My Christian Conversion and Deconversion, by John W. Loftus

        As I announced earlier, I've decided to publish whole chapters from my books. I may eventually publish them all, certainly a bunch of them. The goal will be to publish one chapter every Monday. I may not leave them up for more than a few weeks, so be sure to subscribe or check in weekly for them (and for that matter, check in every Friday when Dr. David Madison posts some brilliant and hard-hitting stuff like his most recent one.

Chapter 1, My Christian Conversion and Deconversion, by John W. Loftus

         In this first chapter I’ll tell you my personal story of how I converted to and then deconverted away from the Christian faith. This chapter forms the backdrop for understanding me and why I wrote this book. After all, no one thinks in a vacuum. Who we are, and what we believe, depend to a large extent on the influences that have shaped us. So in this chapter you’ll get to know some of the influences in my life that made me who I am. I could only wish that Christian apologists who write their apologetic books would do the same thing. I want to know what personal experiences they have had and how they interpret them so that I can be able to judge why they believe the things that they do. But they don’t generally do this at all. What we get instead are their arguments as if they came to believe because of them. This is emphatically not how they came to believe. They hardly ever came to believe because they sat down and dispassionately investigated the various religions before choosing one of them. They usually came to believe because of personal experiences. Only later did they come up with their arguments for why they think what they believe is correct.

          If there is one thing that can be said for me, it’s that I am a very passionate man. When I focus on something and commit myself to it, I give it my all. My conversion experience was dramatic—so dramatic that it stunned everyone around me. There is no one who knew me during my early years as a Christian who would say I was not on fire for God. I burned with passion for “the Lord.” And for good reason; I believed God turned my life around.

Introduction To Why I Became an Atheist, by John W. Loftus

As I announced earlier I've decided to publish whole chapters from my books. I may eventually publish them all, certainly a bunch of them. The goal will be to publish one chapter every Monday. I may not leave them up for more than a few weeks, so be sure to subscribe or check in weekly for them (and for that matter, check in every Friday when Dr. David Madison posts some brilliant and hard-hitting stuff like his most recent one).

 

          This book is effectively the third edition derived from my self-published book, Why I Rejected Christianity, which was published late in 2006 and has now been discontinued. The first edition of this work published by Prometheus Books cried out for yet another revision. While it was received very well by both skeptics and Christian readers and was used in both secular and Christian college classes on “atheism” and “apologetics,” there were corrections to make and more than a few chapters that needed to be updated with better arguments and references. I also wanted to answer some of the criticisms made of the first edition. In a few cases I have changed my mind. So I am grateful that the publisher has granted me permission to revise it. 

The Biggest Threat to Christianity Is the New Testament

The feel-good quotes are overwhelmed by contradictions and superstitions

Some scholars have suggested that the earliest document in the New Testament is Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. Paul makes this claim in chapter 4:16-17:

“For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever.”

I wonder how many devout Christians today are aware of this text, since reading the letters of Paul isn’t all that popular. And among those who are aware of Paul’s statement here, how many take it seriously? When they drive by cemeteries, do they hope that the day isn’t far off when their dead relatives will join them in the clouds to meet Jesus? Those who have sufficient common sense and deal with reality every day, know that Paul was totally wrong. He was confident that his lord would arrive soon, to welcome himself and the recently revived dead who had believed in Christ. Devout folks who are still hoping for The Rapture may be encouraged by this text—while totally ignoring the timing that Paul suggested.

"The Strange and Superstitious World of the Bible" by John Loftus

The Strange and Superstitious World of the Bible, by John W. Loftus 

[In what follows is chapter 13 from my book, Why I Became an Atheist (with endnotes). I think it's the longest chapter in any of my books.] 

In the Bible we find a strange world that Karl Barth wrote about in an essay titled “The Strange New World within the Bible.” To the question of what lies within the world of the Bible, Barth gives this answer: “Within the Bible, there is a strange, new world, the world of God.”1 And it is indeed strange to us today—very strange.

We find a world where there were gods and goddess that ruled over specific lands over the earth and met in divine councils to decide our fate. It was a world where the God and his sons lived in the sky (heaven) and people who died went to live in the dark recesses of the earth (Sheol). It was a world where a snake and a donkey talked, where giants lived in the land, where people could live to be more than nine hundred years old, where a woman was turned into a pillar of salt, where a pillar of fire could lead people by night, where the sun stopped moving across the sky or could even back up, where an axe head could float on water, where a star could point down to a specific home, where people could instantly speak in unlearned foreign languages, and where someone’s shadow or handkerchief could heal people. It was a world where a flood could cover the whole earth, where a man could be swallowed by a “great fish” and live to tell about it, and where a man could walk on water, calm a stormy sea, or change water into wine. It was a world populated by demons that could wreak havoc on earth and also make people very sick. It was a world of idol worship, where human and animal sacrifices pleased God. In this world we find visions, inspired dreams, prophetic utterances, miracle workers, magicians, diviners, and sorcerers.

