Jerry DeWitt's ministry began when he was seventeen. After twenty-five years of preaching, including pastorship of two fundamentalist congregations, he became an atheist. DeWitt lives in rural Louisiana.Ethan Brown is the author of Queens Reigns Supreme, Snitch, and Shake the Devil Off. He lives in New Orleans.HopeAfterFaith.com
Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion "The clergyman who sees the light, loses his faith, and realizes that his life's work has been empty delusion faces worse than inner torment. In small-town America he confronts public ostracism, family break-up, and financial ruin. Such was the predicament of Jerry DeWitt. Brother DeWitt has landed on his feet, but many others still wrestle in the closet with the pain. This poignant book will give them strength." Dan Barker, author of Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists "Jerry DeWitt tells a truly remarkable story of an actual faith healing. He healed himself of his faith. Jerry's honest and wrenching struggle to find his way out of the Pentecostal/evangelical house of mirrors is driven inexorably by his true concern: his unfailing love for people. I literally got goosebumps reading this page-turner, and cheered for joy at the end." Bishop Carlton Pearson, author of God Is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu... and The Gospel of Inclusion "My friend Jerry Dewitt is one of those 'raving lunatics' (spiritual eccentrics) who insists on disturbing the illusion and has thus created a new path for his own soul and continues to evolve. I can hardly wait to see where his bridge takes him and us."
Debut author DeWitt tells the tale of how he went from darling Pentecostal preacher to shunned atheist in his new memoir. In the first part of his story, DeWitt describes his smalltown upbringing and immersion in the fundamentalist, Bible-thumping Christianity of his native Louisiana. This section is told in great detail-almost too much detail. Nonetheless, this part of the book is a fascinating insider's tour of the often-mystifying doctrines of Pentecostalism, which shuns the material world for "gifts of the spirit," like speaking in tongues and prophesizing-both of which DeWitt engaged in himself. The book's second half tells of DeWitt's growing doubts about God, the idea of hell, the nature of sin, and the existence of an afterlife. This part of the book is deeply intriguing, offering a firsthand account of the slow crumbling of a life's foundation in faith and its consequences: loss of family and livelihood in exchange for peace of conscience and a new community of atheist friends. Those who share DeWitt's perspective-and even those who are true believers-will find much to engage them. Agent: David Patterson, Foundry Media. (June 25) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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