For about two decades John W. Loftus was a devout evangelical Christian, an ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and an ardent apologist for Christianity. With three degrees-in philosophy, theology, and philosophy of religion-he was adept at using rational argumentation to defend the faith. But over the years, doubts about the credibility of key Christian tenets began to creep into his thinking. By the late 1990s he experienced a full-blown crisis of faith. In this honest appraisal of his journey from believer to atheist, the author carefully explains the experiences and the reasoning process that led him to reject religious belief. The original edition of this book was published in 2006 and reissued in 2008. Since that time, Loftus has received a good deal of critical feedback from Christians and skeptics alike. In this revised and expanded edition, the author addresses criticisms of the original, adds new argumentation and references, and refines his presentation. For every issue he succinctly summarizes the various points of view and provides references for further reading. In conclusion, he describes the implications of life without belief in God, some liberating, some sobering. This frank critique of Christian belief from a former insider will interest freethinkers as well as anyone with doubts about the claims of religion.
Why I Became an Atheist
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"A thoughtful and intellectually challenging work presenting arguments that every honest theist and Christian should face."
-Dr. Norman L. Geisler Christian apologist, author of The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics
-Dr. Norman L. Geisler Christian apologist, author of The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics
About the Author
John W. Loftus (Angola, IN) earned MA and MDiv degrees in theology and philosophy from Lincoln Christian Seminary under the guidance of Dr. James D. Strauss. He then attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he studied under Dr. William Lane Craig and received a ThM degree in philosophy of religion. Before leaving the church, he had ministries in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, and he taught at several Christian colleges. He is also the editor of The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails and The End of Christianity. In addition, he has an online blog at http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Dylan
Format:Paperback
When I first picked up this book, (in it's first edition, initially), I was still a struggling Christian attempting to find merit in Christian apologetics and hoping to find my way back to some kind of faith. Loftus' arguments towards examining one's faith as if one was an outsider seemed very compelling, (and eventually blindingly obvious) to me, and I read this book with a critical attitude that I hadn't had when reading some other books critiquing Christianity or religion in general. And if Dawkins, Dennett etc. had cracked open the door for me, this book kicked it in.
In addition to the arguments for the Outsider Test for Faith, I found the discussions of pseudonimity and prophecy in the Christian Bible eye-opening - in a lifetime of Christian living, why hadn't I ever heard these things before? But I especially found Loftus' discussion of the problems with prayer compelling and devastating. Loftus also provided my first exposure to the actual state of affairs regarding the authorship and dating of the Gospels, and of the numerous scientific and historical improbabilities regarding the nativity; at one point, I think I have six consecutive pages dog-eared.
As someone who now, a few years later, openly self-identifies as an atheist, it's hard for this review not to sound like sports 'homerism,' but there's no way around that. I can honestly say this book changed the course of my life, and I thank John for that.
In addition to the arguments for the Outsider Test for Faith, I found the discussions of pseudonimity and prophecy in the Christian Bible eye-opening - in a lifetime of Christian living, why hadn't I ever heard these things before? But I especially found Loftus' discussion of the problems with prayer compelling and devastating. Loftus also provided my first exposure to the actual state of affairs regarding the authorship and dating of the Gospels, and of the numerous scientific and historical improbabilities regarding the nativity; at one point, I think I have six consecutive pages dog-eared.
As someone who now, a few years later, openly self-identifies as an atheist, it's hard for this review not to sound like sports 'homerism,' but there's no way around that. I can honestly say this book changed the course of my life, and I thank John for that.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4.6 out of 5 stars
16 reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even better than the last edition
May 21 2012
By RBrad
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I purchased the previous edition of John W. Loftus' book "Why I Became an Atheist" about a year and a half ago. I found it to make a much stronger, cumulative case against theism - and evangelical Christianity in particular - than any of the so called New Atheist books. As others have rightly noted, Loftus is generally very fair in his presentation of the arguments for and against Christianity. For example, as Loftus notes in his book, he presents the strongest argument available on any given topic made by Christian apologists, so it's hard to claim he's merely knocking down straw men. There was only one problem, to me at least, with the previous edition: in some instances, the editing could have been better, and the writing could have been more clear.
