2nd CD -- Julia Sweeney, Letting Go of God -- Part 1 of 6

Review by NYTimes:

Can an atheist lift the spirit? In her searing and bracingly funny solo show Letting Go of God, Julia Sweeney traces her bumpy journey away from religious faith in an accessible, no-frills format that suggests the kind of inspirational self-help lecture you might see around PBS pledge time.


Richard Termine for The New York Times
Julia Sweeney reviews assorted belief systems in Letting Go of God.
Readers Opinions
Forum: Theater
But where Deepak Chopra or Wayne W. Dyer, say, come bearing warm broth, distilled from revered spiritual traditions, Ms. Sweeney arrives with a bucket of cold water for all supernatural belief systems, from her familys old-school Roman Catholicism to the New Age alternatives (including Mr. Chopra) embraced by many of her peers.

In her fluent, friendly and offhandedly riveting account, what started with a visit from two young Mormon missionaries soon became a fitful but unrelenting quest for an adult understanding of the deity she always sincerely sensed was at her side. Ms. Sweeney felt Gods presence, sure — but what did she really believe about him?

Shes almost sorry she asked: upon examination, the Bible horrifies her, and so, ultimately, does the implicit determinism of every spiritual approach she tries, from Buddhism to the Deist notion of God in nature. Once she loses the Christian plot shed never before questioned, the idea that everything happens for a reason in a universe where someone, or something, is minding the store increasingly rings hollow.

Ms. Sweeney, in other words, has come a long way from the snickering androgyny of the film Its Pat! and gone deeper than her previous solo show, God Said Ha!, about her brothers fatal lymphoma. Without breaking her affably conversational tone, in Letting Go of God she inhabits the emotional memory of each step on her path, from the cozy warmth of her erstwhile prayerful faith to the confusion and terror, and finally the hard-earned peace of mind, that attend her gradual un-conversion.

At a time when religious faith is either the subject of shrill controversy, with prejudice and misunderstanding on both sides (Mel Gibson, meet Christopher Hitchens), or of a lukewarm tolerance thats fundamentally uncurious about what people actually believe, Letting Go of God is refreshingly unrancorous, lucid and, yes, inspirational. Ms. Sweeney may not believe her audience has spirits to be moved, but thats certainly how it feels.

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[fruitofspirit]

ROTFL at 6:48 & 8:31! Excellent point at 10:20-35. Many religious people never stop being humanists. When the "atmosphere of church" & the church's "graven images of God" no longer sustain their felt needs--their beliefs unravel.

But I've developed more respect for atheists than many self-proclaimed believers. At least an atheist is honest. And people who cling to their graven images of idol gods CAN'T be honest with anyone, because often times they're not able to be honest with themselves.

[jamesmaseobrown]

I love her voice.

[oywidapoodles]

Fred is love!  XD

[TheCoolestGeekEver]

I have this movie recorded in my DVR! Ill never delete it!

[alex61761]

thank you for posting these. subscribed

[Katalyzt]

@estevancarlos

Agreed

[estevancarlos]

I've come to suspect that religious folk are never taught critical thinking skills.

[sethmusic]

@fruitofspirit no idea, what the hell you just said.....throw in some punctuation and i'll get back to you. no offense....i just don't understand what you're saying. i think we agree, but i cant tell for certain........i think you're trying to say something worthwhile.....you seem drunk off your ass.

[He1iconia]

This is my favorite segment of these 2 CDs!! Her takedown of Deepak Chopra and new age culture is amazingly spot-on!!! WIN.

[oehieze]

@jamesmaseobrown I wanna have sex with it :)

[srushaggs]

Julia strikes a chord when describing her previous lack of critical thinking skills. So many people seem to lack critical thinking skills. More troubling are those who clearly have them, yet choose to ignore them.

It is difficult to see amazing people with brilliant minds completely ignoring any evidence that forces them to question their beliefs.

I have spent my life searching for God, & should I find him I think my faith will be strong because of my questions, not in spite of them.

[TahjieStar]

@Domzdream she did. she has a one woman show. it aired on showtime, it was wonderful.