Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher To Atheist by Dan Barker This book is a substantial and timely addition to the freethought literature. It tells Dan Barker's story of 19 years as a fundamentalist preacher and his four-year transition to atheism. It does a lot more. It is quite common for freethinkers who are also intellectual snobs to put down religion as something fit only for dumb people. "Surely no intelligent person could be taken in by such hogwash!" This book puts a stop to such foolishness once and for all. Here is one fact that you won't find in the book: Dan Barker is a very bright guy, being a member of a number of high-IQ societies. He is also a very candid guy, and tells us what his thinking was when he was religious, and how long and hard it was to get loose of that mindset. Dan Barker and this book give us snobs a much-needed dose of humility. The book is mainly a collection of articles printed in Freethought Today, the monthly newspaper published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The first section is largely autobiographical, with stories of his ministry, the transition to atheism, and events following. The second section, "Finding Freethought", covers some topics in religion and theology, giving the rational approach. A section covers the notion of Biblical inerrancy; another goes after Christian doctrine; another supplies entertaining stories of his appearance on talk shows and other public forums; another goes into issues of church/state separation and religious liberty. Also included are the lyrics of some of his songs, most composed after he became an atheist. (He is an excellent musician, and his performances - music and freethought together - go straight to the heart. If he comes to your town, don't miss him!) An index allows the reader to use the book to pursue specific lines of argument in dialogue with believers; the name references in it are also quite useful. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., c1992, paperback, 392 pages