Customer Reviews

Out of God's Closet: This Priest Psychologist Chooses Friendly Atheism

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I read Dr. Uhl's account of his escape from religious superstition to his embracing of reality and science I couldn't help but think "there but for the grace of secular parents go I." Having never had to make that journey myself, I found his experience fascinating.

Indoctrinated into Catholicism as a child, the product of a devoutly religious family, his entry into the priesthood was pre-determined for him. Unquestioning as a child and young man, a by-product of his religious immersion, the author takes us on a journey that leads from complete acceptance, to challenging his own beliefs, through to rejection of fable and acceptance of reality.

Included in his personal story are observations on the negative aspects of religion; the collective guilt imposed by Christianity,the intolerance inherent with it's doctrine, the suppression of science and personal freedoms, the dangers of religious extremism of any flavor.

One cannot escape the feeling that Dr. Uhl's writing is a sort of penance for his priestly promulgating of the myth of supernaturalism by transmitting it to the credulous -- imposing it on others as it was imposed upon him. If that is his intent he acquits himself well. While it is a fascinating read for those of us who have never had devotion to myth thrust upon us, it is clearly intended as an out stretched hand to theists. It's an appeal to logic to those believers who hold doubts and may be torn between the self-realization and intellectual freedom of reason and modernity; or lifelong dependence on the delusion and self-limiting influence that is religion.

With a blend of humor, avuncular advise, and hard hitting reality, Out of God's Closet is an eye opening appeal to reason.

Let me first say that the author has written one book but published it under a number of different titles. Even the audio book is this book under a different title. I find this somewhat disingenuous. So beware that any book you buy under this author's name will likely be this book.

Aside from sticking in some unnecessary Latin, which few people will understand or care about and which sounds and reads pretentious, this is a well-written, very intelligent book by a former priest turned agnostic turned atheist. He takes us through each step of his evolution. This is not a scholarly treatise nor does it pretend to be. It is a book of reason. In other words, you're invited to use your own reason, logic, to overcome the useless fear and guilt that is caused by religion --- all religions.

We learn the sadness, sickness, of giving up the happiness of the one and only life we have for a great, grand, wonderful afterlife that will never be.

You'll enjoy this book and you'll learn a lot from it. If you're a rehabilitating believer in the superstitious, you'll find this little book a real help.

Highly recommended.

-- Susanna K. Hutcheson

One of the book's best features is its jokes. I told some of these at the bar after a Christopher Hitchens debate LOL. I especially liked a writer's open letter to Jerry Falwell, pointing out the literal following of Leviticus.
There seem to be a lot of clergy members who "convert" to atheism. Does it ever happen that atheists become religious? If not, that should tell us something.

I enjoyed reading Stephen Uhl's book. The humor throughout added moments of welcome relief from his serious topic. His metamorphosis from believing priest to secular atheist moved me. How difficult and sad it must have been for him to lose the friendship of so many of his colleagues in the church and to face a family whose expectations he disappointed!

As one who fell victim to the superstitious training of Presbyterian ministers during my childhood, enough so that the thought of rejecting God as a teenager gave me sharp pangs of guilt, akin to physical pain, I understand how difficult his "conversion" must have been. I would describe his book as a personal statement of creed and a plea to non-believers to consider atheism, rather than as an argument to convince them to shed their superstitions. While he presents an argument or two for non-belief in God, nothing in the book, other than his avowal that non-belief is a viable philosophical position to take, would be likely to convince a person to shed his or her religious beliefs.

As such, the book is extremely valuable--the community of non-believers must confidently express again and again their personal sense of fulfillment and contentment in living without God. The 80% and more of the American population that does hold religious beliefs must come to see that atheists don't have horns growing from their foreheads; they do good works; they're responsible and desirable citizens; and they stand for traditional American values of freedom, democracy, and self--reliance. His book does that. I felt happily that I got to know him through it. Having no evidence to the contrary, I suspect that many non-believers would feel the same: Steven Frederick Uhl seems like a decent man, and he's an atheist! That strong impression is the best argument the book makes for believers to consider philosophical arguments for atheism.

The problem that we rational empiricists have is that religion isn't founded on reason. If it were, the job of convincing believers to drop religion would be rather simple. But the unconscious motives that foster belief have mostly to do with preconscious emotions such as fear--fear of the unknown, of death, of authority--and with ignorance. Human beings have a deep need to be able to explain the world to themselves, to be reassured that events make sense; to have the security of knowing that their lives have a purpose larger than themselves, that they're not trapped in a meaningless struggle for existence that ends with their complete annihilation, with the loss of everything and everyone they love. Any proposal that life is only an accident of nature, that nothing we value has any meaning beyond ourselves, is abhorrent to them.

Let's face it. The picture of the world that nonbelievers present is, from a certain perspective, pretty grim. Ultimately what we say to our fellow human beings is, "This is it!" So when your loved ones die, they cease to exist utterly, forever. There's no hope of seeing them again; there's no future reward--for the dead to enjoy--for living a good life; there's only oblivion. But that doesn't mean that the world and the people who follow us won't benefit from our deeds and our memories.

If believers heed our clarion call to freedom from religion, they'll be left with...what? Their most cherished thought as they trudge through life is that there's glory awaiting; there's a golden kingdom where all will be truly equal, living in bliss, where the incessant struggle and pain of their lives will be healed. "No, you won't!" we tell them. Your lives here and now are all you'll ever have before the lights go out, with no hope else. It's a tough sell, but Stephen Uhl convinces us that facing life realistically and working as hard as one can to make the best of it, is not a hopeless undertaking. Living without fear of God frees us to make the most of what we have.

Do NOT buy this book if you already Bought Stephen Uhl's 'Imagine No Superstition'. This is that book renamed Gggggrrrrr. I purchased it and wasted my money when I found I had already read it 2 years ago under the other title. So for reviews see under 'Imagine No Superstition. Yes it is a good book, but I have been conned. You have even paired it with the other title!