Losing Faith in Faith Quotes

“The next time believers tell you that 'separation of church and state' does not appear in our founding document, tell them to stop using the word 'trinity.' The word 'trinity' appears nowhere in the bible. Neither does Rapture, or Second Coming, or Original Sin. If they are still unfazed (or unphrased), by this, then add Omniscience, Omnipresence, Supernatural,Transcendence, Afterlife, Deity, Divinity, Theology, Monotheism, Missionary, Immaculate Conception, Christmas, Christianity, Evangelical, Fundamentalist, Methodist, Catholic, Pope, Cardinal, Catechism, Purgatory, Penance, Transubstantiation, Excommunication, Dogma, Chastity, Unpardonable Sin, Infallibility, Inerrancy, Incarnation, Epiphany, Sermon, Eucharist, the Lord's Prayer, Good Friday, Doubting Thomas, Advent, Sunday School, Dead Sea, Golden Rule, Moral, Morality, Ethics, Patriotism, Education, Atheism, Apostasy, Conservative (Liberal is in), Capital Punishment, Monogamy, Abortion, Pornography, Homosexual, Lesbian, Fairness, Logic, Republic, Democracy, Capitalism, Funeral, Decalogue, or Bible.”
― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

“I do understand what love is, and that is one of the reasons I can never again be a Christian. Love is not self denial. Love is not blood and suffering. Love is not murdering your son to appease your own vanity. Love is not hatred or wrath, consigning billions of people to eternal torture because they have offended your ego or disobeyed your rules. Love is not obedience, conformity, or submission. It is a counterfeit love that is contingent upon authority, punishment, or reward. True love is respect and admiration, compassion and kindness, freely given by a healthy, unafraid human being.”
― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

“Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits. It is intellectual bankruptcy.”
― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

“I have something to say to the religionist who feels atheists never say anything positive: You are an intelligent human being. Your life is valuable for its own sake. You are not second-class in the universe, deriving meaning and purpose from some other mind. You are not inherently evil—you are inherently human, possessing the positive rational potential to help make this a world of morality, peace and joy. Trust yourself.”
― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

“The very concept of sin comes from the Bible. Christianity offers to solve a problem of its own making! Would you be thankful to a person who cut you with a knife in order to sell you a bandage?”
― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

“You can cite a hundred references to show that the biblical God is a bloodthirsty tyrant, but if they can dig up two or three verses that say 'God is love,' they will claim that you are taking things out of context!”
― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

“Tras la reunión algunos de los miembros del equipo trajeron a una mujer que quería que la curasen de una artritis incapacitante. Todos estaban preparados para ver un milagro. ¡Glups! Daban vueltas a mi alrededor e insistieron en que rezase por esa mujer. Pobrecilla. Se sacudía, y lloraba, y rezaba. Bueno, ¿por qué no? pensé ésa es la promesa de Dios, no la mía. Así que puse mis manos en sus hombros y recé, pidiéndole a Dios, en el nombre de Jesús, que cumpliera su palabra y curase esa enfermedad. Entonces dije: -En el nombre de Jesús, ¡estás curada!- Todo estaba en silencio. La mujer abrió los ojos y me miró. Todos sonreían con esperanza. No sucedió nada. Seguía mirándome. Todos me miraban, ¿qué se suponía que tenía que hacer ahora? Al fin encontré una salida: Mujer, hágase según tu fe. Sé que fue un truco sucio, pero, ¿qué hubiera hecho usted? Si no estaba curada no era culpa mía. Simplemente era que no tenía suficiente fe, eso es todo. Recuerdo que el resto de los miembros del equipo parecían desilusionados, pero seguros de que Dios sabía lo que estaba haciendo. La mujer salió del edificio, perdiéndose encorvada en la noche y todavía enferma, y además con un reproche.”
― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist