Before “letting go” of something, most intelligent people take the time to analyze whether it’s wise to do so, or not. Most people, from stock traders to baseball traders want to make sure that what they’re getting is better than what they’re giving up.
Evidently, actress Julia Sweeney isn’t most people.
Julia Sweeney, best known for her comedic stint on Saturday Night Live in the early 90s, grew up Catholic and even considered being a nun when she was a little girl. But that was when she had faith.
In her autobiographical monologue entitled Letting Go of God, the actress talks about her journey from belief to unbelief. Her message became a popular one and she traveled extensively, attempting to justify her decision to “let go” of God. Her globe-trotting eventually intersected with that of Robert M Price, atheistic author of The Reason Driven Life, and when his book was released in 2006, Sweeney penned the Foreword. Here are just a few lines from her writing:
If you followed the Bible’s own logic and reason, if you expected it to stand up to even a modicum of scrutiny, you were going to be bitterly disappointed. I began to think that even Jesus, if he existed, would have to agree that the Bible itself was a house built on sand. Ultimately, I had to discard my faith. I didn’t take the time to go over the Christian viewpoint again and decipher what made those religious ideas so compelling, so insidious, and so seductive. I didn’t have the scholarly background or the patience to look into each seemingly harmless evangelical belief and find out where it came from and why it deserves to be thoroughly trashed! But Bob Price has that background!
Every day, many people choose to give up their faith. Every day, many people choose to “let go of God.” Hopefully, those people come to that conclusion after careful, honest, and reflective study. Perhaps if Sweeney had chosen to “go over the Christian viewpoint again” or possessed “the patience to look into…evangelical belief” once more, she wouldn’t have so nonchalantly “let go” of Someone so important.
Resource’s Origin:
The Reason Driven Life by Robert M. Price. Prometheus, 2006, Page 8.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Atheism
Beliefs
Bible
Bible Study
Celebrities
Christianity
Decision-Making
Faith
Jesus
Reason
Research
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)