Rethinking God, the Cosmos, and Other Little Things: A Journey from Belief to Reason

Are you eager to ask the questions you've been told not to ask?Are you no longer satisfied with beliefs based on faith alone?Are you bold enough even to ask, "Is God real?"Most importantly, are you willing to follow where the questions lead?What is the book about?In Rethinking God, the Cosmos, and Other Little Things, Gary Bond invites the reader to join him on his journey from belief to skepticism. This journey ultimately led to Bond's renouncing Christianity and his embracing a life of apostasy as a "rethinker."When Bond began rethinking the foundational beliefs upon which his life was built, life could not have been more safe, secure, and comfortable. He found himself a model Baptist church member, leader of a men's ministry, Sunday school teacher, facilitator of seminars, author of a Christian book, and owner of a Christian bookstore.But nagging doubts would eventually lead Bond to end the religious charade and become honest with himself. A central question permeated Bond's rethinking: Does this make sense?This book explores questions not only about God, the Bible, and religion, but "other little things" as well, such as the Universe, the American government, human motivations, religion-less morality-and yes, sex.Who is this book for?If you are comfortable and happy and confident in your beliefs, then this book will probably not persuade you otherwise. However, if you have persistent doubts about your belief system, then this book can serve as a catalyst to begin your own "rethinking" of why you believe what you believe. Perhaps you may begin to realize that while beliefs often serve as illusion builders, disillusionment might provide a breakthrough to discovering reality.If you find yourself, as the author did, in any of the following circumstances, you may consider joining the journey:

• Burdened by a seeming lack of enough faith to accept what you're told by religious authorities
• Confused by the many interpretations of scripture and the resulting varying views and factions within the Christian community
• Fearful of expressing the inner doubt, Is God a delusion? and afraid to ask questions that would put you in the camps of agnosticism and atheism
• Not wanting to lose the respect and closeness of friends and family
• Scared that your doubts will doom you to an eternal hell

Why should you read this book?This book will certainly have different effects on different readers. The author's experiences will not necessarily be your experiences. But there will be inevitable similarities, especially for those who question the Christian faith.Here are some possible benefits to reading Rethinking God, the Cosmos, and Other Little Things

• To better understand how beliefs can ensnare the mind, build illusions, and leave no room for questions
• To bring to light the many inconsistencies within the Christian religion that most Christians choose to ignore
• To realize that religion does not have to be off-limits to the logic and reason that you apply to every other facet of life
• To learn the methods of becoming a rethinker

Bond's desire is that through reading this book, you may also experience the power of free thought. Consider this book a traveling companion on a journey of doubt and questions. The journey is surely not always easy and may disrupt your life completely. But Bond encourages you to take comfort in the knowledge that many sojourners have come before you, and many are joining the journey now. You are not alone.