Betty Brogaard - The Homemade Atheist: A Former Evangelical Womans Freethought Journey to Happiness

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Table of Contents

To my sister and dear friend Dianne, whose encouragement never faltered as I wrote this book.

Foreword

My first exposure to the superb writings of Betty Brogaard came one memorable day on Amazon.com when the online megastore show-cased, on its opening screen, Bettys first book, Dare to Think for Yourself . Because the theme of that bookatheismwas a subject near and dear to my heart, I clicked the link to see what all the excitement was about.

After reading a five-star review of Bettys newly published work, I saw, incredibly, that my own book on atheism was paired with Bettys in Amazons Better Together program, giving customers a small discount if they purchased both of our books as a bundle. Since Amazon currently offers over four million titles for sale, my bundling with Bettygosh, that sounds cozy!was indeed an amazing coincidence.

But my good luck wasnt yet over. Only a few days thereafter, I received a personal e-mail from Betty herself, who likewise had seen the pairing of our books on Amazon. We agreed to trade copies of our work via U.S. mail. Ill show you mine if you show me yours. Theres no doubt that I got the better end of the exchange.

What makes Bettys writing so absorbing and informativeand just plain fun to readis her extraordinary background. For a time, she was personal secretary to the famous television evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong. Armstrong, now deceased, was a dashing, quickwitted, slick-talking man of God, whose Bible-based theology Betty, at the time, swallowed hook, line, and sinker. So, as youre reading the book you now hold, you should enjoy a feeling of confidence that the author truly knows her subject from the inside looking out, as well as from the outside looking in.

To me, Bettys personal experiences and insight make the crucial difference between this title and other, less impressive volumes on atheism. Just as soldiers in combat tend to place more credibility and trust in a commander-in-chief who has himself served in the military, a reader seeking to understand and overcome his religious indoctrination will be emboldened by Bettys in the trenches, battle-hardened analysis of both sides in this theological war. Bettys weapons, however, are those of science, logic, diplomacy, and education.

Most books on atheism unfortunately transform an inherently fascinating debate into an unreadable and tedious grind. These highbrow books are a chore to read and were written essentially to further an academics career within the university system rather than to communicate anything meaningful or important to readers. The result is that few books on atheism today are actually addressed to a popular audience. Her book beautifully fulfills a deep need for such a popular volume. I took immense pleasure and gratification in reading the pages of this marvelous book. I could simply relax and enjoy myself, without needing a twenty-digit calculator or an unabridged dictionary of foreign phrases to make sense of what I was reading. Thank you, Betty!

Although I personally have been an atheist for over thirty years and consider myself well-informed on the subject, Betty has opened my eyes to a wealth of new information in the pages that follow. Despite the common misperception that atheists know nothing of scripture, Bettys in-depth understanding of the Bible is dazzling to me. For example, I learned that God supposedly gave Moses two conflicting sets of Ten Commandments. Did you know that the second set of commandments warns us not to boil a baby goat in its mothers milk? That was certainly news to mea commandment Ill strive to follow in my future goat boilings. If you are skeptical that such a silly rule is truly part of the biblical Ten Commandments, then you will be pleased that Betty provides detailed references and specific source citations throughout her well-researched text.

Much of what Betty says will be startling and difficult to accept by many religiously oriented readers. Thats fine. Skepticism is good. Betty has thoroughly documented every quotation and every factual assertion in this booka habit that other authors should emulate. Betty openly states that she doesnt want you to simply take her word for anything. She specifically rejects such a blind-faith philosophy or an appeal to authority, even toward her own writings. Such a self-effacing attitude is refreshing and rare these days and, to me, further enhances the books integrity.

My advice to you, the reader, would therefore be to check out Bettys statements. Put them to the test. Read the references she gives you. Look at every word Betty says under a cynical microscope. If you do this, then you will discover, as I did, that her facts are indeed facts and that her logical conclusions flow incontrovertibly from her firmly established premises. As President Reagan once said of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, we must trust but verify. Betty welcomes your close scrutiny, because she has meticulously prepared a highly reliable volume that you can both trust and verify.

My own writings on atheism have enjoyed good success and robust sales. Fifty years from now, however, my greatest claim to fame may not be my own publications, but my being granted the privilege of introducing Bettys newest book to youa book that is destined to become a freethought classic. There is much more I could say about this inspiring volume and its admirable author. But I hesitate for one critical reason: the author, as you will soon discover, speaks very well for herself.

David Mills

Author of Atheist Universe

Introduction

No god has ever spoken to menot orally, not in a vision, a trance, or a dream. For many years, I thought one did through the book that Christians call holy. I, however, now believe that the Holy Bible and all other autocratic books of scripture are human works. Contradictions, gross inaccuracies, absurdities, and failed prophecies in these volumes are among the reasons for my conclusion. They indicate that the Bible simply cannot be from any perfect spirit being. It is primarily fiction and myth. It is not messages from any supernatural entity to me personally or to anyone else.

I also now realize that predicaments, problems, and difficulties in my younger days were never solved by seeking guidance from God. In my opinion, the long hours of headache-producing fasts, agonizing prayer, and extensive Bible study were a waste of energy in trying to discover Gods will. Circumstances, experience, and sometimes just plain common sense are the means that most often show me, now an unbeliever, answers to lifes dilemmas. And without my knowing so, these were the same means that worked long before I laid aside my cloak of Christianityeven though I almost always gave the credit to God when lifes wrinkles smoothed out. Ive learned that the greatest healers and problem solvers are time, contemplation, and, perhaps in certain situations, counseling with wise people who have no religious axes to grind.

After I finally acknowledged the Bibles inaccuracies, its discrepancies, etc., I moved on to investigate this whole god thing. Now, I admit, honestly and bluntly, that at present I dont believe in any supernatural being. There simply is no proof one way or another. If even one exists, why doesnt he/she/it speak to everyone in the same way and with the same message? After all, 1 Timothy 2:4 states quite clearly that God our Saviorwants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

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