For about two decades John W. Loftus was a devout evangelical Christian, an ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and an ardent apologist for Christianity. With three degrees--in philosophy, theology, and philosophy of religion--he was adept at using rational argumentation to defend the faith. But over the years, doubts about the credibility of key Christian tenets began to creep into his thinking. By the late 1990s he experienced a full-blown crisis of faith. In this honest appraisal of his journey from believer to atheist, the author carefully explains the experiences and the reasoning process that led him to reject religious belief. The original edition of this book was published in 2006 and reissued in 2008. Since that time, Loftus has received a good deal of critical feedback from Christians and skeptics alike. In this revised and expanded edition, the author addresses criticisms of the original, adds new argumentation and references, and refines his presentation. For every issue he succinctly summarizes the various points of view and provides references for further reading. In conclusion, he describes the implications of life without belief in God, some liberating, some sobering. This frank critique of Christian belief from a former insider will interest freethinkers as well as anyone with doubts about the claims of religion. ""A thoughtful and intellectually challenging work presenting arguments that every honest theist and Christian should face.”-Dr. Norman L. Geisler Christian apologist, author of The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics John W. Loftus (Angola, IN) earned MA and MDiv degrees in theology and philosophy from Lincoln Christian Seminary under the guidance of Dr. James D. Strauss. He then attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he studied under Dr. William Lane Craig and received a ThM degree in philosophy of religion. Before leaving the church, he had ministries in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, and he taught at several Christian colleges. He is also the editor of The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails and The End of Christianity . In addition, he has an online blog at http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com. why i became an ATHEIS By JOHN W. LOFTUS Prometheus Books Copyright © 2012 John W. Loftus All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-61614-577-4 Contents Foreword by Edward T. Babinski............................................7Introduction..............................................................111. My Christian Conversion and Deconversion...............................212. Faith, Reason, and My Approach to Christianity.........................393. The Outsider Test for Faith............................................644. Does God Exist?........................................................795. Does Morality Come from God?...........................................1036. The Lessons of Galileo, Science, and Religion..........................1277. The Poor Evidence of Historical Evidence...............................1468. The Question of Miracles...............................................1709. The Self-Authenticating Witness of the Holy Spirit.....................19010. The Problem of Unanswered Prayer......................................20011. The Problem of Suffering: My Specific Case............................21412. The Problem of Suffering: Objections Answered.........................23413. The Strange and Superstitious World of the Bible......................25514. Who Wrote the Bible?..................................................29515. Science and the Genesis Creation Accounts.............................32016. Adam, Eve, Cain, and the Noah Chronicles..............................33917. Prophecy and Biblical Authority.......................................34918. Was Jesus Born of a Virgin in Bethlehem?..............................37019. Was Jesus God Incarnate?..............................................38220. The Passion of the Christ: Why Did Jesus Suffer?......................39921. Did Jesus Bodily Rise from the Dead?..................................41022. The Devil Made Me Do It!..............................................44323. Hell? No!.............................................................44724. Why I Became an Atheist...............................................459Commitment Page...........................................................467Notes.....................................................................469Bibliography of Selected Works............................................525 Chapter One MY CHRISTIAN CONVERSION AND DECONVERSION In this first chapter I'll tell you my personal story of how I converted to and then deconverted away from the Christian faith. This chapter forms the backdrop for understanding me and why I wrote this book. After all, no one thinks in a vacuum. Who we are, and what we believe, depend to a large extent on the influences that have shaped u