New Testament scholar Rudolph Bultmann calls the stories in the Bible “myths” and gets his point across by exaggerating his case:

If Devout Christians Don’t Love Reading the Gospels…

How do they feel about the letters of Paul?

Many years ago, I met a devout Catholic woman who bragged—during out first meeting—that she had seen the Broadway musical, Phantom of the Opera, more than 200 times. She was obsessed with it, obviously. It was only many years later that it dawned on me that I should have asked her, “The last time I checked—am I right? —the Catholic church doesn’t classify Phantom of the Opera as sacred scripture.” Then the follow-up question would be, “Exactly what does the church classify as sacred scripture?” In other words, her massive time wasted on a musical could have been devoted instead to serious study of the four gospels—at least. But I doubt very much that she has read/studied the gospels. I suspect that very few priests—or Protestant ministers—give assignments from their pulpits during Sunday worship: “I want all of you to read Mark’s gospel this week, and hand in your book reports next Sunday.” Or the assignment could be to read Matthew, Luke, John, or the Book of Acts. With so many entertainment possibilities available—TV, movies, musical theatre, sports—reading books of the Bible will never be a popular option.

The Gospel Authors Tried So Hard to Prove Resurrection, Part 2

But the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection fail basic standards

In my article posted here last Friday, I discussed the major flaws in Matthew’s story about dead saints coming alive in their tombs when Jesus died, then wandering in Jerusalem on the first Easter Sunday. Also, I analyzed the account of Jesus raising Lazarus, found only in John 11. Neither of these stories stand up to careful, critical analysis; they both sprang from the imaginations of their authors. 

But what about the gospel depictions of the resurrection of Jesus himself? Are they more to be trusted? Well, unfortunately not. As Robert Conner has pointed out, according to the gospels, nobody actually witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. Let’s take a look at all four, beginning with the first to be written.

Musings On Joe Schmid Who Just Converted to Catholicism. @MajestyofReason

Here's the link to the YouTube video where Joe Schmid reveals he converted to Catholicism. It has 101 thousand views in just three days. [How much revenue does that get?] On Facebook John Hanby said this about Schmid's conversion: "Joe Schmid is proof that no one is safe. He's one of the most brilliant young philosophers in the world. He's written, what, 20? Philosophy of Religion papers. And has been a paradigm of rationality and critical thinking."

So today I want to offer a few general and applicable responses.

First off, this doesn't mean anyone else should become a Catholic just because Schmid did. The main reason is due to the brain's incapacity to come to correct conclusions when there are between 150-180 known cognitive biases, any one of which can affect our cogitations concerning the case for Catholicism. In other words, no one thinks with impeccably pure logic like we might imagine from Star Treck's character Spock. There is always room for doubt. Here's Why Doubt Is The Adult Attitude And How Science Helps Us. Science is going to answer our most important questions if they can be answered at all.

Secondly, let's look at some statistics: In 2009 David Chalmers of the Australian National University and David Bourget of London University, surveyed professional philosophers and others on their philosophical views. The survey was taken by 3226 respondents, including 1803 philosophy faculty members and/or PhDs and 829 philosophy graduate students, which can be seen here. The question that interests me is what philosophers think about God.

God: theism or atheism?
Accept or lean toward: atheism 678 / 931 (72.8%)
Accept or lean toward: theism 136 / 931 (14.6%)
Other 117 / 931 (12.5%)

If we add in the "other" category, which would include New Age beliefs, Deism, and Agnosticism, then upwards to 86% of them are not theists. Among those philosophers who are theists I dare say most of them are probably not card carrying Evangelicals, since this includes Catholics, Muslims, Jews and those who merely accept the philosopher's god.

So much for William Lane Craig's claim that there is a renaissance of Christian philosophy in today's world. *cough* Anthony Gottlieb concludes that among specialists in the philosophy of religion--as opposed to Political Philosophy, Social Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science and the Philosophy of Language--"Philosophy of religion specialists are more likely to favor theism (72:19)." Link.

