Freedom from God:
Restoring The Sense Of Wonder
Harry Willson
Reg. price $15.00
ISBN 0-938513-33-8
Amador Publishers, 2001. 216 pages
A study in candor, a philosophical broadside of
profound importance, a guide to personal
liberation, an invitation to wonder -- a book
that links truth-seekers and truth-tellers. The
book is the product of a lifetime of thinking and
reading. For eight years Willson was a
card-carrying "Master of Divinity," serving as
missionary/pastor in New Mexico. Then he left the
church in sorrow and anger, and taught high
school for ten years. He then quit teaching "to
write," and entered what he now calls "the real
world," thinking all the while. He now finds the
word "God" too contaminated to be useful, but he
still experiences wonder, more than ever.
REVIEWS
Former Pastor Willson has written an engaging and
unusual account of his own release from the traps
of false ideas about God and the self. His
theology amounts to no less than a revival of a
kind of monism, the assertion that all reality,
the whole universe, is one substance. His journey
will seem familiar to many agnostics and
independent minds, but his account is told with
zest and is supported by experience and deep
feeling. Highly recommended. -- Library Journal
In chapter after chapter, he shows how
traditional views of the divine not only
contradict common sense but also put a damper on
the human spirit. -- The Weekly Alibi,
Albuquerque, NM
I and everyone who reads it will never be the
same. -- Bruce Ferguson, Presbyterian minister,
retired
It takes a special kind of courage and caring to
reveal every important emotional, intellectual
and theological experience you have had
throughout your life... Harry is not timid in
telling the reader about the high emotional cost
that he paid along the way, but he also conveys
his own happiness at where he is now. -- Shirley
Little, New Mexico Humanist Association
This professor judges the book to be required
reading for all clergy in churches, mosques, and
synagogues, as well as highly recommended reading
for all thinking lay Christians, Jews, and
Muslims. -- Fred Sturm, Ph.D., Philosophy
Department, UNM
Assorted, unsolicited individual responses:
...erudite work, instructive, stimulating... Your
words are like lights shining, attempting to
share the sense of wonder with others. -- William
Morgan, Arlington, MA
In my opinion this should be required reading for
every freshman college student in the world.
Perhaps then, there could be peace in the world.
-- Kermit Stump, Sky Valley, CA
Your book helped me embrace freedom and
responsibility. -- H Selvog, Alexandria, VA
You expressed your ideas with refreshing
simplicity and clarity. Thank you for making me
feel less alone in these terrible times. -- Tim
Robinson, Portland, OR
God is killing me, in a close to literal sense...
Your book is a breath of fresh air. You are
actually telling me I get to decide what to do
with life!? -- Jonathan Pressman, a native of
this planet
I recently read FREEDOM FROM GOD, and I can't
express how grateful I am to you for writing it!
... I was moved to tears... -- Ann Nguyen,
Milpitas, CA