Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot

by Seth Andrews

Seth Andrews wasn't an idiot during his thirty years as an evangelical Christian. He wasn't unintelligent, nor did his IQ shift when he ultimately left religion entirely. He considered himself thoughtful, moral, reasonable, and at least as smart as the average person. In other words, he wasn't an idiot. Yet strangely, he often sounded like one. In any other context, Christians would likely smirk, scoff, or recoil at many of their "normal" beliefs and practices: reenacted Easter crucifixions, eating monthly communion "flesh," singing hymns about being washed in blood, and the embrace of a Bible containing scripture verses about golden hemorrhoids, apocalypse dragons, and human sacrifice, So what gives? Are these notions embraced only because they're familiar? Do they make any sense? And do they cause otherwise reasonable people to sound like idiots? Seth Andrews admits that, for himself, the answer was a definite yes. For everyone else? Read the book and decide.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Atheism, Humor, Philosophy, Skepticism, Spirituality

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2022

About the author

Seth Andrews is an American author and speaker on the subject of atheism.

He is the creator and host of The Thinking Atheist, and the author of the self-published books Deconverted and Sacred Cows. Prior to his atheist activism, he was a fundamentalist Christian and had a ten-year career as a Christian radio host.

Reviews

[Rod Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fellow former and resigned Christian/Mormon

This is a fantastic book that gives me quotes, phrases and whole chapters that Seth has curated and perfected have voice to my understanding.

I have only recently, 4 years left the mythology of Christianity, more especially, the extreme version, Mormonism, I am only now trying to reconstruct a worldview and paradigm that I used to define myself and the catalyst to move through my “human experience.”

So now at 56, this extremely hard task requires weekly therapy and constant pain if loss and discomfort if knowing how much of my (never to be had again life) was confined to the framework of old white leaders, fearful of the fact they are no longer relevant as they were and that battle is objectively a losing team. Yet, their closed system keeps even the best blinded to amount of harm and suffering they are cause individuals, family’s and groups who believe, and desperately try they best to confirm to their ideology but fail, because sameness is a foreign objective reality for homo sapient!

A quick and just read for anyone who has left religion or starting to seek beyond their own understanding into a world that is more beautiful, magical and fascinating then ever could be imagined.

It brings to mind the lyrics penned by Stephen Schwartz, sung by Broadway living legend, Judy Kuhn as the character of, “Pocahontas…” it’s so amazing to me how Children’s fables and films teach so many moral truths that as adults we shun, devalue and/or forget!

“You think that I’m an ignorant savage
You’ve been so many places I guess it must be so…
but still I cannot see, how the savage one is me…
How can there be so much that you don’t, know that you don’t know?”

[Book Shark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot Highlights by Seth Andrews

“Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot” examines Christianity’s nonsensical behaviors in the United States. The book makes many arguments that a belief in any gods is unnecessary. Seth Andrews a former Christian of 30 years and now atheist takes a look at his past nonsensical behavior driven by Christianity. This 207-page book is broken out into fifteen brief chapters.

