My Life Without God

Rating:
Summary: Great, but needs updating
Review: "Take it from someone who was there at the beginning, taking prayer out of school was one of the worst decisions that the U.S. has ever made."

That is the premise of this autobiographical book by William J. Murray, son of the infamous atheist Madelyn Murray O'Hair who successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to take prayer out of the public schools in 1963. If you don't know, William Murray at age 33 accepted Christ into his life. This is his harrowing and very sad story of growing up in a household with "evil personified", as he puts it in one part in his book.

This was a very interesting story. He goes into great detail about the "mommy dearest" relationship that he had with Madelyn and her love affair with socialist and communist causes and her outright hatred for Christianity. As sad and hopeless as the story constantly seems, it has a great ending. Now, an outspoken activist for Christian causes, William Murray has "exercised" his demons and now lives in the glory of Christ.

The only disappointing aspect of the book is that it was written in 1982. As most people know, the saga of Madelyn O'Hair had a very tragic ending. I would like for William to do an updated version of this book and include information regarding the subsequent murder of his mother, brother and his first daughter.

Rating:
Summary: Infamous Atheist's Son Tells His Story
Review: Anyone dismissing Madalyn O'Hair as a kooky atheist who stretched her 15 minutes of fame as far as possible should read My Life Without God. Atheism may be what brought her celebrity status, but it was just one of her many perfidious pursuits. Written by her estranged son-disowned by his embrace of religion-Madalyn is shown to be at various times a drug-dealer, pornography patron, Communist rebel-rouser, and those are her good points!

As a young mother with two illegitimate sons, her hatred of America surpassed only by her jingoistic devotion to Communism, she sedulously tried to become a citizen of the Soviet Union. Her repeated in-person requests at the Soviet embassy in Washington grew so vexatious, the Russian staff eventually began pretending nobody there could speak English whenever they saw her. An unrestrained quixotic outrage at the discovery of Bible readings in her son's public school lead to her success in the Supreme Court's infamous decision outlawing any hint of religion in public education. The book details how, far more than her supposedly-principled cause, achieving fame was her true victory. Stroking her cyclopean ego is shown to be the motivation for nearly every move she made.

It is very interesting to note how her path crossed with those of so many other notorious figures in late twentieth century America. From her role as a colleague of Lee Harvey Oswald in a Communist organization, to her cozy cajoling of Fidel Castro's closest advisors to her friendship with Larry Flynt, Madalyn's circle of influence reads like a Who's Who of Masterful Miscreants.

The author's own story is one of overcoming nearly insurmountable obstacles. Bill married his pregnant, live-in girlfriend (Madalyn had invited her to move into their house) at 17, began active adultery and drug use shortly thereafter, and seemed headed to an early grave. With his second marriage floundering, and his life in a constant downward spiral, he turned to his mother's sworn enemy-religion, and finally found the salvation and peace that eluded Madalyn throughout her turbulent life.

The recent acknowledgement of her murder should bring newfound interest to this work, and it is a very good analysis not only of the workings of a twisted mind but also a strong demonstration of how so much went wrong with society over the past thirty years.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: What an excellent book--- This book was written from the point of view by the author himself. What a life to live under such hatred and torment. How William Murray survived goes to show you there is a GOD in this world. The book tells about his past and how his mother ruled & direct and taught him to live a atheist life, until one day he found GOD thorugh a vision. It tells how William Murray went on to survive and become the chairman of Religious Freedom Coalition and to turn his life around and move forward in God's hands. Once you pick up this book you cannot put it down. I would highly recommend to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Interesting
Review: Whether you are an atheist, a believer in God or a Christian you will find this book extremely interesting. Certainly every biography is written with a favorable slant toward the person who wrote it, but who can deny that a parent's actions directly affect the children they raise and live with!? Parents are role models and are given a huge responsibility to raise decent, loving and caring humans. Therefore, much of the blame must be on the parent/parents for what the child does later in life, even as an adult. This book completely amazed me because I had no idea how evil some people can be and it is actually hard to believe that all of that happened! I am truly thankful that William J. Murray finally found peace and a healthy way of living. It was incredible the way he let himself get sucked up in his mother's world again and again, especially since from the time he was a teenager he kept saying how he wanted to be far away from her and her groups. It is actually scary that there are people out there that are as mean and hateful and powerful as Madalyn Murray O'Hair... I hope and pray that this was exaggerated in the book!