I’ve just finished John Loftus’ latest book titled The Outsider Test for Faith: How to Know Which Religion is True. The OTF is a concept that, while not developed by Loftus, has been more developed, more thoroughly vetted, and defended more effectively, than probably anyone else. According to Loftus, the OTF is defined as an “objective, unbiased, non-double-standard type of test” that contains three essential starting points. The first is the recognition that “[p]eople who are located in distinct geographical areas around the globe overwhelmingly adopt and justify a wide diversity of religious faiths due to their particular upbringing and shared cultural heritage.” The second is that “[f]rom conclusive psychological studies we have learned that people […] have a strong tendency toward believing what we prefer to believe and toward justifying those beliefs.” Three, because of these facts, it is crucial for all to adopt the perspective of an outsider when thinking about and analyzing our chosen beliefs. This, Loftus reasons, is the most effective way to circumvent the inherent biases and cultural conditioning that occurs in all people. It is, after all, exactly how religious believers already dismiss other religions. Loftus asks of his readers, why not apply those same standards to your own religion?
Having set out his explanation for the OTF he then spends the majority of the book defending the OTF from a myriad of objections from Christian apologists. This section of the book is Loftus at his best as he uses logic and science to deconstruct and debunk every objection that has so far been thrown at the OFT. He successfully demonstrates how David Marshall’s claim that Christianity has passed the OTF is horribly mistaken, along with the arguments of Christian theists such as Mark Hanna, Matthew Flannagan, and Victor Reppert, and shows the reader how these Christian apologists either purposefully misconstrue the test or are unable to grasp it.
In the second to last chapter John Loftus sets out to demonstrate how to utilize the OFT and gives a series of “outsider” objections to the Christian faith. Finally, he explains in much detail why faith, as a method, is horribly unreliable and should be rejected.
In my view, this is an excellent guide book for critically examining one’s religious beliefs and should be read my all believers of all faiths.
