20 Reasons to Abandon Christianity

by Chaz Bufe

A mordant dissection of Christianity’s cruelty, arrogance, authoritarianism, dishonesty, misogyny, homophobia, and morbid sexual preoccupations.

24 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2016

Reviews

[Zoë Birss · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the final page, the author writes the following:

"Even if you discount half, two-thirds, or even three-quarters of these arguments, the conclusion is irresistible."

I must admit that when I picked up this book, I did not expect something quite so scathing, nor so well researched and cited. I do not expect that this book would change the mind of most of the faithful. However, the arguments given are strong, and ought to be addressed more clearly and loudly by the church.

I do not believe every argument in the book landed with equal force. Some were based more on history than present practice, which I did not find strong evidence for the abandonment of a religion today. Others were, as I expected to find, supported by very narrow and literalistic interpretations of the Bible. As usual of the most ardent anti-Christian literature, the interpretation of scripture is more fundamentalist than most fundamentalists.

That said, the writer's grasp of history is good. The criticisms and condemnations of the cultural and social results of Christianity are, at the very least, necessary to be brought up. Any skeptic ought to have these accusations addressed by a local community to their satisfaction before accepting the teaching of Jesus. Any Christian ought to be prepared to address these accusations if they are to respect any person with whom they wish to share their faith.

Much has been written on the positive impact of faith, of Christianity in particular, and of church. None of it is here, of course. So, there are counter arguments to everything presented here, and the ones I know are also compelling. Still, this is a fantastic compact resource for those who wish to find a good starting point.

I recommend it to any Christian (though it would be neither an easy nor fun read), anyone interested in Christianity, and anyone seeking a concise collection of some of the strongest arguments against the religion.

[YuJie · Rating 5 out of 5]

spectacular and was one pound at the gay bookstore

[Anne Lydolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quite good and comprehensive list of arguments, but does stray from logical arguments from time to time over to angry name-calling, which (while I get where that is coming from) is not really useful in a logical debate of religion. I also did not appreciate or agree with the implication that everyone has an urge to cheat in their relationships. I strongly disagree with that, especially since it's presented as an irrefutable fact about human nature.
However the broad strokes of this book is a worthy effort.

[Mariana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apesar de ser ateia, sinto que alguns dos argumentos apresentados eram repetitivos e não particularmente convicentes. Também senti que houve algumas insinuações problemáticas quanto a traição conjugal e bestialidade. Outros argumentos tinham mais que ver com o cristianismo do passado do que com o cristianismo atual, ou com um contexto muito americano com o qual era difícil identificar-me. Mas ecoa de forma muito verdadeira nos argumentos sobre homofobia, misoginia e repressão sexual.

[Michael Barros · Rating 1 out of 5]

I mean they weren’t 20 good reasons.

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

what the hell, sure

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good points just need more explanation sometimes, not just affirmative sentences