Bart Willruth, a former team member at DC (look him up), sent me an essay to publish below. Looks like he's read my book. Enjoy
This goes into the humor department, lol.
In a recent post I had written this sentence: "Joe, my goal is to change the minds of one person at a time, alone as they read my book." Then a Christian named Neal responded: "Man, your opinion of yourself is quite deluded. The idea that after Hume, Nietzsche, Comte, Marx, Engels, Popper, Russell, Sartre, Schopenhauer, Ayer, Chomski, and the list could be multiplied on and on now suddenly a second-rate atheologian like John Loftus has the arguments that will demolish Christianity once and for all is more than just hubris, it is outright self-deluded narcissism. Your estimation of your own abilities is quite exaggerated."
Does anyone know what a non-sequitur is? Neal's response is one.
You've got to admit that had someone written such a glowing review of your book you'd be popping your buttons too--to hell with humility, that's a Christian virtue ;-). See below:
So writes William Lobdell for the LA Times today, after telling us of Anne Rice's defection from her faith. He also reported on some other interesting facts about Christians:
Since human beings have evolved from the lower animals we would expect the lower animals to exhibit some of the traits we have developed more fully. There is plenty of evidence they can remember, have emotions, and feel compassion. They also know in limited ways that they are doing wrong. I see this in my cat every day. When we say no he throws a temper tantrum. Some dogs poop on the carpet when neglected to get our attention, if we're gone too long. This evidence bolsters the claim that morality evolved and it also presents theists with what I call "The Darwinian Problem of Evil." Why do they suffer so much if a perfectly good God exists?
[Written by John W. Loftus] After thinking about this topic may I present to you the top ten ways to avoid being criticized:
Starting with the most recent ones to later ones:
David Pakman Interviews Me:
How an Evangelical Christian Preacher Became an Atheist. March 25, 2016
I was interviewed by
the Legion of Reason which included Nathan Phelps, aired September 28, 2015.
In this September 2015 interview by the Humanist Hour we talk about my upcoming book,
How to Defend the Christian Faith: Advice from an Atheist.
LINK.
Does Christianity Pass the Outsider Test?, Part 1 with David Marshall, aired Jan. 24, 2015, for the Unbelievable? program. I wrote a response to this podcast where I
accused the host of not even trying to be fair.
Does Christianity Pass the Outsider Test?, Part 2 with David Marshall, aired Jan. 31, 2015, for the Unbelievable? program.
Bill Cunningham's interview aired in December 2014.
Fox News Radio with Alan Combs interview on November 2014.
The Filipino Freethinkers with Red Tani, on January 6, 2014.
NonTheology, about my
Outsider Test for Faith, first aired August 5th 2013. We had some fun.
Reasonable Doubts Podcast, where I talk about my two most recent books, aired on June 21, 2013.
Unbelieveable Podcast with Randal Rauser, aired June 15, 2013.
The Malcontent's Gambit Interview about my book "The Outsider Test for Faith" on May 7, 2013.
Minnesota Atheist Interview about my book "The Outsider Test for Faith" on April 21, 2013.
Christian Meets World Interview, aired July 29, 2012.
"Think Atheist" Interview About My Revised WIBA Book, aired April 8th, 2012.
With Barry Lynn of Culture Shocks, on 8/16/11.
With Irreligiosophy on 8/9/11.
Think Atheist Radio Show, which aired March 27, 2011.
Minnesota Atheists, which aired March 20, 2011.
A three part interview on the
Tuesday Afternoon podcast aired between January 27th and February 10th 2011.
Oklahoma Atheist podcast aired October 26, 2010.
American Freethought aired July 2, 2010.
My Interview on "Conversations From the Pale Blue Dot", aired April 28th 2010, about my book,
The Christian Delusion.
My Interview on the Freedom From Religion program, aired April 3rd, 2010.
My Interview on the Enlightenment Show, September 9th, 2009.
My Interview with Minnesota Atheists. Talk #0071, May 24, 2009.
The Things That Matter Most, March 1, 2009.
CFI's Point of Inquiry, January 30, 2009.
