The sun rises and sets, people busy themselves with the tasks of life, wars are fought, dreams are crushed, love is born … and yet another installment of my review of John Loftus, Why I Became an Atheist, is completed and presented to a waiting world. In this installment we take a look at chapter […]
Why I became an Atheist
God and Morality? “WIBA”: A Review (Part 14)
This is part 14 of my review of John Loftus’ Why I Became an Atheist. For part 13 click here. Loftus begins the chapter “Does Morality Come From God?” with the following assertion: “Christians claim their moral foundation is superior to others in that their faith provides the only sufficient standard for morality.” (103) To […]
Philosopher’s God? “WIBA”: A Review (Part 13)
In part 12 of my extraordinarily comprehensive review of Why I Became an Atheist I pointed out that John Loftus’s critique of the ontological argument (or family of arguments) was limited to a few critical comments on Anselm’s argument as well as a dismissive wave to Alvin Plantinga’s contemporary version. One reader, Blanked Slate, seems to […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 12)
Currently we’re in chapter 4, “Does God Exist?,” of our never-ending review of John Loftus’ book Why I Became an Atheist. Given that the topic of the book is a justification for adopting atheism rather than merely rejecting Christianity, one would have thought that Loftus would devote more than a mere 23 of its 500+ […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 11)
In this installment of my insufferably long review of John Loftus’ Why I Became an Atheist we turn to chapter four, “Does God Exist?” Loftus introduces the discussion with a reflection on the mystery of existence. He then states his intention to discuss three families of arguments for God’s existence: ontological arguments, cosmological arguments, and teleological […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 10)
In this installment of our never-ending review of John Loftus’ Why I Became an Atheist we’re going to consider chapter three which discusses Loftus’ signature argument, “The Outsider Test for Faith.” The core idea of Loftus’ argument is that given the many different religious belief systems, and given the formidable cultural formation that leads people […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: Debriefing Parts 1-9
I have now completed reviewing chapters 1-2 of Loftus’ Why I Became an Atheist with special attention to chapter 2. The review has moved much more slowly than I had anticipated. However, in my reading thus far I have identified misleading statements, fallacious arguments and flat errors on almost every page. That’s why I decided […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 9)
Here be the ninth installment of my interminably long review of John Loftus’ book Why I Became an Atheist. For part eight click here. In this chapter I finally round out my discussion of chapter 2 (See? I am making progress.) Loftus commits the fallacy of the single cause Beginning on page 58 John Loftus starts […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 8)
Here begins the eighth installment of my incredibly expanding review of John Loftus’ book Why I Became an Atheist. For part seven click here. In this section I’ve decided to return to some unfinished business on page 44. On this page Loftus endorses a classical foundationalist epistemology. And what is that, exactly? According to foundationalism, […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 7)
Welcome to the seventh installment of my ever-expanding review of John Loftus’ book Why I Became an Atheist. For part six click here. In this section we’re going to review pages 48-58 of chapter two. Pascal After discussing Plantinga, Loftus then turns to Pascal’s famous wager. Loftus’ introductory description of Pascal is peculiar. He writes […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 5)
This is the fifth installment of my meandering review of John Loftus’ book Why I Became an Atheist. For part four click here. In this section I’m going to move on through chapter 2 which, as I noted, is concerned with various topics relating to faith and reason. * * * Anybody who has read […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 3)
At this point I have read the first four chapters of Loftus’ book. I started off the book with a fair degree of enthusiasm: it looked like a formidable and engaging work and one that could provide a good primer for debate. Unfortunately, a closer look reveals significant problems that call into question Loftus’ ability […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 2)
John W. Loftus, Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, revised and expanded (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2012). In part 1 of this review I provided evidence that while Loftus stopped being a Christian, he remained a fundamentalist. But what kept him a fundamentalist? Interestingly, the book itself provides some tantalizing clues to explain […]
“Why I Became an Atheist”: A Review (Part 1)
John W. Loftus, Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, revised and expanded (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2012). On the first page of his introduction, Loftus insists, “Unlike some skeptics who think that Christianity has been debunked so many times before that it’s now time to ridicule it, I still treat it respectfully.” (11) […]
