The Black Atheist in America

African Americans, Blacks, have long been associated with religious faith.Since the dawn of our time in America from 1619 to the present day. Do we see this.The Black Church has long been, and is still, seen as a bastian of hope in the Black Community.And for good reason: many of our Civil Rights champions came from the church.This fact, while brilliant and admirable,does not dismiss the evils associated with the church.Some of these evils include Jonestown, Waco, and 911. The appalling actions done "in the name of god" are highly capable of ruining lives on an epidemic scale.Not only can lives be lost but,lifestyles can be ruined as well. Entire fortunes have been squandered as well as childhood innosence all in the name of god.What is being done about this? Much of the ill-begotten deeds of religions squalid past are conveniently swept under the rug.From the pope to the small time country preacher, are the dirty deals kept hidden from the masses.Members are encouraged to "play along" and do everything the spiritual leader tells them to do.Members that seek answers are shunned by the spiritual leader and his/her brainwashed flock(maintaining that the will of god demands absolute trust and faith).This naturally sets the stage for confusion and betrayal.The pastor/preist is given a free pass to commit all kinds of bad things while the congregation looks on in confusion.And this same pastor/preist grants "special favors" to those who played along in a fitting and proper way in his eyes.All of this is done to achieve salvation and go to heaven when one dies.The time for change has come."The Black Atheist in America" by Jason Winn represents that change.Jason Winn, a former Christian himself, has seen the limited horizons and dirty deals done inside of the church.He struggled with faith for 34 years until he said,"enough is enough!" The Black Church is seen as a haven of hope to most in the Black Community but, this is only a half thuth.The other half of truth regarding the Black Church is lack luster at best.The Black Community is still #1 in crime, AIDS, and low education but, the Black Church is still going strong.This is due to the Black Church not taking a stand against the negative elements within its community.The time ,energy, and money used to build and support the church could be redirected to assist in supporting the community.Both the church and community are made up of people.And these people are needed to get things done."The Black Atheist in America" exposes this very basic truth along with many others.The reader will see the violent history of religion from The Crusades to the present day ethnic cleansings taking place in Africa.The reader will see the glaring hypocrisy running rampant in the church: faith healers and mega churches. The reader will also see how the church uses children(the most innocent among us)to fuel its turbo charged-high energy message to swell its membership.And finally,the reader shall see how a reason filled mind will triumph over a faith filled mind.A reason driven mind will be progressive in its function (forward moving). A religious driven mind will be retrogressive in its function(backwards moving). Jason Winn provides a simple example of this dynamic by explaining the passing of time.He states that, "Time is progessive and moves forward." He further states that this progression can be seen in technology throughout the ages: Stone to Bronze and Industry to Information.