Positives:
1. A well-written, witty and entertaining book. Its conversational tone makes it very easy to follow.
2. A somewhat light-hearted yet interesting look at how Christianity drove an otherwise intelligent person to nonsensical behavior.
3. Establishes clearly what this book is all about, “This book is my attempt to reverse-engineer some of my own nonsensical behaviors and expand that lens to examine mainstream Christianity in the United States”.
4. Astute observations. “Do you ever wonder why verbal exchanges get so passionate and contentious when they involve firmly held religious or political beliefs? Those beliefs are linked to values, identity, and the self. Feeling targeted, the brain short-circuits, the fight-or-flight reflex kicks into overdrive, and we treat an ideological threat just as we would a physical threat.”
5. Explains the paranoia that exists among the so-called divinely protected. “A persecution narrative fuels a shoot-the-messenger scenario that ostensibly insulates Christianity against its critics.”
6. Interesting research results. “In fact, research reveals that religious kids are “less able to distinguish between fantasy and reality compared with their secular counterparts.””
7. Find out the most troubling thing about Christianity’s “love” message.
8. Describes creepy practices. “The Catholic Church sets the gold standard for communion, where the practice is better known as the Eucharist (based on the Greek which translates as “thanksgiving”). Not content to consume Jesus merely symbolically, Catholics believe in the divine miracle of transubstantiation, which means that a “substantial conversion” occurs when juice and bread turn into the actual blood and flesh of Christ.”
9. Deep thoughts that resonate. “We should never become slaves to tradition. Tradition should serve us, and not the other way around.”
10. So where does the Bible come from? “The implications are astounding: the planet’s largest religion can’t source the foundational book of the foundational book of Christianity. In fact, authorship remains a mystery for all sixty-six Bible books.”
11. Apologetics. “Contrary to impression, the word apologetics doesn’t refer to an apology. The term is rooted in the old Greek word which translates as “speaking in defense.””
12. Describes the God of diminishing returns.
13. America’s obsession with obscenity. “Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in his 1964 obscenity ruling in the Jacobellis v. Ohio case, on how he defined obscenity: “I know it when I see it.””
14. The shaming of purity culture. “I am saying that the practice of purity culture is an oxymoron. It seeks to desexualize people even as it remains totally obsessed with sexuality. You simply cannot be free of something you obsess over.”
15. Christian anxieties described. “Christians may not actually believe the things they profess. Despite all of the lip service about divine protection, they are not relying on God to save them, and they certainly don’t behave like people eager to begin the next life.”
16. Church hypocrisy. “Still others laser-focus only on the actual act of praying. For them, the results aren’t as important as obediently groveling at the feet of the Almighty.”
17. Christian sayings. “Ultimately, as with so many expressions, it all comes down to intent, but the next time someone says, “I’ll pray for you,” notice how the sentence is used. Is it a kind expression of concern, a substitute for tangible help, or a slap in the face?”
18. Christianity’s tendency to cherry pick. “Interestingly, many Christians are keen on the ancient notions of karma, a spiritual principle of cause and effect. With karma, good intent and actions result in reciprocal goodness, and terrible intent and actions will visit future calamity upon you. It is a noble notion—and complete crap.”

Negatives:
1. Does not take advantage of the kindle’s linking ability.
2. Not an in-depth analysis of Christianity.
3. Too brief, I wanted more.

In summary, Seth Andrews is a delight to read, he uses a conversational style that is easy to follow. He tackles a very difficult topic in a light-hearted way that makes it inoffensive. That said, this is a very interesting look at how Christianity drives otherwise intelligent people to nonsensical behaviors. It’s not intended to be an in-depth analysis and the kindle version doesn’t take full advantage of the power to link to original source. I recommend it.

Further suggestions: “Deconverted: A Journey from Religion to Reason” and “Sacred Cows” by the same author, “God Bless America: Strange and Unusual Beliefs and Practices in the United States” by Karen Stollznow, “Atheist Camel” by Bart Centre, “The Dark Side of Christian History” by Helen Ellerbe, “Nailed” by David Fitzgerald, “The God Argument” by A.C. Grayling, “50 popular beliefs that people think are true” by Guy P. Harrison, “The Moral Landscape” by Sam Harris, “Freethinkers” by Susan Jacoby, “The Religion Virus” Craig A. James, and “Society Without God” by Phil Zuckerman.

[Jeff Koeppen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seth Andrews was brought up in a fundamentalist Christian family and was a Christian radio host for ten years, and then, at around 30 years old, he began to question his faith and eventually became an atheist. He now is one of the biggest personalities in American atheist circles and his podcast, The Thinking Atheist is one of the most downloaded atheist podcasts. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak and chatting with him at a Minnesota Atheist event in 2018. He is an excellent speaker and a gracious and intelligent person. Oh, and his voice is so smoooooth.

Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot is his fourth book. He makes it clear that this book is a criticism of Christianity and not Christians as he, like most of the rest of us atheists, have numerous friends and family members who are Christian or believers in other faiths. Seth's wife is a Christian. After a Forward by Gayle Jordan of Recovering From Religion and an Introduction by Seth the book takes off - there are fifteen rapid-fire chapters each one containing much light hearted humor and plenty of personal anecdotes as one would expect from a former fundamentalist. The material is very relatable for many of us former Christians. By applying logic and critical thinking to the core beliefs of any religion it will unravel before your eyes.

Some of the chapters (with quotes) I found particularly entertaining were:

The Ironies of Evolution Denial. "This whole messy affair ultimately brings us back to the ludicrousness of the claim that humans are the product of magic and wizardry, conjured as imperfect, allowed to fumble and fall in dangerous ignorance, and be both responsible for everything that is wrong with the world and the center of the universe's attention."

