Dr. John A. Henderson

By JOHN NORTH

If anything good is going to be done in human society, it will be done by mankind and not some supernatural god, according to Dr. John A. Henderson.

And while Karl Marx was wrong in many of his theories, his assertion that “religion is the opiate of the masses” is “very true,” Henderson said.

“I think religion today is one of the most harmful and immoral things going on in society.”
Henderson’s remarks were made during his address on “Judging God” to the Ethical Society of Asheville this past Sunday in the library at the Botanical Gardens at Asheville. About 40 people crammed into the room to hear his 25-minute talk.

THE REV. BILLY GRAHAM Montreat evangelist accused by Henderson of scaring “the hell out of people and then (telling) people he’s got the ticket to heaven.”

Afterward, Henderson fielded questions for more than 30 minutes from a generally sympathetic audience. Nobody who addressed him professed to believe in any God.

Henderson was introduced by Peg Rhodes, who noted that the speaker was raised as a Methodist, but as a young boy drifted away from Christianity.

He pursued his dream to become a doctor and eventually graduated with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. At that time, Henderson married his long-time sweetheart, Ruth, to whom he remains married today. They have three children.

Henderson served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Army Air Force for 33 years before opening a medical practice in 1972, which he ran for 22 years. He retired and now is the Buncombe County medical examiner. He also has written three books, Rhodes said.

Henderson began by noting that the title of his talk was the same as that of his newest book, “Judging God,” which he co-authored with Craig Gurgew. “And if you have any issue with any of this, see him after the meeting,” he quipped.

Noting that definitions are important, he defined “God” as “an all-knowing, all-powerful supernatural being” that can get and do anything it wants.

BOB TERRELL Citizen-Times columnist accused by Henderson of being “a big Billy Graham booster.”

By this definition of God, “depending on His mood on that particular day” when one dies, “you’ll be sent to heaven or hell.”

Henderson emphasized that, in his references, he was not talking about “God is love, God is energy, God is  first cause,” or other such definitions.

“First of all,” he said, “God is ignorance.” To that end, he said more than 90 percent of the world’s top scientists disbelieve or doubt the existence of God. Henderson did not cite his source, but a search by the Daily Planet  found his assertion backed in a story in the July 23 edition of Nature magazine.

“On the other hand, about 90 percent of Americans say they believe in God,” he asserted. This total includes deists, who “believe God created the universe and went on leave.”

After a pause, Henderson said with a grin, “In my opinion, most deists are just atheists who don’t want to come out of the closet.” His quip prompted laughter from the audience.

In speaking of his upbringing, Henderson said he was raised in a small, rural Illinois town (population 800), where there were no Jews or blacks.

There were only Methodist and Presbyterian churches in his hometown and “I think my parents took me to the Methodist church because my parents thought the Prebyterians were stuck up.”

BISHOP JOHN SHELBY SPONG Episcopal theologian accused by Henderson of being “an atheist who didn’t want to give up his pension.”

When, in jest, Henderson joked, “Methodists are just Baptists who can read,” the audience laughed.

“It (Christianity) didn’t take with me and I got out of it” during his boyhood, he said. “I never had that burden of the preacher telling me what to believe.”

While there are many people who know much more about religion — and comparative religions – than him, Henderson noted, “I would submit to you that nobody knows more about God than me.”

Regarding his first book, “God.Com: A Deity for the New Millenium,” he examined the idea that, “if we must have a God, let’s have a good one.” Thus, he recommended creating a god that is less macho and testosterone-driven and more feminine. “Let’s face it,” Henderson said, “it’s the females in all animal species who support life and bring life into this world.”

During a book-signing for his second work, “Fear Faith Fact Fantasy,” Henderson said he met “a young squirt” named Craig Gurgew, who complained that ‘You wrote my book!’”

Gurgew also told him that he wanted them to do a book together, but Henderson said no. As Gurgew persisted, Henderson eventually gave in and the produced “Judging God.”

In essence, Henderson said his third book “stresses the harmful effects of religion” in a world with an estimated 10,000 active religions, with about 10,000 different gods.

He listed the following points as highlights from the book:
• Intelligent Design, as exemplified by his own infirmities as he ages, is an erroneous theory held by some Christians. Henderson said anyone at the meeting could do a better job of designing a human being than God.

• The “biggest scam” in religion is “they’re selling you a ticket to heaven,” Henderson said.
As an example,  he told of an interaction Henderson had with Bob Terrell, a columnist for the Asheville Citizen-Times and author, whom Henderson described as “a big Billy Graham booster.” Henderson said he told Terrell that Graham is so effective because he “scares the hell out of people and then tells people he’s got the ticket to heaven.”

After studying Graham’s and others’ methods, Henderson said, “Craig and I are offering tickets to heaven for $1,000 — and we’ll double your money if you are able to make a roundtrip to complain. Now, no preacher offers that.”

While Henderson is in a position in life where he can speak stridently about his convictions, he advised those at the meeting who are in less secure circumstances to “step out gingerly” and carefully pick their battles.

Still, he added, “I say, ‘Don’t stand quiet when you see the harmful effects of religion.’”

During the question-and-answer session, Henderson was asked if he ever had been threatened for his views.

“Surprisingly, no,” Henderson replied.

He also noted that he responds once a month — the maximum allowed by the newspapers — to letters to the editor in the Citizen-Times that advocate seeking supernatural help for human beings. As a result of his vigilance, Henderson said the AC-T is receiving fewer such letters each month.

Don Emon of Hendersonville asked, “You talk about 90 percent of the human population believing” in some kind of god — “How do you account for that number?”

“Fear and ignorance,” Henderson answered. “The higher your intellectual level, the fewer people will believe in religion. That’s why the (Catholic) church is doing so well in Africa.”

As for what he termed the indoctrination process for many other people, which they often struggle with throughout their lives, he noted the saying that “the Catholic church says if you give us a child before age six, we’ll have him for life.”

As a follow-up question, a woman asked, “What did you mean that Africa is so successful for the Catholic church?”

“Because most of them (Africans) are very uneducated and are open to any superstition that is thrown at them,” Henderson replied. “They’ll keep the voodoo and put Catholicism on top of that.”

Emon then asked about “a section in your book that says religious training is a form of child abuse.”

Henderson said many parents force their children into accepting religion before they can make an intelligent decision, a practice which he feels is abusive.

On a personal level, his philosophy is to let young people choose for themselves whether to accept religion. In the case of his children, they all dropped out of the church on their own.
In response to another questioner, Henderson said of religious practitioners, “They’re mean people. They’ll kill you.:

He added that he was impressed with the thinking of Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, “but, as far as I’m concerned, he’s an atheist who didn’t want to give up his pension.”