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Dear Sir or Madam,

Just an observation. You made the following statement: "There are precisely zero famously atheist people who are now famously Christian". Have you ever heard of Bill Murray O'Hare?

M. Bergen

No.

Martin Willett

http://mwillett.org/

How about his mother, Madalyn Murray O'Hare... you know... the woman atheist who had more backbone than the rest of you put together. Her son, Bill (also an atheist) became nationally famous for taking a stand against school prayer in the 60's. In his own words, he rejected atheism because it left him empty and with no answers. He went to a small pawn shop one day and purchased a small Bible. He came to faith in Jesus and is now an adamant Christian.

It's all on the internet... dare to surf.

M. Bergen

The name didn't check out at all.

Although I did discover that Bill Murray was arrested smuggling drugs at O'Hare airport.

Why do you assume I am from your nation?

http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/m/ma/madalyn_murray_o_hair.html

"In 1980 her son William converted to Christianity and was 'born again' at Gateway Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas."

So, the son of a famous atheist gets religion. Whoopee-do. Her other son Jon Garth Murray followed her atheist footsteps and seems to have met the same fate, murdered.

"Madalyn Murray O'Hair is probably, much to her annoyance, best known today by users of the internet for a seemingly unsquashable urban legend. An email endlessly circulating, mostly among Christians, charges that "Madalyn Murray O'Hare is attempting to get 'Touched By An Angel' and all TV programs that mention God taken off the air". The initial rumour has been circulating since 1975, and initially draw hundreds of thousands of letters in response. The email invariably misspells O'Hair's name in the same way. It cites a petition to the FCC, which in real life was denied in 1975. These emails were still circulating in 2002, seven years after O'Hair's disappearance and long after she was known to be dead. A variant that acknowledges her death is still circulating in 2003, still warning about the danger to 'Touched By An Angel' months after the program's last episode has been shown."

"O'Hair's son William announced his conversion to Christianity on Mother's Day in 1980 and became an outspoken evangelist for his new faith."

http://www.who2.com/madalynmurrayohair.html

Madalyn Murray O'Hair seems to have been a thoroughly messed-up woman who messed up the life of her son who took to a rather crazy form of Christianity, although his daughter followed her grandmother's atheism.

http://rfcnet.org/news/default.asp?action=detail&article=144

I would not have anything to do with an organization of atheists which tried to say what was or was not correct behaviour for atheists.

William J Murray was an alcoholic and drug abuser (just like the President he now admires), the illegitimate son of a Catholic and an atheist who was brought up by his strong-willed/tyrannical mother. He somehow blames his mother for the fact that his unfaithful father would not divorce his wife and marry his lover, William's mother. He made a scene out of accepting Jesus in 1980, wrote a moderately successful autobiography, later declared that his mother, brother and daughter had been murdered (this was proved to be true). He is a man who has spent his whole life in the shadow of his mother and reacting to her, deliberately becoming the image of what his mother most detested.

In no way was he ever a famous atheist.

http://www.govnotgod.org/about/biography.htm

http://www.cpci.org/ezekiel/2002/WilliamJMurray/WilliamJMurray.htm

They seem a family of arseholes.

I repeat again there are no famous atheists who became famous Christians.

Martin Willett

http://mwillett.org/

A little mistake. You wrote "Although I did discover that Bill Murray was arrested smuggling drugs at O'Hare airport." Wrong Bill Murray. You probably knew that anyway.

You also said "So, the son of a famous atheist gets religion. Whoopee-do." Small correction here as well. Bill Murray O'Hair was every bit as famous as his notorious mother. His story from 1963 has been covered in documentaries on major TV networks, public broadcasting, as well as national publications such as Washington Post, Newsweek & Time Magazines (not to mention dozens of others). In fact, every documentary on Madalyn Murray O'Hair shows the same video footage of her and William making a public statement about their rights being violated.

I know you don't really care about all this. The point I tried to make in the beginning was that you were wrong when you said "there are no famous atheists who became famous Christians".

As far as all the other details you took the time to research and type out; that has nothing to do with the simple point I was trying to make. I don't care either way.

Have a great day!

M. Bergen

Of course I knew it was the wrong Bill Murray. I just thought it was funny. At least it lightened the mood of an otherwise very tragic story devoid of sympathetic characters.

William J Murray was only a famous atheist to the extent that he was Madalyn's son and the plaintiff in her law suit. I couldn't find any evidence of him being a big figure in atheism beyond that. He was indoctrinated by his mother, who used him quite shamelessly for her political ends, and he later reacted against her. I am quite used to coming across Christians who react against their parents by becoming anarchists, atheists or communists, at least they buy the t-shirts. I don't trust anybody who reacts strongly against their home background, I get on best with atheists who drift away from their parent's religion, never fully take it on board in the first place or who have grown up without being schooled in one sort of doctrine or another.

William J Murray's writing reveals a badly damaged individual with a serious chip on his shoulder, any therapist working on his case would make a fortune in overtime. Now his entire career is based on being the opposite of what his mother wanted him to be. I find that really quite pathetic. The whole family story is a series of tragedies of Shakespearean proportions.

I hope the lifestyle comes together,

Martin Willett

http://mwillett.org/

© 1999 - 2010 by Martin Willett.

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