Anselm "Faith Seeking Confirmation"

[First published 5/18/20] I think Anselm's dictum "faith seeking understanding" is to be understood in the history of theology and philosophy to be equivalent to "Faith Seeking Confirmation." If that's how it's historically used then that's what it means. Below is an updated edit from chapter 2 of my my book, Unapologetic: Why Philosophy of Religion Must End.

There is a common theme among St. Anselm's work and the work of other obfuscationist theologians and philosophers that needs to be highlighted. It’s called faith seeking confirmation. We see this in Anselm with regard to his new atonement theory and his ontological argument.

Anselm therefore is exhibit “A” in defense of what atheist philosopher Stephen Law said: “Anything based on faith, no matter how ludicrous, can be made to be consistent with the available evidence, given a little patience and ingenuity.”1 If I could pick one sentence, one aphorism, one proverb that highlights the main reason philosophy of religion (PoR) must end, it’s Law’s. I’ll call it Law’s law of faith.

“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”

Oh please, give me a break: It's ridiculous bragging!  

For a long time I have suggested that people should carefully study—and absorb the truth about—World War I. In John Loftus’ Second Edition of God and Horrendous Suffering, he included my essay, The Problem of World War I, in which I present the case that this brutal conflict should have put an end to belief in a good, caring, all-powerful god. World War II reenforces this conclusion, as Darrell Ray has pointed out in his book, The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Cultures: 

“It took two world wars for Europeans to realize that the prayers of millions of people were not answered. It doesn’t take much intelligence to see that god isn’t working too well when 92 million people died in two world wars, or to see the complicity and cooperation of the Pope, Lutheran clergy and Christians with Hitler during WWII.” (page 75)

There Is So Much Bad Theology, Rubbish, Goofy Folklore—Just in Genesis

It's a way to get Bible study off on the wrong foot

For a long time, there’s been a meme floating around Facebook, with this message:

“To most Christians, the Bible is like a software license. Nobody actually reads it. They just scroll of the bottom and click, I agree.” 

These days we are swamped with so many forms of entertainment, e.g., movies, TV, sports and hobbies, travel and vacations. In this situation, it’s a rare devout person who decides to read the Bible from cover-to-cover—maybe on the chapter-a-day plan. After all, a magnificent copy of the Bible is on display on the church altar. It must be worth reading, right? That adoration might continue if the devout reader embarks on this endeavor without critical thinking skills fully engaged.

Why I Abandoned Christianity, Part 2

Two more compelling reasons that are hard to refute

[The link to Part 1 is here.]

 

3. The Bible is a mess: flaws, contradictions, and too much bad theology.

 

How can I say such a thing? From the time they were toddlers, the devout have been taught that the Bible is the revealed word of their god. A gleaming version of it is commonly on church altars. Witnesses in court—and presidents at their inaugurations—place their hands on the Bible to verify that they are taking a sacred oath. But does this reputation prevail when the devout actually read and study the Bible? Determination to read it cover-to-cover often fades once that journey has begun; the first five books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, provide plenty of tedious texts to discourage modern, educated readers.

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay Number 9

The gospels don’t show a holy hero who was a superior moral

teacher

Mark Twain is commonly credited with saying that the best cure for Christianity is reading the Bible, but no matter who said it, the devout should be warned that their faith is jeopardized by a careful reading of their scripture. Cherry-picking of feel-good texts by the clergy is done on purpose, to divert attention from Jesus-script that is mediocre and alarming. In my article posted here on 30 January 2026, I discussed ten such supposed “quotes”—today let’s look at ten more.

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay Number 8

There is far too much mediocre, alarming Jesus-script in the gospels

                                                                                                

On social media especially, there is a lot of criticism of Christianity. That is, people who claim to be Christians are accused of not following the teaching of Jesus—who is idealized, credited with a reputation that is not based on what we find in the gospels. Reading the gospels carefully, with critical thinking fully engaged, is not a common practice of the devout. If it were, there would be a lot of alarm and panic. 

 

Ironically, the alarm and panic can be reduced by a stark truth:  There is no way whatever to verify any of the sayings attributed to Jesus in the gospels, which is why the term Jesus-script should be used instead of Jesus quotes. As is all too obvious from comparing the four gospels, their authors had different agendas. Claiming that they were all divinely inspired is a phony diversion. The authors created Jesus-script out of their imaginations. And so much of it reflects their obsession with promoting the Jesus cult. There is a list of 292 bad, mediocre, alarming examples of Jesus-script at this website.

