This work is featured at Dynamic Deism with the permission of the Author
Click here to write a review of this book, or write a question for the author
This new book is a case study in conversion--my conversion--from a rebellious teenager to Christian minister and Bible College instructor to an honest doubter. I am a doubter when it comes to traditional evangelical Christianity, and this book presents a very powerful case against it by a former defender of it. One thing you’ll notice is that I was a Christian apologist with several master’s degrees set for the express purpose of defending traditional Christianity from intellectual attacks. I was not afraid of any idea, because I was convinced that traditional Christianity was true and could withstand all attacks. Now I turn that same intellectual muscle into questioning the things I formerly defended.
If you want only one book to hand to your
friends that will dismantle traditionally Christianity, this is it. This book
deals with the key issues of that faith. In it I describe myself as a Deistic
Existentialist. See Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Page
Introduction 4
MY CHANGING YEARS
My Christian Conversion and Passionate Faith 7
Why I Changed My Mind: My Other Conversion 15
Excepts From Letters To Dr. Virgil Warren 27
A Letter to Dr. James D. Strauss 38
The Last Sermon I Ever Preached 44
THE STRUGGLES OF FAITH
Faith and Reason 49
Does God Exist? 59
The Problem of Unanswered Prayer 72
The Problem of Evil 77
THE CUMULATIVE CASE
The Lessons of Galileo, Science and Religion 81
Science and Genesis 1-2 90
Science and Genesis 2-3 97
Science and Biblical Miracles 102
Do Miracles Take Place? 106
Was Jesus Born of a Virgin in Bethlehem? 117
Was Jesus God Incarnate? 120
“The Passion of Christ”: Why Did Jesus Suffer? 123
Did Jesus Bodily Rise From the Dead? 128
The Devil Made Me Do It! 140
Hell? No! 143
Prophecy and Biblical Authority 146
The Cumulative Case Briefly Summarized 153
WHAT I BELIEVE TODAY
What I Believe Today. 156
A Deistic Existentialist’s Faith. 164
What About Reincarnation? 166
What If I’m Wrong? 171
A Response And Discussion with Pastor Tom Smith. 174
A Picture of John and Gwen Loftus 187
APPENDICES
Is Baptism Necessary For Salvation? 189
Is Baptism Necessary—One More Time. 194
The Flood, Geology, and The Age of the Earth 203
The Pharisees: Were They That Bad? 206
Luke and Gospel Criticism 209
The Dating of Matthew’s Gospel 212
Quotable Quotes From This Book 214
A Partial List of My Published Christian Writings 215
Some Axioms and Proverbs 216