Pastor of River Oaks Community Church Tim Rowland integrated one of my favorite atheists William Lobdell and his book “Losing My Religion: How I lost my Faith Reporting on Religion in America-And found Unexpected Peace” in a recent sermon. The church series is “What I’m Learning From God.”
You can listen to the entire sermon here, which I suggest doing (at least trying to). It’s a good reminder what happens in churches for non-believers. And it’s an excellent way for believers to check out what advice you can use to continue on your paths in the strength Rowland suggests.
I have to say, Rowland is a little wordy for my taste, and I’m a verbose chump. It takes him six minutes to get any momentum going. He starts talking about Lobdell around minute 7.
I have to point out that while he’s not saying not to read the book, he’s not really saying read it. He’s giving a book report full of biased warnings and fear-inducing counsel. I have a beef with pastors telling congregations what to think rather than having them go find out for themselves. I also have a problem with the perpetual reminder of how awful Christians used to have it. As if the congregation deserves the right to sit in a climate controlled multimillion dollar complex because Christians used to get mauled, tortured and martyred back a couple thousand years ago.
