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God and Horrendous Suffering
“Loftus has again produced a brilliant gallery of informed experts, now addressing the problem of evil from every angle, and with such power and depth that it shall be required reading for anyone promoting or opposing evil as a disproof of God.”
—Dr. Richard Carrier, author of Jesus from Outer Space
and Sense and Goodness without God
“The most pressing challenge to belief in God today is undoubtedly the problem of pain. One only needs to read the provocative array of essays in this volume of leading atheists and other non-theists to see why this is such an ongoing problem for those of us who believe that God is real. Whatever one’s beliefs or worldview, and whether one agrees or disagrees, I commend all seekers of truth to read and reflect on this significant work that John Loftus has so skillfully edited.”
—Dr. Chad Meister, Professor of Philosophy at Bethel University and co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to the Problem of Evil
“Loftus’ previous book, The Case Against Miracles, is the final nail hammered into the coffin of magical, miraculous beliefs. This book on horrendous suffering should permanently inter that coffin, and with it morally absurd reasoning in defense of religious faith.”
—Dr. Peter Boghossian, author of A Manual for Creating Atheists,
and co-author of How to Have Impossible Conversations
About the Author
John W. Loftus earned MA, MDiv, and ThM degrees in philosophy of religion. He also studied in a PhD program at Marquette University. He is the author of Why I Became an Atheist, The Outsider Test for Faith, How to Defend the Christian Faith, Unapologetic, and the co-author of God or Godless (with Randal Rauser). He’s also the editor of The Christian Delusion, The End of Christianity, Christianity is Not Great, Christianity in the Light of Science, The Case against Miracles and co-editor of Varieites of Jesus Mythicism. He is the founder of the blog, Debunking Christianity (http://www.debunking-christianity.com/).
Chapter Bibliography
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Brafman, Ori, and Rom Brafman. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior. New York: Broadway Books, 2008.
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———. On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt. Sheffield Phoenix Press Ltd, 2014.
Chabris, Christopher and Daniel Simons. The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2009.
Craig, William Lane. In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2021.
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Everitt, Nicholas. The Non-existence of God. New York: Routledge, 2003.
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Hallinan, Joseph T. Why We Make Mistakes. New York: Broadway Books, 2009.
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Hitchens, Christopher. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. New York: Atlantic Books, 2008.
Hume, David. An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding.
Kelley, Brent. “Explaining the Par 3 Hole in Golf.” Liveabout Dotcom, July 25, 2018. liveabout.com/par-3-par-3-hole-1564229
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Lessing, Gotthold. Lessing’s Theological Writings. Stanford University Press, 1956.
Louth, Andrew, et al., Five Views on the Extent of the Atonement. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019.
Loftus, John. “Christian Apologist Vincent J. Torley Now Argues Michael Alter’s Bombshell Book Demolishes Christian Apologists’ Case for the Resurrection.” Debunking Christianity (blog), September 26, 2018. https://tinyurl.com/54uhbt7w
———. “The Demon, Matrix, Material World, and Dream Possibilities.” At Internet Infidels: https://infidels.org/kiosk/article/the-demon-matrix-material-world-and-dream-possibilities/
———. “Does the Scale of the Universe Undercut the Belief in a Tribal Deity?” Debunking Christianity (blog), February 12, 2014. https://tinyurl.com/2p9889n6
———. “Doubting Thomas Tells Us All We Need to Know About Christianity.” Debunking Christianity (blog), April 19, 2021. https://tinyurl.com/4xscrehc
———. “The Gateway to Doubting the Gospel Narratives Is the Virgin Birth Myth.” Debunking Christianity (blog), June 16, 2020. https://tinyurl.com/ym542p92
———. “Pete Edwards of Durham University on the Scale of the Universe.” Debunking Christianity (blog), February 10, 2013. https://tinyurl.com/2v74wxn9
———. “Top Seven Ways Christianity is Debunked by the Sciences.” Debunking Christianity (blog), August 03, 2010. https://tinyurl.com/3y8aujrf
———. “What Would Convince Atheists to Become Christians? The Definitive Answers!” Debunking Christianity (blog), April 04, 2017. https://tinyurl.com/2s4jxz3p
———. “What’s Wrong with Using Bayes’ Theorem on Miracles?” At Internet Infidels, January 25, 2022. https://tinyurl.com/3vjuzbap
Madison, David. “What to Do About Your Dead-Again Jesus?” Debunking Christianity (blog), 8/23/2019. https://tinyurl.com/284rp2fr
Marcus, Gary. Kluge: The Haphazard Evolution of the Human Mind. New York: Mariner Books, 2008.
Mazur, Joseph. Fluke: The Math and Myth of Coincidence. Basic Books, 2016.
Mlodinow, Leonard. The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives. New York: Vintage, Reprint, 2009.
Nickell, Joe. The Science of Miracles: Investigating the Incredible. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2013.
Paulos, John Allen. Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences. Holt-McDougal, 2001.
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Pinnock, Clark, et al., The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God. Grand Rapids, MI: IVP Academic, 1994.
Randi, James. An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. St Martin’s Press, 1995.
Rosenthal, Jeffrey S. Knock on Wood: Luck, Chance, and the Meaning of Everything. HarperCollins Publishers, 2018.
Russell, Paul, & Anders Kraal. “Hume on Religion” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017). https://tinyurl.com/yjfvsfek
Schreiner, Thomas R., Gregory A. Boyd, Joel B. Green, and Bruce Reichenbach. The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006.
Shermer, Michael. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2002.
Slade, Darren. “Fun Facts: You Probably Worship the Sumerian God Enlil,” at The Global Center for Religious Research. tinyurl.com/3r5ywntm
Tavris, Carol, and Elliot Aronson. Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me). Orlando: A Harvest Book, 2007.