R. Eugene Bales Challenges Fundamentalist Religious Beliefs

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Abbott Press

Dec 13, 2013, 00:00 ET


Menlo Park, Calif. (PRWEB) December 13, 2013 -- R. Eugene Bales tells the powerful story of his transformation from a fundamentalist believer into an agnostic in his new memoir, “But Then My Voice Changed: From Fundamentalist to Nonbeliever: One Man’s Story” (published by Abbott Press).

Written as a series of essays, “But Then My Voice Changed” takes readers back to Bales’ roots in Kansas, where his spiritual journey began in the Church of God. He studied the Bible, was born again, baptized and even preached his first sermon. He left home to attend the University of Wichita, and it was there, serving as an assistant to the pastor of a suburban church, that he began to doubt and question the teachings of the Church of God.

As he continued his studies at college, Bales acquired the analytical tools necessary to begin a critical evaluation of his beliefs. “But Then My Voice Changed” chronicles his epiphany and argues that the evidence of so-called religious experiences is a chimera. As he challenges the traditions of religious dogma, Bales attempts to show that religious teachings are not merely mistaken or different from scientific teachings, but are fundamentally incoherent.

An excerpt from “But Then My Voice Changed”:

“If I couldn’t understand what significant proposition I was supposed to be giving assent to by saying that I did believe in God, I couldn’t understand what significant proposition I was supposed to be denying by saying that I didn’t. Denial didn’t make any more sense to me than assent did.”

“But Then My Voice Changed”
By R. Eugene Bales
Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 296 pages | ISBN 9781458205827
Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 296 pages | ISBN 9781458205803
E-Book | ISBN 9781458205810
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author
R. Eugene Bales, a native Kansan, was a fledgling fundamentalist preacher as a youth, and worked as a haberdasher, music teacher and design assistant before earning his doctorate in philosophy from Stanford. Professor emeritus of philosophy at Menlo College, and now a nonbeliever, Bales lives in Menlo Park, Calif., with his wife, Kathleen. More information is available at http://www.menlophilosophy.com.

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