“Why I Became An Atheist” (WBA) was revolutionary for me. I first read it in 2016 when I was 18 years old. I had been doubting my faith for awhile and came across a lot of different resources debating atheism vs theism. One day I was watching The David Pakman show and he interviewed John Loftus. I used to minister to youth groups in high school. So, seeing someone like Loftus who was once all in for Jesus, become an atheist intrigued me. Out of curiosity, I decided to purchase WBA.
It was the final nail in the coffin for my faith and has led to my ever growing interest in religion in politics than I’m engaged in to this day. I grew up in a Pentecostal Church. My faith in Jesus meant the world to me. I read the Bible cover to cover in High School, I prayed daily, and I wanted to help bring people to the Lord. I was a genuine believer at heart.
When I first read WBA, I was blown away by the level of knowledge that Loftus had on Christianity. I had never seen anything like it before. I enjoy the book so much that I’m reading it for a third time. I’ve also read and reviewed several other John Loftus books. I believe that this is his best work.
I have been helped by reading and trying to incorporate the commands and/or language used from other attempts to better the Ten Commandments, as suggested by Bertrand Russell, Christopher Hitchens, Valerie Tarico, David Madison (in his chapter for my anthology The Case Against Miracles), the Seven Satanic Precepts, and a few I wrote in my book How to Defend The Christian Faith: Advice from an Atheist.
By doing this I am suggesting God was ignorant, incompetent and inconsiderate when he gave us his ten big ones! Had he given my suggested commands instead, he would have saved untold numbers of lives, immensely decreased the amount of suffering in the world, and exponentially increased human knowledge, and with it produced a safer, healthier world to live in.
Criticisms and suggestions are appreciated.
Whenever someone is defending faith, or is arguing that faith and reason are compatible, they should be asked which of three common meanings of the term they are thinking of. If the exact meaning of the word isn't made clear, it is almost a given that their claims will deteriorate into a mess of equivocation.
When challenged to provide evidence for the existence of God, most theists reply that their belief is based on faith. This makes it clear that, in this context, “faith” means belief without evidence. This meaning of the word also applies to the claim that faith is needed when the evidence isn't conclusive. Or in other words, when the believer says that reason can only take one so far, and one must make the decision to believe.
I recorded a video
talk for two virtual conferences this past Labor Day weekend, for the International
eConference on Atheism, put on by the Global Center for Religious Research, and for the Dragon Con Skeptic Track. I'm very grateful for these two opportunities. That video will be released sometime soon. In what
follows is the text of my talk. Please share if you want others to discuss it with you. Enjoy the discussion!
Today I’m arguing,
along the same lines as Christopher Hitchens did, that “What can be asserted
without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.” [God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (New York,
Twelve. 2007), p.150.] Specifically I’m arguing that “Miracle Claims Asserted Without Relevant Objective Evidence Can Be
Dismissed. Period!”
I think all reasonable
people would agree. Without any relevant objective evidence miracle claims
shouldn’t be entertained, considered, believed, or even debunked. I intend to go
further to argue that as far as we can tell, all, or almost all miracle assertions, lack any relevant objective evidence, and as such, can be dismissed out of
hand, per Hitchens.
