40 years ago — Dan Barker: ‘I just lost faith in faith’

This column ran 40 years ago in the June/July 1984 issue of Freethought Today. It was Dan Barker’s first column for the newspaper, just months after he gave up religion.

By Dan Barker

Religion is a powerful thing. Few can resist its charms and few can truly break its embrace. It is the siren who entices the wandering traveler with songs of love and desire and, once successful, turns a mind to stone. It is a Venus fly trap. Its attraction is like that of drugs to an addict who wishes to be free and happy, but becomes trapped and miserable.

But the saddest part of the dependency is the fact that most participants are willing victims. They think they are happy. They believe religion has kept its promises and have no desire to search elsewhere. They are deeply in love with their faith and have been blinded by that love — blinded to the point of unquestioning sacrifice.

I know this is true because I was one of Christ’s disciples for over 17 years, and my subsequent self-excision was/is traumatically painful.

My dad was a professional musician during the 1940s. At one of his concerts, he met a female vocalist and, as things go, they went (lucky for me). They got married and, when I was a toddler, they both found true religion. Dad threw away his collection of original Glenn Miller recordings (ouch!), turned his back on his former “sinful” life and enrolled in seminary to become a minister. He didn’t finish because of the strong demands of raising three boys. But he lived his faith through his family and through lay ministry in local churches.

My folks’ spirituality was so strong that they often found it hard to find a church that met their needs. So, we church-hopped for many years. I can’t remember all the churches, but we were Baptists, Nazarenes, Assemblies of God, Pentecostals, fundamentalist, evangelical, “bible-believing” and charismatic.

For a number of years, we formed a family musical team and ministered in many Southern California churches. Dad played trombone and preached, Mom sang solos, I played piano, my brothers tooted various instruments and we all joined in singing those famous gospel harmonies. It was a neat experience for us kids. My childhood was filled with love, fun and purpose. I felt truly fortunate to have been born into “the truth,” and, at age 15, I committed myself to a lifetime of Christian ministry.

My commitment lasted 17 years. It gave me a feeling of purpose, destiny and fulfillment. I spent years trekking across Mexico doing missionary work — in small villages, jungles, deserts, large arenas, radio, TV, parks, prisons and street meetings. I spent years as a traveling evangelist crossing the United States, preaching and singing in churches, on street corners, house-to-house witnessing, TV, college campuses and wherever an audience could be found.

I was a “doer of the word and not a hearer only.” I went to a Christian college, majored in religion/philosophy, became ordained and served in a pastoral capacity in three California churches. I personally led many people to Jesus Christ, and encouraged many young people to consider full-time Christian service.

I served for a while as librarian for Kathryn Kuhlman’s L.A. choir, observing the “miracles” firsthand. I was even instrumental in a few healings myself.

For a number of years, I directed the “King’s Children,” a local Christian music group that performed quite extensively, including a brief term of hosting a local Christian TV show.

For 15 years, I worked with Manuel Bonilla, the leading Christian recording artist in the Spanish-speaking world. I am his main producer/arranger and working with him has given me the opportunity to learn the skills to produce many more Christian albums, including some of my own.

I have written over 100 Christian songs, which are either published or recorded by various artists, and two of my children’s musicals continue to be best-sellers around the world. (“Mary Had a Little Lamb,” a Christmas musical, and “His Fleece Was White as Snow,” for Easter. I think you can see the religious symbolism in the titles: Christ, the unspotted lamb of God who became the final sacrifice for sin. Both were published and distributed by Manna Music.)

I could go on listing my Christian accomplishments, but I am already beginning to bore myself. I think you get the picture that I was very serious about my faith, and that I am quite capable of analyzing religion from the inside out.

Last Friday evening, I directed a bible study in my own home. I opened it to all comers and announced that I would welcome all points of view with the purpose of critically examining the documents with skepticism rather than faith. The eight people who arrived (to my astonishment) were Christians who had been informed of my present atheistic stance and were curious about my intentions. My closest ally was my brother, a theistic agnostic. One fellow, a theologian, informed me that his purpose in coming was to convert me back to the faith. (He failed.)

It was a fun, lively evening and much information was exchanged, but I noticed something interesting. They were more concerned about me and my atheism than they were about the bible. The discussion kept coming around to an analysis of my conversion from the faith. They were intrigued that someone who had been so strongly religious could so radically “stray” and not be ashamed. They kept probing for some deep psychological cause, some hidden disappointment, secret bitterness, temptation or pride. They were like spiritual doctors trying to remove a tumor or blinding cataract.

One fellow suggested I had been blinded by Satan — the devil being so intimidated by my strong Christian witness that he needed to neutralize the enemy, get me out of commission. That was very flattering, but it misses the point.

The point here is that the merits of an argument do not depend on the character of the speaker. All arguments should be weighed for their own sake, based on their own evidence and logical consistencies.