The reason I mention this about the last edition of WIBA is to say the new edition has been dramatically improved. And that's saying something, considering how good the last edition was. The editing in this book is better, and the writing is in general more clear and precise, which makes John's arguments easy to follow. As with the previous edition, Loftus is generally very fair in his critique of Christianity. His arguments throughout the book that have received criticism have been updated, and his responses to critiques are, as to be expected of Loftus, thorough. In my opinion, this is the best single volume critique of Christianity at the popular level (although it could be said this book is somewhat above the popular level). In fact, I would recommend this to anyone, Christian or skeptic, as the best single book making a case against Christianity period.
I had some doubts about purchasing this book because I owned the previous edition and didn't know if it would be worth the money. I can now say it was definitely worth it. This is now my go to source concerning the arguments for and against Christianity.
The reason I mention this about the last edition of WIBA is to say the new edition has been dramatically improved. And that's saying something, considering how good the last edition was. The editing in this book is better, and the writing is in general more clear and precise, which makes John's arguments easy to follow. As with the previous edition, Loftus is generally very fair in his critique of Christianity. His arguments throughout the book that have received criticism have been updated, and his responses to critiques are, as to be expected of Loftus, thorough. In my opinion, this is the best single volume critique of Christianity at the popular level (although it could be said this book is somewhat above the popular level). In fact, I would recommend this to anyone, Christian or skeptic, as the best single book making a case against Christianity period.
I had some doubts about purchasing this book because I owned the previous edition and didn't know if it would be worth the money. I can now say it was definitely worth it. This is now my go to source concerning the arguments for and against Christianity.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
the best popular level atheist book
May 5 2012
By A. Scott
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
John's massively revised book surpasses the original in just about every way (the original was very good, so this is saying something). The sections on explaining faith, the cumulative method, and the reasons why theists reject the classical arguments for god greatly surpass anything in Hitchens, Dawkins, or Harris. Like in the first edition, he also does an excellent job explaining the way apologists use worldview and how his Outsider Test plays into this. On top of these more academic investigations, John explores the Bible (both Old and New Testament) and the historical Jesus. These will probably be more helpful in a casual level discussion of these issues.
If one seeks a good introduction to the arguments and nuances of "the God debates", this book is probably the best starting point because it goes over all of the relevant material but is not as technical as something like JL Mackie's classic The Miracle of Theism.
If one seeks a good introduction to the arguments and nuances of "the God debates", this book is probably the best starting point because it goes over all of the relevant material but is not as technical as something like JL Mackie's classic The Miracle of Theism.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wide Ranging and Excellent Overview
May 14 2012
By Book Fanatic
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is fairly content dense. It is 460ish pages. Of course given its comprehensive scope it can't go into any one topic in deep detail. So this book should be considered wide in scope not deep. It should not be criticized for this because its purpose is to go wide and not deep. I can (and have) read whole books on the individual issues (like argument from evil). If somebody wants to read a whole book on a particular topic they can. That's not the purpose of THIS book. Despite the wide scope, Loftus does an amazing job of distilling the essential points out of each topic. I say all this because a previous reviewer criticizes this book because it doesn't contain book length individual arguments inside itself. This same reviewer has made similar arguments on other book reviews and evidently doesn't see the complete absurdity of such a criticism. I guess he thinks books should be a million pages long.
This book by Loftus is heavily footnoted with references to longer treatments by authors on both sides of the issues he is addressing. I have added many books and articles to my list as a result of pursuing his footnotes.
Despite the wide scope, its arguments are cumulative. The same point made on one issue usually applies to another so considered as a whole it does indeed make what I consider a quite formidable case. I haven't read any previous versions of this book so I have no idea how this edition compares to those. I do know that THIS edition is very well done. It does an excellent job of giving an overall and comprehensive view of why someone would or should become an atheist.
Recommended.
This book by Loftus is heavily footnoted with references to longer treatments by authors on both sides of the issues he is addressing. I have added many books and articles to my list as a result of pursuing his footnotes.
Despite the wide scope, its arguments are cumulative. The same point made on one issue usually applies to another so considered as a whole it does indeed make what I consider a quite formidable case. I haven't read any previous versions of this book so I have no idea how this edition compares to those. I do know that THIS edition is very well done. It does an excellent job of giving an overall and comprehensive view of why someone would or should become an atheist.
Recommended.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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