Freethought Nation

Losing Faith In Faith
From Preacher To Atheist
by Dan Barker

Contents

Introduction (pg: 9)

Prologue: "I Changed My Mind" (pg: 13)

Part 1: Losing Faith
Chapters:
1 Spreading the Good News (pg: 17)
2 Ripples: From Faith to Reason (pg: 36)
3 I Just Lost Faith In Faith (pg: 51)
4 Standing On The Premises (pg: 57)
5 From Martian To Earthling (pg: 65)
6 When All Things Worked Together For Good (pg: 71)
7 Ministers I Have Known (pg: 76)
8 Some Mistakes (pg: 80)

Part 2: Finding Freethought
Chapters:
9 Why I Am An Atheist (pg: 87)
10 Inaccurate Conception (pg: 97)
11 The Great Escape (pg: 102)
12 "What If You're Wrong?" (pg: 104)
13 Without A Doubt (pg: 106)
14 Rule Of Thumb (pg: 110)
15 Fuzzy, Was He? (pg: 115)
16 An Open-minded Discussion (pg: 119)
17 Refuting God (pg: 122)
18 What Is A Freethinker? (pg: 133)
19 Dear Theologian (pg: 138)
20 Omni-Aqueous (pg: 148)

Part 3: Re-examining The "Good Book"
Chapters:
21 Out of Context (pg: 155)
22 Square Circles (pg: 160)
23 Bible Contradictions (pg: 164)
24 Leave No Stone Unturned (pg: 178)
25 Prophecy (pg: 185)
26 Cross Examination (pg: 201)
27 Murder, He Wrote (pg: 206)
28 In The Family Way? (pg: 210)
29 Dear Believer (pg :214)

Part 4: Critiquing Christianity
Chapters:
30 Washed In The Blood (pg: 221)
31 Christian Joy? (pg: 227)
32 Trust Yourself (pg: 231)
33 Christian Designs (pg: 234)
34 Blind Faith (pg: 238)
35 Mere Assertions (pg: 244)
36 Without Reservation (pg: 249)
37 Age of Unaccountability (pg: 256)

Part 5: Spreading The Best News
Chapters:
38 In The Lion's Den (pg: 263)
39 Good Morning, America (pg: 267)
40 Bible-Free Rooms (pg: 271)
41 Freethought On Donahue (pg: 274)
42 Immovable Wall (pg: 282)
43 Ethnics Without God (pg: 287)
44 Popping Off (pg: 291)
45 Bible-Belt Journalism (pg: 296)

Part 6: Separating State And Church
Chapters:
46 What's in a Phrase? (pg: 303)
47 Tradition (pg: 306)
48 The Cost Of Freedom (pg: 309)
49 What Is Christmas To An Unbeliever? (pg:314)

Part 7: Exposing Christian Morality
Chapter:
50 Is The Bible A Good Moral Guide? (pg: 321)

Part 8: History Or Myth?
Chapter:
51 Jesus: History or Myth? (pg: 359)

Part 9: A Match Not Made In Heaven
Chapter:
52 A Match Not Made In Heaven (pg: 381)


http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/


Online excerpts:

Chapters:

2 Ripples: From Faith to Reason
http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=ripples

3 I Just Lost Faith In Faith
http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=lostfaith

17 Refuting God
http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=refute

19 Dear Theologian
http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=theologian

23 Bible Contradictions
http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=contra

24 Leave No Stone Unturned
http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=stone

35 Mere Assertions
http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=assertions

_________________

I have that book. I have yet to read it though. Seems the last time I bought books, I backed myself up on reading material.

_________________
Mriana

Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. ~ Gandhi

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. ~ Thomas A. Edison

G'day Mriana.

At least that way you won't have to wait in between reading each book to find another worthwhile one to read.

_________________

Quite true, but there are so many more books I would like to buy and read when I can.

