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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Richard Simmons new book
Homewood resident and author Richard E. Simmons III holds a copy of his newest book, “Reflections on the Existence of God” at his office.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Richard Simmons new book
“Reflections on the Existence of God” consists of 57 short essays that each take about six to eight minutes to read.
Best-selling author Richard E. Simmons III, a Homewood resident and Mountain Brook High School alumnus, published his 10th book in December.
In “Reflections on the Existence of God,” he seeks to answer one of life’s most enduring questions: Does God exist?
“Believe it or not, I’ve spent really the last 25 to 30 years researching this book,” Simmons said, “and when I say researching, I’ve been reading books, articles. I’ve got thick files of all these articles I’ve accumulated over the years.”
The 10-chapter book consists of 57 short essays that take about six to eight minutes to read. In them, Simmons examines topics such as evil, morality, meaning, human experience, evolution and the psychology of unbelief, among others.
He said his goal was to write a well-researched book that could be easily digested.
“So many books on the existence of God are very lofty; they’re weighty. Nobody likes to read them, so I didn’t want to do that,” Simmons said. “My real desire was to write something that my children could read and understand as a 20-year-old, 21-year-old and as a 22-year-old.”
Simmons said he wrote “Reflections” with three audiences in mind. The first is young people, particularly as they prepare to go to college. Simmons said many students lose their faith during their time on campus.
“So often it’s because they had doubts and questions, and nobody ever answered them,” he said.
The second audience is skeptics.
“I really believe that this is a powerful book,” Simmons said. “Most atheists have never really looked at the evidence for the existence of God.”
The final audience is adult Christians. Simmons said he wants to equip them to engage with the secular culture in which they live. Already, he has heard from readers who told him the book strengthened their faith.
“If you’re a Christian and have doubts and are struggling with issues, you need to read it,” he said.
Simmons wrote the book over the summer, in July and August, and edited it in the early fall. He completed some of his work on beach getaways, but he composed most of “Reflections” from his dining room table.
Simmons said recent events have validated his decision to publish the book when he did. While watching a Democratic presidential debate a few months ago, he saw a TV advertisement promoting atheism.
“The spokesman for the commercial was Ronald Reagan’s young son, Ron, who said, ‘I’m a lifelong atheist and I’m not afraid of burning in hell,’” Simmons recalled. “And I was shocked not by so much what he said, but by the fact that this commercial was on national television.”
Just two days later, Simmons read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the faith decline in America. Two weeks after that, he read another article in the same publication that reported 44% of Americans ages 18 to 29 identify as Nones.
“It basically means they’re not affiliated with any religion, any church, any faith belief,” Simmons said, “and that’s a pretty large number.”
Simmons didn’t become a Christian until he was a 20-year-old student at Sewanee: The University of the South. He remembers enjoying a great life but experiencing internal emptiness.
“Sewanee is an Episcopal college, so I started going to church, but that didn’t do much,” Simmons said. “And then finally, it kind of came to me that what was lacking in my life is that I didn’t have a personal relationship with God.”
Simmons said all people have a God-shaped vacuum in their hearts that only Christ can fill. Before his conversion, he said he “was trying to fill it with all types of things” that weren’t working.
Simmons majored in economics at Sewanee and then embarked on a successful business career. He was the CEO of a large insurance brokerage firm before shifting professional gears.
In 2001, he opened The Center for Executive Leadership, a faith-based ministry headquartered on Union Hill Drive between Homewood and Mountain Brook. Simmons focuses on counseling businessmen and professionals, speaking frequently to large groups of men.
“I like to tell people I’m probably more of a speaker than a writer,” he said, “but my books come straight from the series and presentations that I make.”
Simmons has published books about wisdom, humility and purpose, among other topics. His best-selling book is the “The True Measure of a Man,” which has sold about 60,000 copies and examines masculinity.
“In our culture, it’s all about performance out in the workplace,” he said. “... That’s so false.”
In his latest release, Simmons tackles an existential question. A person’s answer, he said, influences every aspect of his or her life.
“It has a huge impact on your worldview,” Simmons said. “It influences the way you see morality. It impacts the way you see purpose in life and meaning in life.”
Through penning the book, Simmons discovered the evidence for God is “powerful” and “compelling,” while the evidence for atheism is “very weak.”
He said the strongest argument for theism, and Christianity specifically, is the fine-tuning of the universe. There are 122 variables that must line up in perfect precision for the universe to exist, Simmons said, and if one is just a tad off, the universe would implode.
“More and more are coming to the conclusion that it’s divine,” Simmons said, “that God is behind it.”
“Reflections” is available in hardback for $19.99 on Amazon, at Books-A-Million and other local retailers. Copies also can be purchased from The Center for Executive Leadership’s website, thecenterbham.org, and its office. The Center can be reached at 205-789-3471.
