New book takes a reasoned look at Religion, God, Evolution and the Debates from a layman's viewpoint

Nov. 23, 2010 - PRLog -- As the debates are heating up between those of religious belief, and those of none, author Ray J. Egan steps in to give us all a thorough grounding on the relevant issues. While many books recently have been written of this great controversy, none give a better, broader perspective on the many facets of the discussion than his recently-penned project, "(b)Don't Tell Your Momma You're an Atheist.(/b)"

This offering is a layman's look into the controversial 'battle' between atheists and theists. Taken from the atheist perspective, this author touches on a variety of topics that will be as relevant to the erudite debater as it will be to the person just discovering the naturally-evolved world around them. While neither a scientist nor a professional debater, Mr. Egan focuses on making his points consistent, and with a nod to having his book accessible, giving the casual observer and serious theologian alike, an interesting read. In this book he covers such areas as the fossil record, "questions for atheists that can't be answered", religion in the schools, Evolution, "the Coca Cola guy" and more. He poses statements from the theistic side that he counters confidently, and with a little reason and critical-thinking thrown in for good measure. If you read this book, be prepared to come away with a better understanding of the issues and, as Ray himself states, "(i)perhaps a little move up the 'ladder of enlightenment(/i)'!

In some ways this book was written in part to come to an understanding of why it really is difficult to admit oneself a 'non-believer' in the present-day. Even more interesting is the task of displaying that opinion to anyone else. Can you imagine what it might have been like 500 years ago to admit either non-belief, or a disinterest in the status-quo religion-of-the-day? To illustrate this, Mr. Egan happens to live in a predominantly Orthodox Jewish area of Miami Beach, and a few of his acquaintances are quite taken aback by his atheism. "So, you are saying I come from a monkey?", stated one such fellow. "Monkeys are still around so how can we come from monkeys?" Ray says about these comments, "This benign ignorance of evolution and what it is all about is not isolated, and many lay religious people probably do not even think about it. However, it is this relative dismissal of science and a lack of desire to want to know what is true and what is not, that continues religious practices and traditions."

In doing the leg-work for this book, the author has come a long way in recognizing his own state of non-belief, as there is a rapidly growing segment of society that realizes that "(i)all we can touch, taste, smell, see and wonder in awe at can, and does, happen without the need for a celestial dictator intervening.(/i)" As organized religion has had the lion's share of power and influence over the last 2000-plus years, it is only just that those of non-belief be able to express their more reasoned position on the state of religion today, and whether we really need it at all in our modern society.

It is not suggested in the least that the author wishes all religion banned from the planet. Indeed, like the recent bank and large automobile company bailouts, religion is "too big to fail." However, one main concern of Mr. Egan is the underlying ignorance of the believer; that they have no clue about the actual history of the bible, or how it came to be made. All follow like lambs to the slaughter, oblivious to what it is they are worshipping.

A very powerful statement from Lucius Annaeus Seneca (and this from over 2,000 years ago) reads like this, "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful." Amazing that some people understood exactly what religion was back then. Amazing still that we have this blind faith in man-made religions some 2,000 years later, following a book that was created for the people of Bronze-age Middle-east!

Ray J. Egan's second book is coming out in early 2011.

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About Ocean Groove Press and Ray Egan:

Ocean Groove Press is a small publishing company started by the author as a way to promote his 2 books, one already on the market and the other on it's way. Big on targeted emails (with permission), press releases and local advertising, he is creating a 'buzz' already. His e-book is currently in 10 different formats, available at the following main site (but on many others as well);

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/26531

The paperback, as well as on Amazon.com and other major sites, can be purchased from the author's Amazon.com associated site:

http://createspace.com/3498531

the author anticipates months of promotion to try to get his books off the ground. It is not an easy task, but it is one that Ray is taking head-on. His e-book has also been added to the new Apple ibookstore in Australia, and Ray has been aggressively focusing his marketing efforts in that area over the past few days.