The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails (book by John W. Loftus)

[Alex]

The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails
Editor: John W. Loftus
Publisher: Prometheus Books (April 27, 2010)
Paperback: 385 pages

In this anthology of recent criticisms aimed at the reasonableness of Christian belief, former evangelical minister and apologist John W. Loftus, author of the critically acclaimed Why I Became an Atheist, has assembled fifteen outstanding articles by leading skeptics, expanding on themes introduced in Loftus's first book.

Central is a defense of Loftus's "outsider's test of faith," arguing that believers should test their faith with the same skeptical standards they use to evaluate the other faiths they reject, as if they were outsiders. Experts in medicine, psychology, and anthropology join Loftus to show in four chapters why, when this test is applied to Christianity, it becomes very difficult to rationally defend.

Three chapters follow that demonstrate errors and superstitions throughout the Bible, making any claim of the Bible being God's word nearly impossible to sustain. Then two chapters expose the immorality of the biblical God, with an innovative argument from animal suffering, and a cogent reply to Christians who attempt to defend the depravity of the Bible's God. Three chapters then focus on why it is unreasonable to believe that Jesus is the risen son of God.  ...

"The contributors to this book have interesting, important, and controversial things to say to conservative Christians: It isn't true that modern society has Christian foundations; it isn't true that there is significant historical evidence for the Resurrection; it isn't true that scripture portrays a perfectly good God; it is untenable to suppose that the Bible is the Word of God; and there are many new challenges to the believability of Christianity in contemporary sciences: pyschology, sociology, cognitive science, archaeology, and the like. This book is a fitting successor to Loftus' book Why I Became an Atheist and merits a similarly broad readership."
-- Dr. Graham Oppy, associate dean of research and associate dean of graduate studies in the faculty of arts at Monash University, author of Arguing About Gods (2006), and co-editor (with Nick Trakakis) of The History of Western Philosophy of Religion 5 vols. (2009)

"John Loftus and his distinguished colleagues have certainly produced one of the best and arguably the best critique of the Christian faith the world has ever known. Using sociological, biblical, scientific, historical, philosophical, theological and ethical criticisms, this book completely destroys Christianity. All but the most fanatical believers who read it should be moved to have profound doubts."
--Dr. Michael Martin, professor of philosophy emeritus and author of The Case Against Christianity and Atheism: A Philosophical Justification

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1616141689

Book's website: http://sites.google.com/site/thechristiandelusion/
John W. Loftus' blog: Debunking Christianity 
http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com



Alex's comment:

This new book by John Loftus has been praised to be able to "completely destroy" Christianity.  Being a former evangelical minister and apologist, Loftus has concrete Christian knowledge and true insider perspective, and hence the power to debunk Christianity at the core.  Loftus probably has confronted with the painful choices between Truth and God, and has chosen Truth.  If you find that you are confronting with the choices between Truth and God, which side will you stand on?

這本勞夫特斯的新書被譽為能夠「徹底摧毀」基督宗教。作為一名前福音派牧師和護教家，作者擁有豐富的基督教知識及基督徒的內部視角，亦因此具備從核心批判基督宗教的能力。相信勞夫特斯曾經面臨真理和上帝之間的痛苦選擇，結果他選擇了真理。如果你相信自己正在面臨真理和上帝之間的選擇，你將如何抉擇？

[Alex]

The End of Christianity
John W. Loftus
Paperback: 435 pages
Publisher: Prometheus Books (July 26, 2011)

In this successor volume to his critically acclaimed first anthology, The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails, John Loftus—a former minister and now a leading atheist spokesperson—has assembled a stellar group of respected scholars to continue the critique of Christianity begun in the first volume. The contributors include Victor Stenger, Robert Price, Hector Avalos, Richard Carrier, Keith Parsons, David Eller, and others. Loftus is the author of Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity. Taken together, the Loftus trilogy poses formidable challenges to claims for the rationality of the Christian faith.

The first part considers the wildly improbable nature of basic Christian tenets; the lack of agreement among diverse Christian sects regarding the essential Christian message; and a counter argument to the popular Christian claim that it was incredible that the Christian faith arose if it wasn't true in the first place.

The second part analyzes the role of ancient Near Eastern myth in the creation of the Bible, revealing that the image of God depicted there is a projection of evolving human needs during the Iron Age beginning with polytheism.

In the third part, the contributors critique the Christian doctrines of the atonement, hell, and the resurrection.

The final part considers the incompatibility of religion and science, reviews claims for intelligent design and life after death, and advances the proposition that science can help discover morality.  ...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1616144130