An Atheist Speaks Out

J. E., author of Grapevine's "Twelve Steps Revisited" series, was asked to read E. L.'s article and tell us what he thought of it. Here is the reply: "I think E. L.'s piece is great. It etches with the clean acid of honesty. Maybe it's the vinegar we need in what could get to be a pretty syrupy salad. It prods those of us who claim belief in a Supreme Being to put up, in terms of real action, or shut up. I still feel that the atheistic position leaves too much unexplained, when you really think it through, to satisfy permanently so keen a mind as E. L.'s. But his piece has definitely jolted me into greater effort for what I believe--and shown that not everybody has to be pious to be sober." Ed.