There is escape from fundyism.

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Ex-minister walks atheist path

A retiree encourages USF students to look inward, not to the
heavens, for answers and says we should all be concerned about the
religious right.

By SHERYL KAY
Published March 3, 2006

His message is clear: Jesus is not coming. Not today. Not ever.

At 59, James Young has spent almost a decade sharing his atheist beliefs
with the public, driving every Wednesday morning from his home in Lithia
to set up a tent at the University of South Florida Bull Market.

Even on the coldest morning, Young is there, ready to share, and
sometimes debate, his views with anyone who will listen that there is,
in fact, no such being as God.

"There are a lot of religious groups that set up tents there," said
Young, a retired controls analyst. "It's important for these young
people to know there is an alternative point of view."

What might surprise some of these students is that in his early
adulthood, Young was an evangelical minister, preaching in churches, and
even on street corners, all over Tampa.

The transformation from devoting his life to Christ to becoming an
atheist was a slow one, but for Young, completely logical.

He was raised a Southern Baptist and at age 16 was introduced to a
church that he called "a little more charismatic." He found great
comfort there, socially and spiritually, and eventually identified with
the Pentecostal movement.

"I got on fire for God," he said.

With Bible in hand, Young would often sit with friends comparing
approaches to Christianity, he said. It was the first time that he
recognized there might be different ways to interpret God's word.

Yet at the same time he was being taught that those who did not follow
the Pentecostal approach to Christianity were doomed, and that caused
him great conflict.

"My church was teaching that other denominations were going to hell
because they didn't practice and follow Jesus' teaching the correct
way," he said. "Well, what is the "correct' way?"

Both realizations brought Young to the conclusion that the Bible was not
perfect, and that these inconsistencies made it difficult to be a
complete believer.

Slowly the fire and brimstone began to wear away, and Young began to
form his own dogma.

"The ultimate result was that I decided none of it was believable," he
said. "I saw the absurdity, the false promises. It was all baloney."

That was 1978.

Young moved to Plant City with his wife and never went to church again.

Several years passed, and Young quietly explored his newfound atheism.
He joined a humanist group in Tampa and espoused their belief that all
people must take responsibility for providing solutions to human
problems in lieu of reliance on supernatural solutions.

Then, in the late '90s, more fire and brimstone.

"All of a sudden the fundamentalist right Christians were becoming very
militant, as they are today," he said. "They're only content when
they're forcing their religious beliefs on everyone in this country
through legislation."

Now when Young preaches, it is not the words of Peter or James that he
recounts but the damage he perceives is happening because of the
religious right.

Referring to prayer in public schools or the teaching of intelligent
design to explain evolution, Young is adamant about what he sees as the
dangers.

"Public schools need to be secular because if they are used for
religious brainwashing, we will never have a free society," he said. "If
you look at any theocratic state throughout history, it was never a
free-and-open society."

And with two recent appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court possibly
tilting that judicial body to the right, Young said he is truly worried
about what might come next. He predicts an end to abortion rights and
the beginning of prayer in school.

In fact, from the executive branch all the way to local government,
Young said, "we are becoming a theocratic fascist state - hate and
bigotry in a society that is touted as being free and equal, when we are
really not equal."

He cited recent decisions made by local officials, including the
county's refusal to recognize any gay pride event and the School Board's
reversal on taking religious holidays off the school calendar.

"I don't know how long it will take for the pendulum to swing back
again," he said, "but for now, I think it's a dark day ahead."

To make a difference, Young said, he will continue to spread the word of
atheism and humanism, particularly at USF.

"I want these young people to know that there are a few of us out there
who think that Jesus is not the answer, but that these kids are the
answer."


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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/03/Brandontimes/Ex_minister_walks_ath.shtm
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