Overcoming childhood training

books:

	• Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists Dan Barker Ulysses Press, 2008 - 392 pages average customer review:based on 76 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The verdict still out

Sometimes the reviews are as entertaining as the books. This is written on my kindle, apologies for typos. I have an interest in human nature, psychology and philosophy as well as metaphysics and basic instinct. I never cease to be amazed at the human condition or thought processes. My lack of certain belief would lead some reviews to say i was forced into religion as a child;NOT, had trama as a child that caused doubt; who hasnt?, chose to doubt because its popular; funny i hadnt noticed with the flood of christian recruiters everywhere, or that i must have a lack of interest in religion; also false as i am very curious and try to learn as much as possible about varied religions. Im not motivated by money as others suggested, not one person has dropped by to drop off a load of cash for my research efforts. I still havent read of the adult trama the author suffered that drove him away as one reviewer suggests. Nor am i callous tu suffering. and for the reviewer who suggests atheists are reticent to debate highly emotionally charged debates on morals, be thankful we havent met. Most interesting was while one questions what would impel man to be moral under atheism another touts that they wouldnt live their life differently if they were atheist so they arent missing anything. Hmmmmmm...very interesting indeed. can i get an amen here? Lol, hilarious. What has always troubled me is how many self professed christians have never fully read the bible. Whats more frightening is the ones who have that dont question some of the insanity. Ive only scraped the surface myself and will continue to study but starting at the start...why arent more people troubled by some of these stories?! Genesis 19:30-38 the tale of Lots daughters who got their father drunk so they could become impregnated by him. Really? Justifiably, of course, they did this because there was no man to lay with them as is the custom all over earth. This should not be shocking because just prior to that Genesis 19 1-8 Lot offers his virginal daughters up for sex to disuade the angry townsfolk from raping the visiting angels who have sheltered in his home. Oh, then that crazy Judah sleeps with his sons wife whom he mistook as a street prostitute. Before he realizes it was his daughter in law that he patronized he learns that Tamar is a prostitute who is now pregnant from her escapades, he cries out for her to be burned to death. That is until he realizes he himself is the father or Tamars child. Oops...well nevermind that. Genesis 38:6-25 I could go on and on and with determination I will get thru this trollop beginning to end and woe be the jaunty fundamentalist who seeks to debate my moral substance based on religion. Bring it! Furthermore, plenty of the story just doesnt make sense. How could we be created in Gods likeness and be so inherently evil?Why do we believe we had to be created yet the almighty just IS? How is it ok to cruelly mistreat the animals we eat? Oh, right, I forgot, because god said they are ours to be ruled over. How silly of me! Of course, animals are nothing more than property, at our disposal. They dont have feelings. Only unenlightened human arogance would believe that we are so special that we are above all the laws of nature and balance. Only human ego would believe that it is our godly duty to fill the earth with our progeny, destroying everything in our paths. In a modern world where it is clear that we have reigned ourselves (pun intended) into a corner, completely depleting the earth of everything we need to survive, many still believe this is the path we are meant to take. We have to eat two apples today to get the nutrition of one apple just 20 years ago. A clear sign that we are in real trouble as a species. But dont worry folks! God has a plan to get us out of this mess. As we approach the certainty that we have overpopulated the planet to the point of certain disaster, take comfort that the rapture is near at hand. Keep faith that our rescue must be just around the corner. Yes, lets hope so because the alternative in another 500 years is looking pretty grim. Never in history has one species ruled so supremely that it has elimiated itself. Natural predators in the wild destroy their young to prevent just such suffering in the long run. The planet itself has a peculiar way of keeping the checks and balances. But of course we must be special, somehow above the obvious laws of nature. We are so smart...right? Ticket to mars, anyone? I would encourage everyone to devour as much knowledge as possible, research every possible theory or angle and use your head! This book is interesting, as well as many other view points. It doesnt take god to know what is wrong here! PS. For a reaonable fee I will be happy to rescue your beloved pets after the rapture.

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Recommended.

Thought-provoking Bible study, even if in the negative.

Coming from a former full gospel preacher makes this compelling, though somewhat marred by overkill. He uses the same Biblical quotes several times--should have been stopped by the editor. And I could have gladly done without knowing the agenda of his current atheist proselytizing movement. So there are about 100 pages that actually hurt an otherwise fascinating book.

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Overcoming childhood training

Godless is one of the best descriptions of how a person steeped in religion finally recognized it for what it was and changed to atheism. The task was exceedingly difficult and unfortunately few are able to make this change. The hope of this book is to show others with deep religious training that they also can cast off the bondage of religion and open the door to rational thinking.

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180 degree turn

What a journey from a devout christian preacher who devoted his whole life and training to serving a sky daddy, to one who founded the FFRF (Freedom From Religion Foundation). Isn't it ironic that the devout followers are more likely to do the most "unchristian" thing - to scorn and disown simply because he chose to dissociate himself from his previous affiliations? I suppose that's where you find out who your real friends are!

He's been there!

It's distinctly exciting to read the details of such a journey out by someone who was so heavily involved in, so much a part of, evangelical theism (or any of the other types of supernaturalism from which so many have escaped). Barker's rebuttles to ecclesiastical syllogisms aren't always easy to follow on first read, but after going over them carefully, they seem understandable as well as unrefutable. They could use some more explanation for those of us who are not debaters or logicians.

As an example for people nervous about coming out of their cloisters, this book should provide great reassurance and help in doing so. For those who have already recognized that supernaturalism is an illusion (non-supernaturalism equals the acronym n.s.n., pronounced enesen; those who disbelieve supernaturalism are enesents) it provides good support, and enesents everywhere will likely find in it new justification for their decision.

It should assist a lot of folks in recognizing the source of their emotional feelings about religion and being "born again," and guide them away from that misplaced acceptance of simplistic mysteries in lieu of rational explanations and logic as the world turns slowly but irrevocably toward appreciating enesen.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

After 19 years as an evangelical preacher, missionary, and Christian songwriter, Dan Barker 'threw out the bathwater and discovered there is no baby there.' Barker, who is now co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (America's largest organization of atheists and agnostics), describes the intellectual and psychological path he followed in moving from fundamentalism to freethought. The four sections in Godless--Rejecting God, Why I Am An Atheist, What's Wrong With Christianity, and Life is Good!--include chapters on bible problems, the historicity of Jesus, morality, the Kalam Cosmological argument, the unbelievable resurrection, and much more. Barker relates the positive benefits from trusting in reason and human kindness instead of living in fear of false judgment and moral condemnation. Godless expands the story told in Dan's 1992 book, Losing Faith in Faith--the two books overlap about 20%--but a lot has happened in 16 years, and Dan updates the story with four new chapters, including 'The New Call' (lessons from the debate circuit), 'Adventures in Atheism,' and 'We Go To Washington' (FFRF's Supreme Court lawsuit, in which Dan was a plaintiff).

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