Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Judging God

Authors: John A. Henderson, M.D., and Craig Gurgew 

ISBN: 9781933251424

Today, Burton  H.Wolfe, one of Bookpleasures.com’s reviewers interviews John A. Henderson, co-author of Judging God.

John A. Henderson, M.D., co-author with Craig Gurgew of the iconoclastic, audacious book Judging God, lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his artist wife of 61 years. Though he was raised as a Methodist and she as a Presbyterian, both are atheists, as are their three children. Henderson and Gurgew were both members of the U.S. Air Force for many years, Henderson as a flight surgeon and general surgeon, Gurgew as an aircraft mechanic on jet fighter and transport aircraft.

Now semi-retired, Henderson maintains a small practice and serves as the Medical Examiner of Buncombe County, North Carolina. After leaving the Air Force, Gurgew became first a commercial airline pilot and later a general contractor and real estate broker. Ironically, in view of the name of his co-author, he lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Burton:

At what point in your life did you become an atheist, and for what reasons?

John: 

I did not believe in the supernatural from an early age. I realized that god was a myth at the same time I realized that Santa Claus did not exist.

Burton:

What made you decide on a military medical career? Having to serve because of required military service in World War Two or the Korean War? Or did you make that choice voluntarily?

John:

I was in medical school during most of World War Two. I then owed Uncle Sam two years and found that my wife and I enjoyed the travel and life in the military, and so I stayed in the Air Force as a career.

Burton:

What is a "flight surgeon" and what are his duties?

John:

Flight Surgeons specialize in the care of the flight officers and enlisted men. Flight Surgeons are required to fly with the flight personnel and specialize in their care.

Burton:

Did your relationship with Craig Gurgew begin in the Air Force, and if so under what circumstances?

John:

Craig read one of my books and accused me of writing his book, the best compliment a writer can receive. We then decided to collaborate on our book Judging God. We did not know one another  before that.

Burton:

What caused you to use the tactic in your book of treating "god" as an actual entity, since obviously you do not believe in him or it?

John:

I discuss and write about a god that the majority of Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe in.

Burton:

Do you seriously believe that there actually was a "Jesus Christ," or is treating him as a reality just another tactic that you used for the purpose of presenting your challenge to organized religion?

John:

I have no special knowledge that tells me whether Jesus existed or not. I write as if he did exist as believed by the believers. To me it makes no difference whether Jesus existed or not, as all believers believe he existed and will not be convinced otherwise.

Burton:

Do you construe the Judaeo-Christian bible, Old and New Testaments combined, and the Koran or Quran, as entirely fiction, and if not, what is there in them that you construe as historical fact?

John:

I view the JCM [Jewish-Christian-Muslim] bible as poor history, bad literature, and immoral morality.

Burton:

To what factors do you attribute, at this stage of what is supposed to be an advanced civilization, belief in deity as the creator of the universe as well as the creator of the earth we live upon and all of its creatures?

John:

A large percentage of our population do not know or even care if a supernatural being exists. Others have been so frightened by a god who created a hell for everyone who does not believe, as their clergy say, that they dare not think for themselves. They follow Pascal's Law and find it better to believe and be wrong.

Burton:

If you do not believe in them yourself, why in your opinion do people believe there actually was a "Moses" and a "Jesus Christ" and a "Prophet Mohammed"?

John:

Most people do not to take the time to study and delve into religion and whether it is true or not. It is politically incorrect to question the powerful clergy and their fanatical followers. They simply are afraid.

Burton:

Are you confident that there is no superpower or intelligent designer that created the universe and this earth and its creatures, and if so what is your explanation for how it all came to be, how the sidereal bodies were formed, how the earth was formed, and how life was generated from the elementary components and then evolved into the phenomenal varieties which now exist on this planet?

John:

Yes, I am confident that there is no supernatural intelligent designer. In
fact, it is obvious to me that if a designer exists it is an unintelligent designer. [Evidently Henderson has no alternative explanation; he declined to provide one.]

Burton:

How do you feel about being brought into this world involuntarily, only to begin aging and dying as soon as you start living?

John:

It is such a poor plan that it is obvious to me that an intelligent designer cannot possibly exist.

Burton:

Do you envision death as total obliteration of self, and if so how do you deal with that end facing you?

John:

I am confident that when I die I will cease to exist except in others' memories. I feel sorry for those who must try to please their imaginary god with all of the conflicting beliefs of ten thousaand active religions in the world today. That is quite a burden.

Burton:

If all the suffering and death we humans endure makes you angry, and if you cannot attribute it to any deity or creator or intelligent designer, at whom or what can you direct your anger?

John:

I direct my anger at those who do harm to society in the name of their god and their religion.

Burton:

Would the world be better off without organized religions?

John:

Yes. the world be better off without the many beliefs in the supernatural. In fact, if we don't get religion out of governments, I am pessimistic about the future of mankind.  

Burton:

Do you write in any field other than religion, and if so in what field or fields, and where if anywhere has your writing been published?