My Interview on the Freedom From Religion program, November 15, 2008.
The Infidel Guy Show, November 14th, 2008.
CFI of Indiana Freethought, September 28th, 2008.
Robert M. Price and I are interviewed together on
The Enlightenment Show of Freethought Ft. Wayne, August 17, 2008.
The Friendly Atheist, June 26, 2008.
By Infidelis Maximus, July 2, 2007.
This list was sent to me by Ed Babinski:
When John Loftus informed me that there is a “book length rebuttal” available on the net to The Christian Delusion I was expecting an intellectual challenge but instead what I found amounts to no more than relatively lightweight and easily dismissed assertions.
Killing children could sometimes be obligatory, according to Triablogue.
People believe and defend what they prefer to be true. This is an obvious and non-controversial fact. That's who we are as human beings. That's what we human beings do. That's what psychological studies have repeatedly shown us over and over.
I've been faulted for suggesting that the Outsider Test for Faith (OTF) has force primarily against religious faiths. I think this because of the nature of them, how they were first adopted, the evidence (or lack thereof) that can decide between them, and so forth. To see why, check out the video below by Richard Dawkins. The sciences are in an entirely different league than faith:
[Written by John W. Loftus] I've argued for the
Outsider Test for Faith (OTF) but most believers just don't get it. For people like that I've made a playlist of five short videos so they can see what they refuse to see because they're blinded by faith.
Triablogue’s amateurs have compiled a supposed refutation of The Christian Delusion. Some uninformed bloggers are already hailing it as a “massive” and definitive refutation. Yet, even the most superficial look at Triablogue’s efforts reveals yet another instance of amateurs who don’t know enough to know that they don’t know enough about the topics they discuss.
Being merciful to DC’s readers, I will not provide an exhaustive catalog of Triablogue’s factual errors, illogical arguments, or misreadings of my chapters. I will provide a few samples within these categories:
A. The Credentials Card
B. Ill-read Reviewers
C. Misrepresented arguments
D. Misunderstood Arguments
E. The Ridiculous and the Mundane
Christians will object to the following dilemma, no doubt. On the one hand, if they cannot explain how a miraculous event took place, outsiders will deny it happened at all. On the other hand, if they can explain how it might have occurred, then outsiders can say it’s no longer a miracle. All I can say here is that this is the unavoidable nature of the case when it comes to reported miracles in the pre-scientific superstitious historical past. Outsiders need sufficient evidence of miracles in today’s world to accept the Christian faith. Without this evidence the Christian apologist will always have a near impossible time defending his faith, and as such, I think he should simply abandon this attempt. Without present-day evidence or present day miracles, Christianity probably cannot be adequately defended at all. [First posted 8/12/07]
Atheist author David Mills argues in this 47 minute video that there are ten reasons why we are approaching a "Golden Age of Atheism."
recently argued there is nothing new with the New Atheism. Then (believe this or not) some people think my Outsider Test for Faith (OTF) is "Not quite new, but not old either…Just atheist." But I'm here to tell everyone that what may really distinguish a so-called New Atheist from an Old Atheist is the moral perspective found in Sam Harris's book The Moral Landscape
. The only reason evangelicals still exist is because most of them simply do not read. Those who do read don't read works like his. The few who do read works like his don't do so to learn anything. They already have their blinders on from a few years of indoctrination in an evangelical college of their choice. In my opinion when it comes to understanding biblical scholarship the phrase "educated evangelical" is an oxymoron.
Good luck Hendy.
, (pp. 209-210).
(pp. 6-7).
(p. 145).
. Just ask yourselves while watching it: 1) What did animals do to deserve their sufferings? (Hint: nothing); 2) What moral lessons are they supposed to learn from their sufferings? (Hint: none); 3) Will they all be rewarded in heaven for their sufferings? (Hint: What about parasites?); 4) Can a perfectly good God be reconciled with this amount of suffering? (Not a chance!).
(Eugene Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2007). To illustrate our point, we shall examine almost every sentence in a section titled, “Jesus Frees Slaves,” and found on pages 144 to 148 of that book.