William J. Murray
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William J. Murray is a self-professed born again Christian who might be best known to the public for writing My Life Without God and heading the William J. Murray Evangelistic Association. He is the chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, a socially conservative organization in Washington, D.C. He has been active on issues related to aiding Christians in Islamic and Communist nations.
Murray is the son of Madalyn Murray O'Hair,[1] an American atheist activist who came to national attention during William Murray's childhood in Baltimore, Maryland, when she filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of the United States, saying that compulsory prayer and reading of the Bible in schools was unconstitutional.
Murray's personal life before and after his conversion is known largely for its difficulties. He had a history of drug addiction and alcohol problems, and he fathered a child in his teen years.
Murray converted to Christianity in 1980. His mother reportedly stated, upon learning of his conversion, "I repudiate him entirely and completely for now and all times" and added "One could call this a postnatal abortion on the part of a mother, I guess."[2] He felt similarly negative toward her- some have compared My Life Without God to Mommie Dearest,[3] (written by Christina Crawford about her mother Joan Crawford), as he made allegations such as: "She was just evil… She misused the trust of people. She cheated children out of their parents' inheritance."[4]
William J. Murray is the author of several Christian and conservative books including Let Us Pray and The Church Is Not For Perfect People. His most recent book is The Pledge: One Nation Under God, for which the foreword, "A Washington, DC insider," was written by Congressman Todd Akin.
[edit] Books
- My Life Without God. Harvest House Publishers, 1982, ISBN 0-7369-0315-1.
- The Pledge: One Nation Under God. AMG 2007. ISBN 0899570356, ISBN 978-0899570358.
[edit] References
- ^ Robert Bryce. "Preying on Atheists" (html), Austin Chronicle, 7 June 1999.
- ^ Alan Wolfe (12 April 2004). Among the Non-Believers (html). The New Republic.
- ^ Have you seen this person? (html). BoardGameGeek (18 October 2006). “Some years ago I read William Murray's My Life Without God, a book that makes Mommie Dearest look like a loving memoir in comparison.”
- ^ William J. Murray (1 March 1999). Statement (html). Religious Freedom Coalition, rfcnet.org.
