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Dec 13, 2008

Curtis rated it:

A lot of the book is the pretty typical "arguments for the nonexistance of God" stuff, but I thought the biographical section to be the most interesting. Barker does a great job of describing exactly what was going on in his head when he began to question his Christianity.

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May 11, 2010

A.J. rated it:

I'm closing in on having read all the major atheist books in existence, I think. Out of all of them, this is the only one so far offering an inside look at the evolutionary process of a fundamentalist evangelical Christian into a hardened atheist who eats children and celebrates Halloween twice a year. Deconversion stories all seem to share a common narrative arch––the most important aspect of which is a period of glaring ignorance and indoctrination followed by an awakening of the mind to other More...

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Feb 03, 2011

Jane rated it:

This was a phenomenal read. Barker is articulate, intelligent, witty and immensely likable. His deconversion from fundamentalist preacher to staunch atheist comes across as honest (not to mention the only logical conclusion when someone is sincerely seeking truth). I have nothing but admiration for someone who is able to let go of a fallacious belief when faced with overwhelming evidence that it is wrong. I wish more people would have the courage to ask questions and seek out a similar path for More...

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Feb 03, 2011

Susan rated it:

I found this book fascinating for the simple reason that the author's experience mimicked so much my own. I may not have been an evangelical preacher, as the author was, but I was about as devout a Mormon as one could be when, in the '80s (and I in my 30s and a mother of six), I came to the painful realization that I did not really believe it all and left my church. It was, without equal, the most painful episode of my life; and in time, I believe, the most liberating for myself and my family. A More...

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Jan 14, 2009

Mike rated it:

This is partly an autobiography, and partly a philosophical treatise.
As autobiography, Godless is very interesting, as Barker admits he's had "religious experiences" and what believers would call a "personal relationship with God" but Barker is able to give a coherent and convincing account of how these experiences are natural, rather than supernatural.
As a treatise, Barker does a great job summarizing a large number of arguments for the existence of God an More...

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Feb 17, 2012

Eden rated it:

I started reading this out of curiosity because I'm very interested in how people view the world. I expected this to be a bit more...open to ideas? Maybe that was ignorant of me, after all, it is a book about firmly believing in the nonexistence of God. And I don't have anything against atheists, I'm not so sure what I believe myself. But I will say this: full blown atheism is just as extreme, even if it is at the opposite end of the spectrum, as fundamentalist Christians, Muslims, etc. I just c More...

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Nov 23, 2011

Ensiform rated it:

The subtitle is rather misleading, as the "how" can basically be boiled down to "I started reading things other than the Bible," while the rest of the book’s 360 pages is devoted to attacks on theism. Using logical arguments (pointing out discrepancies and contradictions in Biblical teaching; arguing that by definition God cannot be timeless, nor can a god be both infinitely merciful and infinitely powerful), moral arguments (citing the many barbarous acts the Bible condones More...

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Aug 14, 2009

Stan rated it:

I am agnostic at best, but I don't think I would like Dan Barker very much in real life. He seems to be one of those people who always think that what they think is right and brilliant, and they need to tell you all about it, and try to convince you to believe it too. His journey -- which sounds far but maybe was not so much -- was from being an evangelistic Christian preacher to being an evangelistic atheist, aggressively promoting his beliefs in either guise. He delights in describing how s More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Marvin rated it:

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.

First of all, what is a leading atheist? I never knew we had a vote. Since I'm more of an agnostic dabbling in the philosophical side of Buddhism, I may not have been eligible to vote. Being a leading freethinker makes sense since it implies an interest in freedom of speech and fighting for the choice to think for oneself, which Barker does admirably. But a leading atheist? That sounds a little forced to me, not to mention egotistical. More...

9 comments like (13 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2009

Pinkie99 rated it:

I found myself identifying heavily with Mr. Barker and appreciating what he had to say about the difficult struggle of losing one's faith and becoming atheist. Barker manages to keep the tone hopeful and presents a compelling case for atheism both from a rationalist standpoint as well as a moral one. The weakest part for me was the chapter where he spends a long time arguing on why there could not be a god who is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent all at once. That kind o More...

