{"product_id":"go-and-preach-no-more-a-legacy-abandoned-my-life-reclaimed-1","title":"Go and Preach No More: A Legacy Abandoned My Life Reclaimed","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“This is damn good! Your writing style is wonderful, your insights are really cool, and the stories are great. The book is unique, it speaks, it is alive!” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNick Overduin, Ph.D.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRev. William Raff\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e realized he’d had enough of the church he’d grown up in, so he planned an escape, of sorts. A dashed dream would not keep him down, nor would a worn-out dogma he no longer supported. His solution was not ideal, and circumstances prevented him from announcing to his congregation his reason for leaving. Best not to rock the boat.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe legacy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e he was once determined to fulfill had become complicated, so he set out to find another. And that’s when life got interesting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn an inspiring memoir, a “deeply communicated” montage\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e of life’s pinnacles and valleys; we walk alongside a seeker of wisdom and truth as he compares childhood mantras with a dogma that no longer fits his idea of Christianity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePlato’s Cave\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e becomes a metaphor for the years he lived in the controlled environment he and his family grew up in.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYou know you’ve exited a cave when you feel the sun.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLife-altering epiphanies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e seemed God-sent, but looking back, the freedom he found when he opened those doors was proof of his humanity. The resulting personal transformation helped him discover that one can find purpose in a world without God.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis book is about growing up Christian\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe challenges Christian leaders face\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDeconstructing one’s faith\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhy I quit Christianity\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHealing from Religion\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePersonal growth and self-discovery\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e👉\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e For readers of\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Godless by Dan Barker, Why I Believed by Kenneth W. Daniels, and Educated by Tara Westover, this powerful memoir about growing up Christian and walking away is a testament to the cost of faith, the courage to think critically, and the liberation of believing in fact based truths.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNick Overduin, PhD, Philosophy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, offered to buy an advanced copy of my book when I shared its progress with members of the clergy project, a brotherhood we both enjoy. I asked him if I could send him a near—final draft—and get his feedback before I published. He graciously agreed to read it. I did not expect such auspicious notes and rejoiced in how uniquely qualified he was to critique my memoir. There is no way to thank him enough for his generous counsel. It was a gift!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cu\u003eA Peek Inside\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI am a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHomo sapiens\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. My dad knew that, though he preferred the term “wise ass.” (I reserve the same label for those I cherish the most.)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Bible\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e makes quite a thud on the floor when it falls from a minister’s toolbox.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt happened on the central coast of Californi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ea, as salty and moist air, still one of my favorite perfumes, combined with the sounds of crashing waves. Dad parked our ’66 VW bus on CA1, the Coast Highway, at the edge of a sandstone cliff.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI do not exist on this earth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e as the result of some divine belch moving over sacred dust or clay.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut he couldn’t just sit me down\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and have a heart-to-heart talk, and I didn’t see the need to sit down with him, either. We sang “Silent Night” from our own trenches and skirted each other's lines in the sand.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEscaping religion\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e had left their families crushed, unwilling to forgive. For some of these individuals, it was like stepping out into oncoming traffic.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhile I don’t think of the Gospel of Christ\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e in the same way today, back then it had recently become a thing of profound beauty to me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI think it would be best\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e if you wrote it all down, my therapist-self told me. Hang up the old feather bed and beat the shit out of it! Ahh, back to anger management.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books Prime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45915271233727,"sku":"74c10957-2274-466a-acce-d590dcff08c1","price":42.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/7550\/7647\/files\/7e3f2ec18153ad95e751da1c7e78ccc5.jpg?v=1785075487","url":"https:\/\/books-prime.com\/products\/go-and-preach-no-more-a-legacy-abandoned-my-life-reclaimed-1","provider":"Books Prime","version":"1.0","type":"link"}