Katie sent me this essay about trashing me. It’s good so I’m publishing it as a guest blog here. Also: I come out okay by the end! Back in the early 1980s as a very young woman Katie Andraski worked as a publicist in big time Christian publishing at Crossway Books. She did what few evangelical publicity people ever managed to do: Katie convinced editors at Newsweek, The New York Times, and the NBC “Today Show” to publicize the Schaeffer family as we... Read more
I once again had a chance to spend some time with my friend, Ben Corey, at my home in Massachusetts. While last time we sat down to talk about my book, Why I’m An Atheist Who Believes in God, this time we switched roles and I interviewed Ben about his soon to be released book, Undiluted. Buy his book! (Buy mine too!) Thanks! Why not order both books today? Just click on the book cover and you’ll magically be taken to an ordering... Read more
How did the religious right ensnare my family? I explored this at UCLA at a Hammer Museum talk I think you’ll find interesting. Here’s my journey from the Led Zeppelin to Ronald Reagan, from a kid in a mission to Congressman Jack Kemp’s basement… Nepotism is the order of the day in evangelical circles… P.S. The host introduces me as “Dr. Schaeffer” that’s not me! My son John always jokes with me when I go speak at places like... Read more
Here’s a sample chapter from my new book “WHY I AM AN ATHEIST WHO BELIEVES IN GOD: How to give love, create beauty and find peace” Enjoy this Chapter and then buy the book– please! “Too Good to Be True” Chapter 19 19 My wife Genie once said to me, “It’s hard to believe in something that seems too good to be true.” Then she thought about it for a moment and added, “But sometimes good things are true, even things... Read more
“God’s iron requirement to stand with the oppressed occurs as well in the Hebrew and Greek bibles. Those who turn away from righteousness—be they Jew, Christian or Muslim—violate that covenant. They are not God’s people…” Read more of this passionate guest column first printed in Truthdig by Chris Hedges. By Chris Hedges God’s covenant in the Promised Land was not made with those who pilot F-16 fighter jets that drop 1,000-pound iron fragmentation bombs over the concrete hovels of Gaza. It was not made... Read more
I was just speaking at SoulFest (August 7-9). It’s a music festival with evangelical roots. The band Switchfoot played. I’m several things but not evangelical. Could you imagine a more uncomfortable fit for me? I was expecting the worst. What I got was two gifts: One of pure art and the other pure grace. I also got a good and necessary humbling. FIRST GIFT: Switchfoot’s new album that they played from at the festival — “Fading West” — is the best rock and... Read more
It was a bright September day, clear, cool and perfect. My wife Genie, my grandchildren Lucy (age 5 and in the picture here taken that spring at Easter), Jack (3) and my daughter-in-law, Becky, were sprawled on the lawn. Lucy wandered over to the vegetable garden and picked cherry tomatoes. She ate them while dancing and watching her shadow flicker over the grass. Becky was starting to show with her third child. Love, contentment and sweetness were as palpable as... Read more
Join me where I’ll be speaking 4 times (!) at SoulFest. Aug 7-9. This is the first evangelical type event I’ve been to for years… let alone spoken at. But Dan Russell (former U2 manager) who organizes SF is a pal… So even though I’ll be the proverbial “fish out of water…” I’m driving up today and doing multiple workshops on my new book “Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God.” Come along and keep me company– if... Read more
Sorry, folks, but the truth is that the little private world of evangelical and post-evangelical Christianity we’ve built is more or less totally irrelevant to real achievement. Be that “progressive” or “conservative” religion, we’re into make-believe. We’re relying on circular arguments to sell delusional fiction to the spiritually addicted. By the way, that includes me. In the real world: the European Organization for Nuclear Research known as CERN confirms that a boson with mass around 125 GeV, consistent with long-sought... Read more
Ironically, although Mom and Dad may have been deluded by their fundamentalist certainties, I am mostly at peace in my home where my grandchildren Lucy (5), Jack (4) and I play Botticelli because I was indoctrinated with knee-jerk guilt. I realize now that my parents were often right for the wrong reasons. For instance, I feel guilt when I shout at Lucy and Jack. And when it comes to the “big sins” I would not have burned in hell for... Read more
Why I Still Talk to Jesus -- In Spite of Everything
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