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Christian No More: On Leaving Christianity, Debunking Christianity, and Embracing Atheism and Freethinking | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeffrey Mark
Publisher: Reasonable Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 283452
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 284
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0981631304
EAN: 9780981631301
ASIN: 0981631304
Publication Date: August 12, 2008
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Product Description
This book is a great resource for doubting Christians needing support, agnostics looking for clarification, and atheists looking for new and unique arguments. Author Jeffrey Mark dismantles Christianity, showing how it's founded on myths that have no basis in reality, and how it is built on a theology of threats and hell that aren't valid. Mark details his own journey, first as a devout Christian in a mainstream church, to finally finding happiness as he realized the Bible simply couldn't be real -- nor are the threats of eternal damnation. And Mark shows why it can't be real, taking the reader through a wonderful journey of science, history, myth, and even theology. Author Guy P Harrison calls this book, "an an intellectual broadside to the world's most popular religion." He adds, "One wonders how any honest and thinking Christian can confront the material contained in this remarkable book and not come away with a very different view of their religion."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 An Intelligent, but Easily Digestible Read September 13, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
While many of us suffering from a logical disposition find it tough to express intelligent, "higher-thought" concepts to the common reader, Mr. Mark manages well. He tackles one of the toughest areas of question in life in an easily digesible read by thoroughly covering the many problems with this particular organized religion.
While I could have done without the printable letter to the churches at the end of the book (though I suspect it's just a joke on the author's part), it's overall content is worth a read from Christians, non-Christians, and anyone questioning their faith. The book is targeted at the questioners, but the non-Christians will be provided with the arguments they need to prod missionaries off their doorstep. Meanwhile, the Christians will be given a better understanding of the latest and on-going arguments against their faith, that they might research for themselves and come up with an adequate defense.
And thus the great debate continues! Happy reading!
You're not alone September 11, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I was a Christian for the first thirty years of my life. I grew up in a born-again, non-denominational church. I was a singer in the worship band, I taught Sunday School, I led the youth group, I spoke in tongues, and I even had a Jesus fish on my car. But the older I got and the more I found out about the faith I was practicing, the more questions I had, and eventually the facts of the origin and history of Christianity proved to me that it was just a man-made belief system with no truth behind it. I was angry and bitter, and when I tried to talk about it with people I trusted, many of them were (and still are) convinced that I was just going through a stage, that I was "angry at God" and would eventually get over it. Nobody understood (or wanted to). I felt utterly alone.
I wish that there had been a book like Jeff's when I was going through that time in my life. It helps to know that you're not alone, that you're not the first to have questions or doubts. Knowing that there is life after Christianity, and that it can be joyful, purposeful, and fulfilling, is something that will be very helpful for those who are just beginning the journey away from Christianity. You may not be from the same Christian background as Jeff, or be questioning for the same reasons he did, but he understands where you're coming from and will help you over the hurdles that we have all faced when we start to break away.
Four years later, I am at peace with who I am. I'm raising my son to trust in reason rather than fear judgment. Life is wonderful, and I'm free to make my own choices. I've never been happier.
An outstanding book of skepticism, science and freethought September 11, 2008
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
Jeffrey Mark's engaging new book, Christian No More, is sure to make a lasting impact on every believer who reads it. This powerful work is an intellectual broadside to the world's most popular religion. One wonders how any honest and thinking Christian can confront the material contained in this remarkable book and not come away with a very different view of their religion.
Hard hitting but never bitter or mean, this book addresses a broad range of topics. So much ground is covered, in fact, that I recommend it for nonbelievers as well as believers. Every reader, regardless of perspective, is sure to learn and benefit.
Ultimately, the greatest value of Christian No More may be that it can serve as the perfect manual or guidebook for people who sense that they might enjoy vastly improved lives if only they could break free from the dogmatic belief imposed on them by family and society. Christian No More offers an escape route.
--Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God
 Emotions get in the way of logic September 9, 2008
11 out of 27 found this review helpful
In Jeffrey Mark's book, Christian No More, he tells his story of how he used to be a Christian, and how and why he turned away from his faith. He goes through the book and gives several arguments over the problems with his Christian faith. I made several notes as I read the book, but won't be able to address each thing here, since that could result in another book.
First thing though, I want to say I can truly feel for the author. He grew up in a legalistic and oppressive church. My church I grew up in wasn't too far behind this place. They would use fear and control tactics to keep people in line. This is a difficult environment to grow up in and it is part of what turned me away from my faith for a time as well. The author's past and my own aren't too terribly different it would seem. I went on a similar journey and discovered many of the things he did in this book. However, there is one thing we both had in common as we turned from our faith and I can see it in his book.
I do want to say that Jeff makes a lot of valid points. I will agree that too many Christians are content to sit in church on Sunday and do very little to improve the world in which they live. It was the first century Christians who opened the first hospitals and really helped the sick and the poor, because during that time, no one wanted to deal with the sick, poor and broken. They were outcasts. This is why Christianity grew so much during this time, despite intense persecution. Yet today, too many would rather focus on politics and legislating moral values than helping others or showing love to the unlovable. So I would agree here, this is an area in which we have failed. Yet some of us are trying to improve.
