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Godless

How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists

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About this listen

From the introduction by Dan Barker: Millions of good people live moral, happy, loving, meaningful lives without believing in a god.

Oprah said it was 17 years, but it was actually 19 years between my first sermon at the age of 15 and my last sermon at the age of 34. Part 1 of Godless, "Rejecting God", tells the story of how I moved from devout preacher to atheist and beyond. Part 2, "Why I Am an Atheist", presents my philosophical reasons for unbelief. Part 3, "What's Wrong with Christianity", critiques the bible (its reliability as well as its morality) and the historical evidence for Jesus. Part 4, "Life Is Good!", comes back to my personal story, taking a case to the United States Supreme Court, dealing with personal trauma, and experiencing the excitement of Adventures in Atheism.

©2008 Dan Barker and Richard Dawkins (P)2015 Pitchstone Publishing Atheism Spirituality Morality Humanism Agnostic

Critic reviews

"Valuable in the human story are the reflections of intelligent and ethical people who listen to the voice of reason and who allow it to vanquish bigotry and superstition. This book is a classic example." (Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great)
"The most eloquent witness of internal delusion that I know - a triumphantly smiling refugee from the zany, surreal world of American fundamentalist Protestantism - is Dan Barker." (Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion)
" Godless was a revelation to me. I don't think anyone can match the (devastating!) clarity, intensity, and honesty which Dan Barker brings to the journey - faith to reason, childhood to growing up, fantasy to reality, intoxication to sobriety." (Oliver Sacks, author of Musicophilia)
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It's a fascinating tale of a died in the wool biblical preacher who starts to look at his own reasons for belief and eventually concludes that his reasoning was flawed. He delivers a humble story of self discovery and tells it well, followed by a lengthy dissection of his conclusions. If more people thought like Dan Barker the world would be a much better place.

Interesting and well delivered.

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Being a non-believer, I worried when I read that this author is a former minister; Well, as is so often the case, I regret wasting my time worrying...will I ever learn?

This book is fantastic!

Put your worries down

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As someone who is a lifelong atheist, 'godless' provides a valuable insight into what goes on in the mind of a evangelical preacher, on his journey out of religion and towards reason.

PS: some of Dan's narration can be a little 'wet' at times, there's some slightly irritating crackling noises that the mic picks up. I think it's always better when a biography is read by the narrator, when possible. So I could overlook the slightly annoying noises. Most people will not care too much about it, but those who're easily irritated by certain sounds might find it hard to listen to.

As a lifelong atheist..

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the personal story of his conversion to atheism and then a comprehensive dissection.of the absurdity of the christian texts.

a fascinating story and well argued.

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The author his his journey through religion, how he became a preacher, developed doubts, and the consequences. Later he discusses various arguments for and against believing in a god, as well as other topics such as morality.

The autobiographical section is an insightful and rare offering from books in this category, and is especially touching read by the author himself. The later arguments are presented with clarity and wit, and the book feels very complete while remaining interesting throughout.

Best in its category

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