Christian Child, Atheist Adult

Publisher's Summary

Christian Child, Atheist Adult is the the autobiographical narrative of a Southern Baptist deacon's son who discovered just how misled he had been during his formative years; ultimately making a transformation into one of Christianity's most staunch critics. Gregory Blount provides accounts of the social and familial tactics often used by many faith-based religions to indoctrinate and entrap members. The book also provides a broad consideration of the scientific, historical, and philosophical answers that led the author to develop his perspective. Blount sheds light on the misinformation that is perpetuated by modern-day Christian churches and demonstrates how Christianity's historical alliance with governmental entities exists today, as it almost always has, to suppress and divide citizens against each other for the convenience of their oligarchical support network. Christian Child, Atheist Adult is a contemplative and thorough look behind the curtain of one of the world's largest and most rampantly misunderstood theistic religions. It is a crucial work, written with the intention of liberating a modern, yet unsuspecting society of well-intending individuals from the fanatical idealism that has suppressed the majority of humankind for centuries.

©2017 Blount Publishing (P)2017 Blount Publishing

Deserving of 5 stars

I thought this was a very entertaining and enjoyable story. It must be accurate because it has provoked such negative criticism by people who are obviously religious. One particular review even goes so far as to lie about the content and nature of the book, so I will come to its defense.

Blount is accused of writing with cynicism and anger, but anybody who listens will find that the narration is presented in a very light-hearted, jovial way. Cynical, perhaps at times. But it seems the angry one is not Gregory Blount, but the Christian who do not appreciate his honesty. If anything, the negative review seems to prove the dishonesty of the reviewer.

For example, how is it that Blount is accused of not believing what he writes?! That is just silly. He is also accused of having no notes or references, but in actuality the author always identifies the sources that he uses. Any time there is a quote or fact that is presented, Blount backs it up with the source from where it came. He does indeed talk about Zen Buddhism because it was a big influence in his life, so it certainly fits the autobiographical context. Personally, his treatise on Zen and Oriental philosophy was one of my favorite chapters.

I found the narration to be engaging and lively. He uses a variety of vocalizations to represent different characters, and some of his imitations, such as Winston Churchill, are quite impressive. I noticed no mispronunciations, and the author goes to great lengths to express his gratitude and appreciation for his parents and sister. He is certainly not “angry” and expresses both admiration and concern for their feelings despite their differences. Likewise, he actually commended Baylor in a positive way for being the first experience he had in studying the historical side of the Bible and considered himself lucky to have gone there. The one-star reviewer is also making up what he wrote about the first campus dance. It is mentioned in the book, but this was certainly not something that made the author “angry”!

I think that the one-star reviewer is deliberately trying to misrepresent the author’s motives and just how well done this book truly is. By the end of the one-star review, the reviewer seems to have fallen off their rocker and cannot even form coherent sentences! It is obvious the person who left the one-star review did not pay attention to the content and is deliberately misleading people.

Don’t listen to angry religious people who hate the honesty of authors like Gregory Blount. Listen to this book, and you will see how enjoyable it is, as well as how false the negative reviews turn out to be.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

One of my favorite books on atheism!

There are many great books about atheism, but I think this one stands out for several reasons. Gregory Blount is a treasure trove of information. He not only has a thorough understanding of the subject matter; his method of presentation is entertaining, animated and witty. He can be a little sarcastic at times, and occasionally makes provocative statements that some may find outrageous while others will find them inspiring. All the while, Gregory Blount pushed the envelope and made me think critically about what can be known, as compared to what can be believed. Blount brings life to often dry, complicated topics when considering science, philosophy, history and the Bible. The author has a knack for boiling down a lot of information into clear, concise illustrations that are easy to follow.

The author's personal testimonies are also a unique feature of the book, and provide a deeply human element that people from many different walks of life can probably relate to. Blount is sometimes funny, and sometimes emotionally touching. He occasionally brought a smile to my face, and even tears of sympathy to my eyes at one point. Gregory Blount appears to have a keen insIght into the psychology of humankind, as well as the nature of the world we live in.

The first two chapters tell how the author grew up in a religous setting, and are a very entertaining way for the reader to ease into the shallow end of the "pool". By chapter 3 the book began luring me into the deep end with discussions of how Blount began to mature and think for himself through a study of Eastern philosophy. Chapters 4 and 5 are where the author critically examines the religion of Christianity in particular. One chapter is focused on the Bible itself and the other, a very revealing account of Christian history. The last Chapter delves into the political elements of religion, and is the most outspoken chapter in the book. Each chapter seems to ratchet up the tension and urgency that the author came to realize in shedding his religious beleifs until finally making a stand to his family and friends. Blount's struggle to assert himself while preserving his personal relationships with believers is an inspiring account of the balancing act that many atheists must accomplish when abandoning faith without alienating themselves from loved ones. Any person who suspects that they have been misled by their parents' religion should read this book!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Still a Child

Blount writes cynically and with anger. He is not convincing that he believes what he writes. He covers so many subjects as an authoritative scholar but has no notes or references. The narration is monotone and the same speed with no expression. He spent a lot of time writing this narrative but it jumps from his personal experience to physics, Zen and culture. He mispronounces the names of biblical persons and it is unclear how he concluded that there is a world editor that is reluctant to take Hebrews out of the Bible. He appears to be angry at his parents, his sister and Baylor University and that he wasn't there when they started allowing campus dances.If he had read Karen Armstrong he could have at least found 1000 references to support his reluctance to believe in anything. His parents and sister were human give them a break and he can move to Afghanistan or someplace if he is disillusioned with western civilization and the United States.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful