Advance Praise for God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction "If you thought Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion was hard on religion, gird your loins for Dan Barker's book on God because he makes the New Atheists sound like diplomatic accommodationists in his unrelenting deconstruction of the Bible, a book he knows better than the Four Horsemen combined since he used to preach from it. You will never read the Good Book the same way again." -- Michael Shermer , publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American , and the author of The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Bend Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom "Dawkins and Barker have both written books encouraging readers to become atheists. Who knew all they had to do was direct everyone to the Bible?"-- Hemant Mehta , Editor of FriendlyAtheist.com "With a twinkle that belies the canard that atheists are 'strident' and 'militant,' Dan Barker cheerfully refutes the common claim that morality comes from the God of the bible."-- Steven Pinker , author of How the Mind Works and The Better Angels of Our Nature "After reading Barker's book, the absurdity and monstrosity of God is undeniable. Let us hope that Barker takes humanity a few steps further down the path of abandoning religion."-- Marshall Brain , author of How "God" Works "Dan Barker, a former preacher who knows the Bible far better than most Christians, has produced an excellent handbook for those who doubt the moral depravity of the biblical god.
"-- Dr. Hector Avalos , Professor of Religious Studies at Iowa State University and author of The Bad Jesus: The Ethics of New Testament Ethics (2015) "Barker's scholarly index will both stupefy and enlighten even the well-informed reader. And it proves beyond doubt that Dawkins' condemnation was right--there is no more repugnant character in all of fiction than the Judeo-Christian god."-- Hector Garcia , PsyD, author of Alpha God "Rich in reason, candescent in clarity--this is a must-read for any serious student of the Bible."-- Marian Wiggins , former senior editor, children's curriculum, Gospel Light Publications "Dan Barker accurately and masterfully shows us that the bible is the believer's worst enemy. I don't see how believers can read his book and fail to conclude that the God of the bible is a fictional character invented by ancient barbaric blood-thirsty men, as Dawkins wrote. If they continue believing despite the overwhelming biblical evidence that Barker presents, then their cognitive faculties are just not functioning properly." -- John W.
Loftus , editor, The Christian Delusion and Christianity is Not Great .