Paranoia and Panic from the Divinely Protected. "Fundamental Christianity expertly flips every challenge to its cultural dominance with Shakespearean acts of victimhood, sometimes actually convinced hat the favored majority is the underdog. (As the saying goes, when you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.)"

Prayer, Priorities, and the God of Diminishing Returns. "Years ago, I might have joined the scavenger hunt for divine markers in the cancer wards, the abusive homes, the terrorist aftermaths, the smoldering remains of deadly wildfire, and the endless list of human horrors past and present. Today, I find this kind of thinking nonsensical. It is illogical. It is idiotic. Any deity more interested in the Lost & Found Department than in genuinely critical needs is either incompetent, uninterested, or (most likely) nonexistent."

- and -

"Yet I have no doubt that Christians will continue to scan the horizons for random fortune and recognizable shapes: I-beams bent in to crosses, The shapes of heavenly faces in the clouds, good parking spaces, wet Bible pages in the rubble, chance encounters with forgotten people and long-lost objects, car crash escapes and rescues, and missing bicycles found in pawn shops, all while praising their God of diminishing returns."

When Christians Don't Know Their Bibles. "The implications are astounding: the planet's largest religion can't source the foundational book of Christianity". "Think about it. If there was no Adam or Eve, then there was no Original Sin, which means that humankind wasn't infected at birth with a sin nature that propelled them towards mass extinction in the Great Flood.......If we cannot source and verify the Book of Genesis, the dominoes of an entire religion fall."

Other chapters tackle subjects such as: the creepy Communion ritual, purity culture, the second coming, healing and medical hypocrisy, and cafeteria Christianity. In the final chapter, Seth points the finger back at his former self. He includes ten pages of end notes as well - a lot of work went in to this.

Former Christians will get a kick out of this. Fans of his podcast will recognize some of the stories. Anyone who has heard Seth speak knows he's a talented story teller. I'm glad he takes the time and effort to put his anecdotes on paper. He has been an inspiration to many of us who have been freed from the shackles of irrational and magical beliefs.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seth Andrews, podcaster behind The Thinking Atheist, has a way with words AND a way with saying those words that make it very easy and enjoyable to listen to those words.
Formerly, A Christian broadcaster, he now is one of the most recognizable voices in the atheist community.
As much as I prefer the heft of a book and reading the written word, I may have to listen to Seth Andrews narrating one of his books.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot (2022) by Seth Andrews

Seth's fourth book is about the communication style of the Christian community he left. What formerly sounded normal and reasonable to Seth when he was immersed in his formative community tends to sound rather odd to the outsider. Seth now takes the outsider's perspective toward his former speech habits, and concludes what the book title claims.

We know from psychometry that our adult IQs are about as stable as our adult heights, provided we haven't suffered any accidents, diseases, or age-related decline that reduce our intelligence. So it's likely Seth is correct when he says his intelligence level didn't change when he deconverted from Christianity to reason. But a human brain behaves quite differently as a function of what it feeds on. In Seth's previous book Deconverted: A Journey from Religion to Reason he details his religious upbringing; and then in Confessions of a Former Fox News Christian he describes his continued indoctrination by right-wing mouthpieces such as Rush Limbaugh. This book rounds out the story by going into more depth on the content of the doctrinal payload.

The term "idiot" might be a little over the top, since originally "idiot" was a clinical term to describe a person with profound mental disability, corresponding to an IQ of 25 or less and a mental age (at physical adulthood) of 3 years or less. That is, an "idiot" is an adult who performs like the average 3 year old and requires lifetime custodial care. Clearly that doesn't describe the vast majority of adults, of any faith or no faith, given that most adults are at least able to function independently.

There might be stronger parallels between the reasoning styles of the Christian and those of the delusional schizophrenic. See for example this quotation from the book Schizophrenia: A Very Short Introduction (2003):

One of the problems for people with schizophrenia is that their perceptions and beliefs are no longer appropriately constrained by the perceptions and beliefs of other people. Patients with bizarre beliefs are not irrational – they can justify their beliefs. There was a 56-year-old patient in Shenley who claimed to be six weeks old. Questioned by Eve Johnstone that this surely could not be right as she could walk and talk and do things for herself, she replied ‘I am very advanced’. The kinds of justification given are often quite skilful. For example, Alan Baddeley and his colleagues describe a patient who believes he is a Russian chess Grand Master.