1. Horrendous Suffering 2. Catastrophic Superstitions 3. A Vicious God

Christian theology is shattered by these three factors

For centuries, the devout—determined to preserve and protect their faith—have ignored reality. They have turned off curiosity and critical thinking. That just doesn’t work anymore. 

 

There are major brick walls that Christian theology smacks into—and these should put a stop to belief in the god it claims to adore, follow, and worship. Let’s consider three of these brick walls.

A Few Suggestions: New Year Resolutions for Christians

Let curiosity and a desire for knowledge seize the day

Many years ago, when I was the pastor of two Methodist churches in Massachusetts, the clergy in town—across several denominations—were fond of occasionally having “ecumenical” services. That is, all of the clergy would take part, I guess to make the point that we all worshipped Jesus Christ. But as we gathered to take part in these events, one thing we didn’t do was discuss theology, because we knew we didn’t agree. On one such occasion, when we were “backstage” at a Catholic church, I noticed a tiny sink. The priest explained that it drained, not into the city sewer, but it had a small pipe that went through the wall, and emptied into the grass outside. This was the sink into which left-over wine from the mass was poured. Since it had been converted—through the miracle of the mass—into the real blood of Jesus, it would be a sacrilege to have it flow into the sewer. I could hardly imagine a better example of magical thinking, on a par with the fairy-god-mother in Cinderella turning a pumpkin into a coach. It would have been pointless to argue about such theological nonsense.

Christians: Please Read the Gospels, Think, Ponder—Non-Stop

Which is precisely what the clergy don’t want you to do

It is especially important to study the origins of the Christian faith, and—above all—the origins of Jesus. It doesn’t take all that much effort to discover that the four gospel authors didn’t agree about where Jesus came from. At the opening of the first gospel to be written, Mark, Jesus of Nazareth of Galilee shows up to be baptized by John the Baptist, a ritual that John has announced is for “the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus is soon identified—by a voice booming from the sky—as god’s beloved son, with whom he is well pleased. The author of John, the final gospel, who specialized in theology inflation, tells his readers right up front, that Jesus was present at creation:

 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay No. 7

Big problems with the apostle Paul: please stop calling him a saint

Just how did the apostle Paul become convinced that Jesus was the key to salvation? He assured one of his congregations that he heard this news directly from Jesus himself, in a heavenly vision: 

 

“For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin, for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12)

The Case for Jesus as a Real Historical Person Continues to Erode

“But I feel Jesus in my heart” is evidence for what you’re feeling

In my most recent articles here I explained why we no longer need to pay much attention to the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments. Most devout churchgoers seem unaware of the many problems presented by these Bible texts. But there’s an even more gigantic problem that is outside the horizon of awareness of those who persist in their devotion to Jesus. There has been turmoil in Jesus-studies for quite some time now, because historians are having a tough time locating reliable, verifiable, objective evidence that Jesus really did exist. The laity would not be able to grasp the problem, because—well, because… “Aren’t the gospels all the proof we need?” 

 

There is little awareness of the major problems presented by the gospels. How thoroughly do devout folks actually study the gospels? The clergy, from their pulpits, share Jesus-script that gives a boost to his reputation, but are careful not to mention the chilling, horrible Jesus-script that is also in the gospels. Real study of the gospels means reading them each carefully, pondering the many troubling aspects of them, comparing these four different versions of Jesus. The next level of study would be reading books written by scholars about the gospels—both devout and secular scholars. Here the laity would be entering that world of turmoil in Jesus-studies I mentioned above.

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay No. 6

Bad theology in the Old Testament

Not too long ago I saw a video: a conservative woman being interviewed by a man who wanted to know her opinion about what should be taught in public schools. She was adamant that the Bible should be included in the curriculum, but that books that advocated immoral or radical ideas must be banned. The man mentioned that he knew of a book that described a sordid family story: a man had two daughters who got him drunk on two successive nights, took turns having sex with him—and got pregnant. The woman didn’t hesitate: of course that book should be banned. The fellow then pointed out that this story is in the Bible, Genesis 19:30-38, about Lot and his daughters. The woman was shocked…that the interviewer could tell such a lie.

Hey, Devout Folks: Facing Reality Would Be a Smart Move!

No god has “the whole world” in its hands

It was reported that on the Sunday following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, church attendance in the New York area was higher than usual. Perhaps people were searching for comfort, but my own fantasy was that these folks who showed up at church were there searching for a crucial answer—or to hold god accountable: why hadn’t their all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful deity done something to prevent the attacks? Was his attention captured by crises in other galaxies—or was diverting airplanes beyond his skill-set?