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Author Grant chronicles the path that led him from religious acceptance and faith to rejection of all philosophies that include a deity. As a child, religion, though not strongly emphasized, did inculcate him with certain moral, societal values that have stayed with him. A highly active child, Grant was fortunate to be directed first to sports and then specifically to acrobatics and dancing to use his energies. In college, he studied the sciences and evolution, leading to questions about creationist doctrines espoused by many religions. He sincerely examined the Bible and for a time became a born-again Christian. He married a Catholic, and he and his wife taught in majority Mexican schools in California with a particular emphasis on children with special needs. That also raised questions: why would a loving God send such affliction on innocents? Now in retirement, he has concluded that there is no intellectual or scientific proof for most standard religious teaching.
Grant’s book, though short, makes a simple yet compelling case. He expresses his beliefs clearly and logically, with occasional flashes of humor. He has taken care to underline certain terms throughout the book, such as conscience, myth, fable, deity, theory, and reason, and includes a glossary defining all such terms. He examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in forming his conclusions that no God exists, and all happenings have a physical, logical basis even if not always provable at the time of occurrence. Being an atheist, he asserts, does not prevent anyone from living a moral life and making sound choices. Atheism is a philosophical grounding that he realizes many readers will oppose. But he also thinks that many may join in the process of reasoning that led him to atheism and feel comforted by the sense of self-sufficiency that it engenders.