But if you don’t speak Russian, isn’t that rather odd for a Russian chess player?

Yes, well, I don’t speak Russian, but I think it’s possible that I’ve been hypnotised to forget things like the fact that I can speak Russian.

This justification is very unlikely, but not logically impossible. What makes the TV series ''The X-Files'' such a successful example of the horror genre is that Mulder’s paranoid beliefs and the convoluted explanations he develops for them always turn out to be true. This madman sees the world as it is and we, the sane, are deluded.

Because the delusions of the schizophrenic are usually idiosyncratic (not shared by others), most people can recognize the delusions for what they are. And the delusions often hamper the schizophrenic's ability to function. This makes schizophrenia quite different than Christianity - odd Christian beliefs are widely shared, and generally stay compartmented away from real life (although not always - some varieties of Christianity reject medical care, leading to pointless death and suffering). Thus Christianity is usually not as debilitating as schizophrenia, which was of course necessary for Christianity to grow to great size and amass enormous wealth in the hands of its elite leaders.

But it's instructive to see the parallels between a schizophenic's justifications and Christian apologetics. In particular note the appeal to probability (possibiliter ergo probabiliter) used by the schizophrenic patients in the above quotation to justify their far-fetched claims. The evidence-free arguments of the Christian tend to have the same structure: "possibly, therefore probably." This differs from scientific thinking, whereby the scientist (or a whole scientific community) proposes hypotheses to explain observations, and then designs experiments or observations to test each hypothesis against the relevant evidence. (See: the scientific method.) The schizophrenic, and the Christian, think it's enough to propose one arbitrary hypothesis and elevate it immediately to the status of fact.

(Side note: given that appeal to probability is a fallacy, and fallacious reasoning is irrational, I disagree with the authors of the Schizophrenia book where they claim that "Patients with bizarre beliefs are not irrational." Offering plausible explanations can still be irrational when the patient refuses to consider alternative explanations, some of which are much more probable.)

Given these similarities in argument style, perhaps a more precise title for the book would be Christianity Made Me Talk Like a Schizophrenic - or, alternatively, we could use the portmanteau Christophrenic, just to keep clear that we aren't bringing in all the other features of schizophrenia including the poor life functioning.

My favorite chapter in Seth's book was Chapter Thirteen: Christianese – A Religion in Bumper Stickers. See this quotation. Although Seth doesn't use the word "deepity" in the book, much of "Christianese" looks like deepities to me, or perhaps deepity-adjacent. I asked Google Gemini about this:

While Seth Andrews doesn't explicitly use the term "deepity" in his book, the concept of using vague, seemingly profound language to mask a lack of substance is certainly relevant to the examples of "Christianese" he provides.

Deepities, as coined by Daniel Dennett, are statements that appear to be profound but upon closer examination, are often trivial or meaningless. They rely on ambiguity and double meaning to create an illusion of depth. Many of the phrases Andrews highlights in his book, such as "God just laid it on my heart" or "The Bible helps us 'do life' together," can be seen as examples of deepities. They sound meaningful and insightful, but they often lack specific content or clear implications.

While the term "deepity" itself might not be directly applicable to every instance of Christianese, the underlying concept of using vague language to mask a lack of substance is certainly relevant.

***

I did notice one small error in the book; Seth refers to "Former minister Dr. John Loftus ...". While John W. Loftus holds three masters degrees and started a doctoral program, he did not finish his doctorate, and so is not a "Dr." (according to Wikipedia).

[pat mccrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrews an Eloquent " Idiot"

I found Andrews to be a thoughtful and entertaining writer. He points out the myriad flaws in Christian doctrine in often humorous fashion, without assailing the believer. I would describe this work as a kinder, gentler version of Dawkins and Hitchens.

[Jackson Theofore Keys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seth has written a snarky book about how Christians think and how that makes them say ridiculous things. As always, his book is not only interesting but funny. The stories he tells are just fun. Read it.

[Thordur · Rating 3 out of 5]

A former Christian expressing his view and experience towards Christianity. He does write the text well and I did understand his views but he doesn't go very deep into the soul of the Christian mind as I say because there are certain things that linger there, perhaps the dark hard battle against evil or just plainly the importance of tradition for the individual to give this world and life some meaning.

