Blurbs for My Anthology "Christianity Is Not Great: How Faith Fails"

I'm always very grateful for people willing to read through my books and offer some advanced praise. Here are some blurbs of Christianity Is Not Great:

--------------------

John Loftus knows from the inside what’s wrong with Christianity. Few people are better qualified to explain to those still in its clutches why they’d do well to leave, and he has assembled a fine team of colleagues to assist him in doing so. This book should convert a high proportion of those with the courage to read it.

-- Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion.

Finally my work got the attention of Dawkins! I'm still very grateful! But it was too late to be very significant because of what has come to be known as ElovatorGate.

My publisher asked him to change his blurb by introducing it with the words, "As a Former Minister", which he obliged. Why that was important still escapes me.

--------------------

It is always huge news in the publishing industry when John Loftus produces another milestone work. His latest is a compendium of the world’s most iconic freethinkers and science writers at their finest. This may very well be John’s most celebrated work -- which is saying a great deal indeed.

-- David Mills, author of Atheist Universe.

------------------

Americans are constantly told to believe that faith is a virtue, even when evidence of the opposite surrounds us all the time. In Christianity Is Not Great, John Loftus and his panel of experts explore evidence of that in a variety of areas: Politics, Science, Morality, and more. Loftus teaches us that the problem isn’t just a fringe group of religious people; the problem is faith itself. And the sooner we can break free from its grasp, the more enlightened and fulfilling our lives will be.

-- Hemant Mehta, editor of FriendlyAtheist.com

------------------

Rich food for thought, not only for evangelical apologists and conservative believers, but also for those for whom faith is failing or has already failed.

--Graham Oppy, Professor of Philosophy at Monash University and author of Arguing about Gods.

------------------

From the day I stumbled across Why I Became an Atheist, I have been a fan of John Loftus and his books. One of his strengths as a writer and editor is his desire to raise as many issues as possible for readers to consider. This new anthology is another excellent example of that. As a Christian, I disagree with the overall conclusions of the many well-qualified contributors, but I cannot ignore the significant theological, historical, and social problems they raise. Christians who consider themselves to be intelligent thinkers about matters of faith need to read this book, examine the evidence for themselves, and consider the implications for Christianity.

-- Dan Lambert, Associate Professor of Education, Tiffin (OH) University, former professor of theology and ministry at Evangelical universities for over 15 years.

This blurb was edited down for the back cover by deleting his first three sentences.

------------------

You can show that Christianity is almost certainly untrue, and this was accomplished in previous volumes edited by John Loftus. However, such a critique, however cogent, is necessary but not sufficient. Apologists have justified the existence of Christianity not merely on the grounds that it is true, but because it is allegedly the fountain of all that is good in a world of sin. The message that Christianity is the Light of the World has been repeated so often and so effectively that it is now politically incorrect to take exception and say that Christianity has been, and is, the source of much abiding evil. Anyone with the temerity to say so is castigated as intolerant—by secular pundits as much as by religious apologists. Yet the truth must be told, however much it rankles, and this is what Loftus and the other authors do in Christianity is not Great.

-- Keith Parsons, professor of philosophy, University of Houston - Clear Lake, School of Human Sciences and Humanities.

This blurb was edited down for the back cover of the book by deleting his first three sentences.

------------------

Dr. Abby Hafer gave us two blurbs to choose from. My publisher chose the second one.

Christianity is Not Great shows that if Christians hope to claim that they are a force for good, then they must face up to the fact that many biblical values are immoral. This book shows how pandering to fundamentalists has led to deaths by religiously-mandated child abuse and fake “faith healers,” that the abuse of women has been made to seem respectable by the Bible, and that irrationality has been encouraged in the face of the realities of evolution and climate change. Fundamentalists have also defended slavery and have sought to radically alter the U.S. Constitution so as to give themselves the right to rule over everyone else. It is a blot on Christianity’s record that it’s largely secularists who stand up to Christian fundamentalists. Christianity, even at its best, has severe problems and a sorry history that must be honestly addressed. At its worst, it is a threat to this republic, and to the health and safety of future human inhabitants of this planet.

Or,

Christianity is Not Great shows that Christianity, even at its best, has severe problems and a sorry history that must be honestly addressed. At its worst, it is a threat to this republic, and to the health and safety of future human inhabitants of this planet.

--Dr. Abby Hafer, Senior Lecturer in Biology, Curry College.

------------------

“By their fruits shall ye know them.” So says the Good Book. This good book, brought together by the indefatigable John Loftus, assays the fruits of Christianity from ancient times to the present day, and documents persuasively how they are the produce of a poisonous tree. Christian apologists are quick to credit Christianity for the march of science, morality, democracy, and human rights, but the cold light of historical facts and present realities, marshalled in these pages, suggests otherwise. Overall, this fantastic collection makes a good case for religion in general being an artifact of the childhood of civilization—and a childish thing that we would do very well to put away.

--Dr. Rebecca Bradley, Ph.D in Archaeology from Cambridge University.

------------------

Philosophers of religion tend to focus on whether religious claims are true and, if so, how beliefs in such claims can be justified. They tend to spend much less time on whether such beliefs are good, harmful, or a combination of both. In Christianity Is Not Great, John Loftus and his contributors defend a modest claim: Christianity causes real harm. What makes this book so valuable is its catalog of the numerous ways in which Christianity can be (and has been) harmful. Anyone who wants to learn more about the harms of Christianity needs to read this book.

-- Jeffery Jay Lowder, co-founder and President Emeritus, Internet Infidels, and co-editor of The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave.

This blurb was edited down for the back cover of the book by deleting his first two sentences.

------------------

You can get the book here.

0 comments: