Review: Christianity Is Not Great

When I heard John Loftus had published another book, I had no intention of reading it, let alone reviewing it. Christianity Is Not Great: How Faith Fails did not sound like a book that would touch on the truth of Christianity (my primary interest) and, based on the table of contents, most of the subjects would be better covered by other authors (i.e., actual experts in a given field).

However, the book found its way across my desk and my curiosity got the better of me. But, as of this writing, my interest in the book has waned. I’ve written reviews of the foreword and the first five chapters. I may as well publish them now since I don’t know if I will read and review the rest of the book.

• Foreword by Hector Avalos
• Introduction by John W. Loftus
• Chapter 1: Religious Violence and the Harms of Christianity by John W. Loftus
• Chapter 2: The Failure of the Church and the Triumph of Reason by Robert G. Ingersoll
• Chapter 3: The Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Christianity by Victor J. Stenger
• Chapter 4: Faith, Epistemology, and Answering Socrates’ Question by Translation by Peter Boghossian
• Chapter 5: Love Your Enemy, Kill Your Enemy: Crusades, Inquisitions, and Centuries of Christian Violence by David Eller
• Chapter 6: Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live: The Wicked Christian Witch Hunts by John W. Loftus
• Chapter 7: They Will Make Good Slaves and Christians: Christianity, Colonialism, and the Destruction of Indigenous People by David Eller
• Chapter 8: The Slave Is the Owner’s Property: Christianity and the Savagery of Slavery by John W. Loftus
• Chapter 9: Christianity and the Rise of American Democracy by Richard Carrier
• Chapter 10: The Dark Ages by Richard Carrier
• Chapter 11: The Christian Abuse of the Sanctity of Life by Ronald A. Lindsay
• Chapter 12: The Gender Binary and LGBTI People: Religious Myth and Medical Malpractice by Veronica Drantz
• Chapter 13: Christianity Can Be Hazardous to Your Health by Harriet Hall, MD
• Chapter 14: Christianity and the Environment by William R. Patterson
  • David Marshall
• Chapter 15: Doth God Take Care for Oxen?: Christianity’s Acrimony against Animals by John W. Loftus
  • Max Mills
• Chapter 16: The Christian Right and the Culture Wars by Ed Brayton
• Chapter 17: Woman, What Have I to Do with Thee?: Christianity’s War against Women by Annie Laurie Gaylor
  • David Marshall
• Chapter 18: Secular Sexuality: A Direct Challenge to Christianity by Darrel W. Ray
• Chapter 19: The Crazy-Making in Christianity: A Look at Real Psychological Harm by Marlene Winell and Valerie Tarico
• Chapter 20: Abusive Pastors and Churches by Nathan Phelps
• Chapter 21: “Tu Quoque, Atheism?” — Our Right to Judge by Jonathan MS Pearce
• Chapter 22: Only Humans Can Solve the Problems of the World by James A. Lindsay
• Chapter 23: Living without God by Russell Blackford