[David Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seth Andrews is among the best of the best of authors on this topic. I grew up in and was further sucked in to a "Christian mindset" which not only made me talk like an idiot, it gave substance to the feeling I got while still in my formative years, to be afraid to do as we were instructed by "God Fearing" Bible patriots, to go out and tell others about this magic potion that was supported and doled out in their "Good Book".
There are two words that hardly belong in the same sentence ... "God Fearing" ... yes, those words were blathered about coming out of the same mouths which tried to tell me how wonderful and dependable God was and is. That is all I needed to cause me to gather my knickers and get the hell outta there. Unfortunately I did not depart in haste, I just moseyed out of there and now regret every wasted second that I spent in "Christian Land". Just think for a few moments, what your reaction would be if you encountered a situation of having been introduced to the potential love of your life and yet as your love grew for that person, you were told by others to fear him or her as they know more about your potential and massive failure in life if you do not "fear" this otherwise wonderful person ... aaakkkkkk, just writing this bull-bleep makes the hair stand up all over my body.
The years I wasted now really annoy me. I was never told, by my God Fearing parents, that they loved me. WHAT?, you walk, literally across the street and into the church where you gather all this stupid talk, come home, make the perfect Sunday feast but never tell your kids that you love them!!! Nice going God, you ....... piece of junk. (choosing my words carefully here) (you know I want to go all in with more impactful verbiage) I cannot stand another minute in my few remaining years of stupid training and directional abuse and being caught up in all this stupidity. I have to leave it here as I feel like I could write my own book on the immense amount of "Stupid" I experienced in m lifetime of now 81 years.
If you are questioning your belief in god, read Seth's book, it will help you, I guarantee it!

[Kem White · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit it was the title that caught my eye. I've long thought that Christians are forced to say the most ridiculous things in support of their religion. But the book itself was only OK. Andrews is entertaining enough - and the illustrations are excellent - but he kind of skates by with some of his reasoning. I liked that he makes clear that he still respects the Christians he knows if not their ideas. His primary focus is what he terms fundamentalist Christianity not the broader Christian experience. Recommended with reservations.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author, Seth Andrews. He is a great narrator, and the book is thoroughly entertaining! I love that the author is from Oklahoma because I know that someone else feels my pain! Haha 😆

Christians are not idiots anymore than the rest of the population. However, much of what is taught, believed, and said sounds ridiculously idiotic! 😄 I was right there with him wondering how I could have believed the nonsense that I did. My favorite chapter is “A Religion in Bumper Stickers.” It’s about those sayings like, “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” Lol

This is definitely worth a read!

[Justin Healy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read for skeptics

As a person also raised in a protestant family who decided to leave the church, I was reading this as a one who already shares Seth’s views. While I agree that Seth Andrews does a decent job of not simply insulting Christians, I felt like the book is still geared more towards skeptics, people that used to be Christians, or people who are already on the cusp of leaving the religion.

That being said, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others who already associate as skeptics.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can so relate. Recommended for those who have escaped or those genuinely interested.

[Amy Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently discovered Seth Andrews when I came across his podcast, The Thinking Atheist. I adore him. I know many of you may be looking at this title and finding some serious offense. In fact, he opens this book with a note about how he struggled with what to title the book. He was nervous. In fact, it's important to note that he knows he was not an idiot at the time and that Christians of today are not necessarily idiots. It's just that the things that come out of a person's mouth because of religious dogma can be utterly ridiculous. This book is truly an intelligent and concise examination of much of the damaging language in the Bible and the dangers of a societal preoccupation with faith-based control. It's a vital dose of reality and a call to place reason back into the human brain in larger numbers than it currently is. If you're interested in hearing this from Andrews' own mouth, you can watch a more condensed version of this book from his speech at the June 2017 Imagine 7 conference at Seth Andrews: Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot on The Thinking Atheist Youtube Channel.

[Charles Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Question all the premises upon which we have built lives, community, and relationships.”

Skepticism and reason are not taught in Indiana public schools. Frankly, I suspect it is illegal to teach skepticism, and reason in Indiana public schools, definitely in Florida.
One suspects the author views Christianity and, probably all other religions, as goofy gobbledygook. He is certainly not going to be a bestseller at a Christian bookstore… or invited to speak on the Christian Broadcasting Network, saying stuff like the authorship of biblical mythology cannot be determined.
Thus, original sin is unproven, according to Andrews.
He continues that not only do Christians not know what is contained in their holy book, but they do not want to know. The author points out apologists often use the bible to prove the bible, proving nothing really, I know. I have seen that argument constantly in the funny papers.
If the Ten Commandments are accurately interpreted, there is a high percentage of law breakage among Christians.
The author escaped from his own Christianity and appeared to hope that you will also.