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Oct 29, 2011

Steve rated it:

This could have easily been divided (and expanded) into two books, and that would have been an improvement for me. One “book”, or theme, was of the author's amazing journey from fundamentalist, evangelistic, Christian preacher, to evangelistic atheist. The other theme/book was about the Bible, it's discrepancies, errors and contradictions, and the historical status of Jesus. Of course the two are related and intertwined, and both themes would be touched on in either book. However, I felt tha More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Steve rated it:

I have mixed feelings about this book. Part 1 of the book entitled "Rejecting God" is the most interesting as it is the author's personal story of his journey from fundamentalist Christianity to atheism.

Part 2, "Why I am an atheist" is very dense and philosophical - and I appreciated some of Baker's arguments and critiques regarding God and the various arguments often offered for God's existence by Christian apologists - some of which are clearly wanting.

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Aug 09, 2010

Anthony rated it:

This book was pretty darn good. The reason it gets four instead of five stars is that he sort of glosses over a few arguments in the later chapters that he either could have omitted altogether or expounded upon. As it stands, a few of the things of which he does not go into very much depth felt understated and brought the pace and academic tone a little down. If he'd gone deeper, the book would have been more consistent. If he'd skipped them, the book would not have suffered, since the book is h More...

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Dec 21, 2010

Reiden rated it:

Before reading this book, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on what parts of the Bible I disagreed with. Reading this book opened my eyes. The Bible is great for understanding certain ancient cultures and myths, but it is NOT a good source for finding one's morals. There are just too many things that the God of the Bible does, says or tells others to do that would not be tolerated in todays modern societies. Then there's the endless contradictions, lack of historical evidence, bad science, etc More...

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May 07, 2011

Adam rated it:

A well told, fascinating story of an evangelical preacher turned atheist. Barker begins by detailing his journey in the first half of the book, followed with the philosophical problems of the existence of god, and finishes with his critiques of Christianity.

The critiques and arguments he presents in the book are well stated, clear, and thought provoking. This is a great alternative to books such as "The God Delusion," especially for those who prefer a tad less venom in the More...

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May 07, 2010

Evanston Public added it

For twenty years, Dan Barker was an Evangelical proselytizer and song writer, traveling the world and passionately preaching the Gospel with unquestioning faith. One day while driving his car, he followed what he thought was the voice of God, turning right and left on a twisting back road—and he ended up at a dead-end in the middle of a cornfield. This pivotal moment was the beginning of Barker’s arduous journey from faith-based spiritual living to logic- and reason-driven freethinking. In his More...

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Jun 24, 2011

Jorge rated it:

Absolutely fantastic. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Mr. Barker takes you through a personal journey to freethinking. My only question, Mr. Barker what took you so long???

I'm an avid reader and I can honestly say that this is one of the best books ever written about this topic. It's freethinking at is best, Mr. Barker's clear intellect is displayed for all to enjoy.

Positives:
1. Interesting transformation to Atheism
2. Well written, eloquence throughout
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Aug 17, 2010

deletedsoul rated it:

I am a former fundamentalist.

I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home, with both Baptist and Pentecostal influences. As such, I had what is commonly known as “spiritual” experiences during my years as a “born again” Christian and it is something that for many years I’ve struggled to come to terms with. One of the reasons that being a former Fundamentalist is so difficult is that I rarely meet anyone who has left that faith, and who can understand and share what I feel concerning More...

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Oct 19, 2010

Katie rated it:

the first few chapters were hard to get through because they were just a yawn. But it is quite interesting and true.

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Nov 17, 2011

Jarkko rated it:

Now, here's a book that's very hard to rate objectively. I liked a lot of it, mostly the parts where Barker told about his own life: the struggles with Christianity, becoming atheist, and then living as an atheist.

When he criticizes Christianity, things get a bit more complicated. I agree with a lot, maybe even most of his arguments, but it's all about a fundamentalist approach to Bible and other Christian doctrines. In fact a lot of his reasoning is exactly the same as what has been More...