_________________
Mriana

Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. ~ Gandhi

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. ~ Thomas A. Edison

Preacher Barker has let the falsehoods of Judaism-light, aka Christianity, cloud what his heart should tell him.


There is a hierarchy to the spiritual realm of this universe. God is the CEO.

Listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye ...

Perhaps you should clarify what you define as "God". Are you speaking metaphorically about the realm of existence itself, or are you referring to some particular personification deity from a mythology that you assume should be taken literally? And if so, which personification from which myth are you taking literally?

_________________
The Jesus Mythicist Creed:
The "Jesus Christ" of the New Testament is a fictional composite of characters, real and mythical. A composite of multiple "people" is no one.

The celestial Origins of Religious Belief
ZG Part 1
Jesus: Hebrew Human or Mythical Messiah?

G'day Jeff Reeves.

When you can disprove the ONENESS of all life, then you can make claims of a hierarchy, until then, you are making statements based upon a fallacy, for there can be no hierarchy within ONENESS.

What you have fallen for is the Cabbalistic view, which is merely another splinter group of the Judaic cult.

_________________

Kudos to you.

I feel the rapier in my heart.

I am ashamed for believing there is an Ultimate Source.

Thus, I die on your blade. My feelings cannot defeat your logic.

I see that you're sort of missing the point that "I Am" was trying to make here Jeff.

Whatever the ultimate source is must be "Eternal", or metaphorically speaking,"God". There is no boundary or division involved in that which is "eternal". It's everywhere and in everything (It's basically a way of describing the very fabric and structure of existence itself - the entire realm of existence itself as an indivisible whole). The eternal source ranges from what you would consider to be the lowest of things to the very highest of things because eternity is the interconnected whole, the all.

So when an individual tries conceptualizing a system of hierarchy it must be noted that the eternal source of existence can not be separated from any part of the conceptual system of hierarchy. At some point, the individual wrestling with the contemplation of eternity as a whole will come to the grand realization that all perceived separatness and division is merely a short sided human based perspective of the interconnected realm of existence itself - if the individual hangs in there and stays focused on what the term eternity actually entails. With no beginning or end / starting or stopping point, comes no division or separation of any type.

_________________
The Jesus Mythicist Creed:
The "Jesus Christ" of the New Testament is a fictional composite of characters, real and mythical. A composite of multiple "people" is no one.

The celestial Origins of Religious Belief
ZG Part 1
Jesus: Hebrew Human or Mythical Messiah?

So doesn't that mean that God and the Devil are one and the same? I thought that was Kabbalah (which is actually Indian to Iraq to Egypt to European Jewry if I understand the Kabbalah's history)

I have no idea what system of beliefs is correct. Therefore, I believe trusting my own instincts is the course of action to pursue. And my instincts tell me there is a hierarchy to the spiritual dimensions. I have no proof of this other than gut feeling.

If all that exists in in ONE "essence" then what is all the Good/Evil stuff about? Is God mentally masturbating? Is God then self-flaggelating by inflicting Evil and suffering upon himself? Is God bored and we are a way for him occupy his mind for eternity?

I really need to study the Kabbalah more to give comment on that way of interpreting existence.

I agree where there are two seemingly distinct entities, there must by necessity be a greater unity that encompasses both. Otherwise, how would each entity define its uniqueness from the other? They must both lay in a larger vessel so to speak.

You're getting there by narrowing things down in the last paragraph Jeff. When dealing with the question of ultimates we're always dealing with an absolute mystery.





The larger vessel containing both is the deep mystery of existence which is common to both sides of the duality you're conceptualizing - light and darkness, positive and negative, good and evil, male and female etc.

Here's a quote from Robert Collier who wrote the book "The Secret of the Ages":

_________________
The Jesus Mythicist Creed:
The "Jesus Christ" of the New Testament is a fictional composite of characters, real and mythical. A composite of multiple "people" is no one.

The celestial Origins of Religious Belief
ZG Part 1
Jesus: Hebrew Human or Mythical Messiah?