[Marilyn Letts · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
An interesting, provocative response to especially current, evangelical Christianity.
Some quotes I liked:
p. 80
“When they [apologists] finally decide that the Bible is too bizarre to accept at face value, they dance this little dance: The plausible verses are literal. The supernatural verses are either miracles or metaphor. The weird verses are mysterious ways. The horrifying verses are outdated, out of context, mistranslated, or irrelevant.”

p. 84
“As friend and former pastor Bob Intersoll posted on twitter, ‘A theology degree is the highest achievement in knowing about one subgenre of fiction.’”

p. 189
“I have often said that people deserve respect in the general sense but that ideas must earn respect, and I stand by that assertion.”

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only recently discovered Seth Andrews' work and really enjoyed the 2017 talk on which this book was based. Unfortunately this book doesn't offer much more than the original talk and takes a lot longer to read. Most of this book will be familiar to any atheist or anyone familiar with atheist commentary on fundamentalist Christianity. This isn't a bad thing, necessarily; but it fails to deliver the same punch of humor the talk did (though it is humorous).

Seth is a good and entertaining speaker and I enjoy listening to him; but this book doesn't capture much of that verve.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this, and I never noticed before but Seth’s voice kind of reminds me of Phil Hartman.

I loved this book, the only reason I didn’t go for 5 stars was because there were points I felt were a bit repetitive. But I love his sense of humor, and I enjoyed listening to his perspective.

I don’t have the same experience Seth did as I grew up without religion. It was fascinating having some of the language I’d heard before decoded though!

[Jessica Hargrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute gem of a book. Seth does such a wonderful job presenting thoughtful questions and criticisms of christianity without attacking or tearing down christians. His transparency with his own experience as a former believer along with the compassion with which he views his younger self is so incredibly inspiring especially for the newly deconverted.

[Patrick J. Kugel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

I enjoyed the book; as a former Catholic I can relate. I also appreciate the reminder at the end on how Catholics are ordinary people too - a good reminder that we are all humans first. I need that since my experiences were bad, quite bad, and I tend to be very harsh. Entertaining and thought provoking as always Me. Andrews.

[Anne Jisca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me smile and giggle. It’s amazing how much of what seemed so normal (as an evangelical), but stepping away for two years make you realize how ridiculous it sounds, or plain weird and creepy. There’s a lot of disconnect in the beliefs held: which Bible rules are upheld, and which ones are explained away as no longer relevant. This is a fun listen, with some really good points.

[Jorge Alfonso Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflexivo, divertido y revelador

Los libros escritos por ex cristianos comprometidos y fanáticos son, en su mayoría (me quedan algunos pendientes de lectura) muy interesantes. Este es sin duda uno de ellos. Me he divertido mucho con las anécdotas que relata Seth aquí; me recordó al mejor libro jamás escrito desde esta perspectiva: el de San Barker, Perdiendo la de en la fe.

[Eric Abel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very interesting and amusing read. Glad someone is saying what was on my mind. Actual rating is 4.75 stars. The missing .25 is just because I didn't expect it to go deeper than it is. Loved it, though

[Katie Fae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was like staring at myself fifteen years ago. Seth and I had functionally identical upbringings, though I got out of the cult of religion a good bit faster than he did. Seth is doing good work with his podcast and his books.

[MNBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, funny, personal reflection on Christianity. Seth raises many great points about religion that many Christians have struggled with or blatantly ignored. Even if you’re Christian (Methodist here) it’s a really enjoyable read that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed this with all the insanity in the world at the moment. This was a good amiably told perspective into a former religious Christian.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a little one-note, but I really really like that particular note. I could have done without him publishing garbage fire comment sections though.

[Ayn Nys · Rating 4 out of 5]

He hits the main points--nothing really knew, but the greatest hits are here for doubters and deconstructors.

[Stacie Grahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy Seth Andrews writing style. This book didn’t disappoint!! Highly recommend to anyone who left Christianity and needs to laugh so you don’t scream!

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2