Wendall Potter

From Philosopedia

Potter, Wendall (20th Century)

Potter, an African American who lives in the Detroit area, wrote “After Years of Searching I Remain A Staunch Atheist” for Secular Nation (Fall 1995).

His parents had told him about the god who they said lived in the sky, and they also lied about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. As a child, he wrote,

• I watched with amazement and sometimes fear, my parents go to church and “get happy.” But how could this be? My mother nearly always cried and there was nothing happy about it—not only did the whole event distress me for 14 years, it was totally unbelievable. It seemed discrediting to any god who would sanction that kind of “emotional overdosing.” That kind of emotionality was no different than what I saw at sports events or red hot parties. I was a teen before I figured out that no god could have such an effect on a person at 11:30 a.m. and by 7 p.m. hostility and sometimes violence dominated the same person. Rather than believe that god allowed this, I knew at 16 years old that he couldn’t exist. And everything I’ve seen in the last 10 years has validated my belief.