Before the bible study even commenced, one fellow said, “Dan, tell us what caused you to lose your faith.” So, I told them.

I did not lose my faith. I gave it up purposely. The motivation that drove me into the ministry is the same that drove me out. I have always wanted to know. Even as a child, I fervently pursued truth. I was rarely content to accept things without examination, and my examinations were intense. I was a thirsty learner, a good student, and a good minister because of that drive. I always took things apart and put them back together again.

Since I was taught and believed Christianity was the answer, I dedicated myself to understanding all I possibly could. I devoured every book, every sermon and the bible. I prayed, fasted and obeyed biblical teaching. I decided that I would lean my whole weight upon the truth of scripture. This attitude, I am sure, gave the impression that I was a notch above, that I could be trusted as a Christian authority and leader. Christians, eager for substantiation, gladly allowed me to assume a place of leadership, and I took it as confirmation of my holy calling.

But, my mind did not go to sleep. In my thirst for knowledge, I did not limit myself to Christian authors, but curiously desired to understand the reasoning behind non-Christian thinking. I figured the only way to truly grasp a subject was to look at it from all sides. If I had limited myself to Christian books, I would probably still be a Christian today. I read philosophy, theology, science and psychology. I studied evolution and natural history. I read Bertrand Russell, Thomas Paine, Ayn Rand, John Dewey and others. At first, I laughed at these worldly thinkers, but I eventually started discovering some disturbing facts — facts that discredited Christianity. I tried to ignore these facts because they did not integrate with my religious worldview. 

For years, I went through an intense inner conflict. On the one hand, I was happy with the direction and fulfillment of my Christian life; on the other hand, I had intellectual doubts. Faith and reason began a war within me, and it kept escalating. I would cry out to God for answers, and none would come. Like the battered wife who clings to hope, I kept trusting that God would someday come through. He never did.

The only proposed answer was faith, and I gradually grew to dislike the smell of that word. I finally realized that faith is a cop-out, a defeat — an admission that the truths of religion are unknowable through evidence and reason. It is only undemonstrable assertions that require the suspension of reason, and weak ideas that require faith. I just lost faith in faith. Biblical contradictions became more and more discrepant, apologist arguments more and more absurd, and, when I finally discarded faith, things became more and more clear.

But don’t imagine that was an easy process. It was like tearing my whole frame of reality to pieces, ripping to shreds the fabric of meaning and hope, betraying the values of existence. It hurt. And it hurt bad. It was like spitting on my mother, or like throwing one of my children out a window. It was sacrilege. All of my bases for thinking and values had to be restructured. Add to that inner conflict the outer conflict of reputation and you have a destabilizing war. Did I really want to discard the respect I had so carefully built over many years with so many important people?

I can understand why people cling to their faith. Faith is comforting. It provides many “answers” to life’s riddles. My Christian life was quite positive and I really see no external/cultural reason why I should have rejected it. I continue to share many of the same Christian values I was taught (though, I would no longer call them “Christian,” —  they are my values); and many of my close friends are decent Christian individuals whom I love and respect. 

Christians feel deeply that their way of life is the best possible. They feel their attitude toward the rest of the world is one of love. That’s how I felt. I couldn’t understand why people would be critical of Christianity unless they were inwardly motivated by “worldly” Satanic influences. I pretended to love all individuals while hating the “sin” that was in them, like Christ supposedly did. (We were taught that Christ was the most loving example.) 

It was a mystery to me how anyone could be blind to the truths of the Gospel. After all, don’t we all want love, peace, happiness, hope and meaning in life? Christ was the only answer, I believed, and I figured all non-Christians must be driven by other things, like greed lust, evil pride, hate and jealousy. I took the media’s caricature of the world’s situation as evidence of that fact. For me to grow into one of those godless creatures was almost impossible, and I resisted all the way. (I have also discovered that ethics has nothing to do with religion, at least not in a positive correlation.)

There was no specific turning point for me. I one day just realized that I was no longer a Christian, and a few months later, I mustered the nerve to advertise that fact. That was in January, six months ago. Since then, I have been bombarded by all my caring friends and relatives. I appreciate their concern and I sincerely wish to keep a dialogue open.

As an example, while I was typing this article, I received a long-distance call from a former Christian friend who had heard about my “defection.” It is hard to handle calls like that. She was stunned, and I am certain she is at this very moment in prayer for me, or calling others to join in prayer. I love this person, I respect her and do not wish to cause any undue harm. She told me that she read an article I wrote to my local paper. I understand her concern and I sympathize with her because I know exactly what she is thinking.

I was a preacher for many years, and I guess it hasn’t all rubbed off. I would wish to influence others who may be struggling like I did — influence them to have the guts to think. To think deliberately and clearly. To take no fact without critical examination and to remain open to honest inquiry, wherever it leads. 

Dan Barker has been on FFRF’s staff since 1987 and co-president since 2004.