A review by kn0tp0rk
God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction by Dan Barker
2.0
Each chapter in this book makes an assertion about God, and then backs it up with a list of quotes from the Bible. This book is useful for the quick locating of scripture to prove points, but for the most part, it is NOT an in-depth commentary.
I enjoyed this book. Barker's writing style isn't the best, but the book was still informative to me. I'm an ex-Christian atheist, and I knew there were passages and themes in the Bible that I found morally reprehensible, but UGGH, it's such a long and convoluted book, too. I really wasn't willing to read it all (but I've got the Skeptic's Annotated Bible on the way in the mail--so that'll change!). Barker's book basically did what I was too lazy to do on my own. One thing that sucks about this book (as well as with The God Delusion) is that with a title like this, I can't suggest it to the Christians in my life for an eye-opener. If it were called "A Literary Examination of God" or something of the like, I think there'd be an easier way to present this to those devout (and/or hard-headed) Christians.
I enjoyed this book. Barker's writing style isn't the best, but the book was still informative to me. I'm an ex-Christian atheist, and I knew there were passages and themes in the Bible that I found morally reprehensible, but UGGH, it's such a long and convoluted book, too. I really wasn't willing to read it all (but I've got the Skeptic's Annotated Bible on the way in the mail--so that'll change!). Barker's book basically did what I was too lazy to do on my own. One thing that sucks about this book (as well as with The God Delusion) is that with a title like this, I can't suggest it to the Christians in my life for an eye-opener. If it were called "A Literary Examination of God" or something of the like, I think there'd be an easier way to present this to those devout (and/or hard-headed) Christians.