Why I Became An Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity

[salvorhardin]

(Cross-posted from R&T. I know a lot of people who read and post in this group never venture into R&T.)

Former evangelical minister turned atheist, and author of the new book Why I Became An Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, spoke here in Fort Wayne a couple of nights ago. The event was organized by Freethought Fort Wayne (of which I'm a member). I've written up some of my thoughts at my site and thought I'd share them here.

John Loftus, the former evangelical minister turned atheist, author of the soon to be released book Why I Became An Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity and founder of the group blog Debunking Christianity gave a lively talk Wednesday night at the Allen County Public Library. The event, which saw about 40 people in attendance, was organized by Freethought Fort Wayne.

Among other topics, Loftus talked about his previous faith in Christianity, and how he came to lose that faith. However, the meat of Loftus’s presentation was his insightful, and inciteful, criticism of Christian theology. Although Loftus was highly educated in theological studies, including earning two Masters degress, he never completed his Doctorate, acknowledging that he just wasn’t smart enough. Loftus said, “You have to be really smart to come up with this stuff,” meaning the sometimes strained logic employed in Christian apologetics.

To illustrate his point, Loftus quoted noted theologian James D. Strauss, under whom he studied, as being famous for saying, “You can’t get to God unless you start with God”. Loftus said that was the primary problem with the logic employed in apologetics — they start with the supposition that God exists and then try to work out how a world with God would work, rather than examining the world as it is.

Full post: http://neuralgourmet.com/2008/05/16/john-loftus-entertains-informs-and-incites-in-fort-wayne

Note: Loftus' own blog can be found here: http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com

[QueenOfCalifornia]

1. Interesting

Thanks for the links.