highly Recommended:

Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity 
by John W. Loftus

See:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591025923/blavatskystud-20/

One reviewer writes:

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I think this book is the best single overall refutation of Christianity written, especially at the accessible level. The book Loftus wrote before this one, was the first skeptic book I read that made me realize I could be dead wrong, and I was a very intellectually committed Christian, trust me. I was planning on becoming an Apologist myself. This new book is like his old book but on major steroids! Loftus has added an extra 240 pages of content! I think this book is superior for multiple reasons 

1. Its scope and coverage is more exhaustive on issues crucial to Christianity then other books. 

2. Mr. Loftus anticipate objections from Christian philosophers and theologians that most skeptics do not, due to their lack of familiarity with the other side. 

3. The book packs so much in such a little space, it has amazing brevity and at the same time brilliantly dismantles many core Christian beliefs and deals with many central issues that are left out of other works. 

4. The author's familiarity with Christian Theology and philosophy makes him much better at drawing fine and important distinctions that other skeptics miss, due to their lack of expertise of the other side. 

5. The personal Deconversion narrative woven through out the book gives it an informal and personal touch that makes it more fascinating to read than other skeptical books. Plus he is the only skeptical author that I know of that was a highly competent Christian Apologist and Philosopher; this of course is another unique feature. 

6. The author's non-abrasive style sets your book apart from many other skeptic books. He wrote the book in such a way as not to polarize the believer. The average believer would be much more likely to read this book than other similar books due to his respectful manner. This I congratulate him on. 

7. The book strikes a great balance between high conceptual content and accessibility, a balance that is hard to achieve. 

There are many other noble things about his book. But basically what I am saying is that I think Mr. Loftus has written by far the best single overall refutation of Christianity in print! This is the best book to give to a believer. If I could only pick one book for my Christian friends to read, this book by far wins no contest. If you're a skeptic you should buy multiple copies for your friends and family, and if you're a believer you should do yourself a favor and buy copies for yourself and your friends and start honestly examining the claims of Christianity from both sides. If you're wise you will buy and read this outstanding book! I give it my highest recommendation. 
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Daniel
http://hpb.cc