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Mar 05, 2011

Erin rated it:

I'll let ya know. I'm still reading it.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 05, 2009

Chris rated it:

So far, so good. From age 15 to 30, Barker devoted his life to winning souls through preaching and song. At age 30, he began reading widely, changed his mind and now devoted his life to win minds to reason through public debates and song. In this book, Barker uses his extensive knowledge of the Bible and experience as a public debater to critic theism in general and the Bible in particular. I was especially pleased with Barker's clear, concise and, in my opinion, fair discussion of the differenc More...

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Feb 03, 2011

Isaac rated it:

A poorly written critique of Christianity.

Made me want to read a real critique, just to make up for how poorly written this one was.

He ripped things out of context and distorted them. All you have to do is look up most of the Bible passages he quotes and you'll realize how badly he distorted them. Rather than looking up and being educated on the truly challenging aspects of the Bible, he chose to pick out verses he didn't like and distort them to ensure that they proved his More...

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 21, 2011

Myth rated it:

I really liked Barker's personal story, but I felt like the book lulled as he got into technicalities and such. I've heard Barker in person and I find him a better speaker than writer. Nonetheless, I did get what I wanted out of the book and that was to read about his experience.

I didn't end up finishing the book. While I find the arguments against creationist and apologists and the "morals" of the bible interesting, I've heard a lot of it already and don't really "need More...

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Feb 03, 2011

Jim rated it:

This book offers a unique perspective on evangelical christianity. The author was raised as an evangelical and was a preacher into his young adulthood, when he started thinking about and questioning some of the things he had been taught and taken for granted. This eventually led to him becoming an atheist. Godless starts with the story of his upbringing and early evangelism and preaching, leading up to the statement, "If I wasn't christian, nobody is." It then tells the story of Ba More...

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May 23, 2011

Naomi rated it:

i've been listening to Dan Barker on Freethought Radio for years, so it's about time i got around to reading his story of evolution from evangelical (fundamentalist) preacher to atheist.

and it's pretty damn interesting. Barker was raised in a fundamentalist household, and he started preaching as a teenager. he was a true believer, not only preaching but writing songs for christian singers, etc. he had a traveling ministry, moving from place to place, preaching his truth to other b More...

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Feb 27, 2009

kelly rated it:

Dan’s personal story of going from evangelical Christianity to atheism was riveting. It’s followed by sections on “Why I am an Atheist” and “What’s Wrong with Christianity,” which get into philosophical arguments, a lot of which were new to me, and fascinating (with a couple boring ones in between). I recommend this book to anyone who has general questions about atheism and its arguments, or would wonder what made an evangelical turn atheist.

I always like including a few of memorable More...

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Sep 30, 2009

Kristin rated it:

The title grabbed me because I thought this would present an interesting viewpoint. While some of Godless is interesting, overall I lacked knowledge of Evangelical dogma to fully understand the arguments made and the theological history referenced. From my outsider's view the statements presented as reasoning used by evangelicals appeared to be overly simplified (by the author), which aids in their easy demise by the author.

Overall, too preachy for me.

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Mar 05, 2009

Dave rated it:

Dan Barkers story of being an evangelical preacher,turned atheist, was very good. Although most of it is typical debates and contradictions of religion I found myself wanting more of his autobiography. I really wanted him to express more of his thoughts about his transition into athiesm and why he made the change other than "I just didn't believe it anymore". I gave it four stars for his story not the debated subjects on religion.

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Feb 03, 2011

Mark rated it:

Dan Barker offers the reader his journey from fanatically religious to absolute atheist. The trip is interesting. The book breaks down as such:
1. Barkers personal journey from religious fanatic to atheist, 2. reasons not to accept theological arguments, 3. To Barker's personal achievements. It is part 3 that gives this book a three-star rating from me.

The Good:
It is interesting to read a person's journey from one viewpoint to the next. Also, Barker does an exceptional More...

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