There is one thing I notice a lot in this book; Anger. Jeffrey is obviously quite angry at the church in his book. The bitterness just oozes from the pages as he writes. He has every reason to be angry with how he was treated. I had some horrible experiences in my church growing up, including the pastor and his wife later being arrested for embezzling money. Through that anger however, he makes many assumptions and errors. However, I later learned not to let the actions of others affect my faith in God or who I am in Jesus Christ.
He states that the Bible claims the earth is 6,000 years old. The Bible never makes that claim. It goes through the "days" in Genesis 1 and 2, but there is much debate over whether or not those were 7 literal days or if each day represented some length of time. Early Jewish culture at that time did not measure time in the same sense that we do. They measured things by seasons, by the harvests, etc. Many Christians believe in what is called Old Earth Creation, that the earth is in fact hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of years old. Others even believe in what is called theistic evolution. That is the idea that God did create the earth, but did so using evolutionary processes. When it comes right down to it, the focus of Genesis 1 and 2 is that God created the earth. The how's and why's are really not as important as many like to make it out to be. What matters is the who, and that who is God.
He also makes the assertion at one point that Satan runs hell and if he does, why didn't he make it fun. This is a simple misunderstanding of Christian theology. I've never heard any teaching that Satan will run hell. The Bible tells us that hell was created FOR Satan and his demons. Unfortunately there will be many people there with them. Satan will not be overseeing anyone's suffering. He will most likely be suffering more than anyone.
Jeff also goes through a list of ancient myths similar to Bible stories. I don't have the space to go into all of them here, but I will address a few things. For one, yes, there are ancient Babylonian texts and Sumerian and other stories. Yet, the Hebrew Pentateuch and historical writings are the largest, most detailed and comprehensive set of writings from that time period for that region. The other cultures, we have some snippets here and there. But for the Old Testament writings, we have a much larger collection. We also have numerous copies of these texts to compare them to. Not just one set of writings but hundreds of copies of the different books of the Bible preserved through the centuries. That is something to think about before disregarding it completely.
He also goes on about how "if God wrote the Bible." But once again, no one I know claims that God sat down and wrote out the Bible. He inspired men to write it and they wrote it in their own words. It is still inspired by God. As to why he didn't make it easier to understand? If he did so, we would all read it like some novel, then put it up on the shelf and forget about it. But as he made it, we have to dig into it, learn from it and study it. In doing so, we learn more about him. If he wrote it easier, we would not be having this conversation.
As far as the stories themselves, especially the parallels to Jesus, I've studied these things and what is interesting is, there is much debate I've seen over the dating of these stories, such as Mithras. Some historians and scholars do date them before Jesus' time. Others claim they were later, but Christian opposition tried to date them to before Jesus. Either way, here is my take. Those stories are God's way of revealing himself and his son to other cultures using language they would understand. One constant through the Bible is that God works within the culture of the time. I don't know why he does, but that is apparent. This would explain why God never conjured a helicopter out of thin air as the author suggests.
The author does make another assertion and that is that if Jesus were perfect and Jesus founded Christianity, then Christianity should be perfect. That however is a bit of a logical fallacy since nowhere in the Bible or Christianity does anyone make the claim that either they or the Christian Church are perfect. That is part of the beauty of our faith is that Jesus put his earthly Kingdom into the hands of lowly, imperfect people.
Jeff also makes a lot of generalizations of "Most Christians..." I'm not sure where he's getting his numbers. Many of the outrageous things he claims that "most Christians" do are actually some of the more extreme or fringe groups. Such as King James only as far as Bible translations. Most churches now use the NIV or NLT. I could make the same argument about "Most atheists." I know I've had MANY atheists come to my website or email me with rude, nasty and vile comments about me and my family. I know these folks probably do not make up the majority, just like some of the extreme Christians Jeff has encountered don't. They are simply the loudest so they seem like there are more of them.
He also says that he is not trying to offer anything and that letting go of his beliefs has brought him much more peace and happiness. Yet when you read at how angry he is in the book, one has to wonder just how happy he really is. If he is happy then that is great. But I know when I was an atheist and I got into arguments with Christians, I was often trying to convince myself more than the Christians. He concludes this book with a section on how you can walk away from your faith. He even includes a little form in which you can fill it out and give to your pastor letting them know of the choice you've made. This doesn't seem a lot different than many Christian books that include a "sinner's prayer" at the end telling you how you can be saved.
So in conclusion, the author does make many valid points and concerns. He is right; Christianity as we know it is broken in many areas. However, some of the points he makes gets lost in his emotions. He even says "F--k you" toward televangelists. While I understand the disdain for many televangelists, that kind of hostility sort of clouds the discussion. Jeff does a good job of researching and laying out his book and his research. However, this is by no means and objective breakdown of the problems of Christianity. His emotions take over in several places. When this happens, this book is more than likely going to have more appeal to his fellow atheists than to any Christians who are curious or questioning their faith. Unless of course, they are as angry as he is.
 Book Not Recommended September 6, 2008
4 out of 36 found this review helpful
I would not recommend the twenty one dollars that was spent to read some angry rantings by a Ex Christian. The only thing this book proved was that it was bias and argumentative.
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