I sold my soul and all I got was this crappy book!
Actually, the author, Hemant Mehta (a.k.a. the Friendly Atheist), turned my offer down. Instead, all I really got was a free copy of I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith Through an Atheist's Eyes. And it's not a crappy book. In fact, even though I may not be as "friendly" an atheist as he, and considering Hemant wrote the book with Christians in mind, I enjoyed reading it. But that should come as no surprise to those of you already familiar with his experiences as a church-going atheist. As for all you strangers out there, think of Hemant as the friendly non-believer in your neighborhood.
I should also point out that Hemant didn't really sell his soul on eBay. The highest bidder, Jim Henderson, got to send the friendly atheist to church. And with a winning bid of $504, send him to church he did! Hemant visited a variety of churches, both big and small with some in between, three of them in my neck of the woods.
I never would have thought that an atheist could have a good time at Lakewood Church in Houston. As for me, the mere thought of going to any church has been the furthest thing from my mind for quite some time now. Of course, if church leaders were to take note of Hemant's observations, and do their best to follow what advice he has to offer, then I might be more open to setting foot inside a church in the future. Still, I would like to have been there to see the look on Joel Osteen's face when Hemant blurted out "Joel, I'm an atheist, and my mom, well, she's not Christian, but we're huge fans!" It must have been priceless.
And speaking of first impressions, Hemant has suggested elsewhere that his book could serve as a good way to break the ice, especially if you're an atheist. It's already worked once for me, so I'm inclined to agree. Just the other day I was visiting a friend when a mutual acquaintance of ours happened to stop by. He asked what I was reading. The title interested him, so I offered to let him read the back cover. Once finished, he asked "So, what about you? Are you an atheist?"
"Yes," I replied, "I am an atheist."
Judging from his reaction, my being an atheist wasn't that big of a deal, at least not to him. Whether or not he considers himself a Christian, I'm not really sure. But that's not the point. The point is we were having a conversation, and a civilized one at that. He wanted to get to know me better, and maybe tell me more about what he either does or does not believe some other time. Now that I'm through reading it, maybe I'll pass my copy along to him. That way he can get to know Hemant a little better, too.
I should also point out that Hemant didn't really sell his soul on eBay. The highest bidder, Jim Henderson, got to send the friendly atheist to church. And with a winning bid of $504, send him to church he did! Hemant visited a variety of churches, both big and small with some in between, three of them in my neck of the woods.
I never would have thought that an atheist could have a good time at Lakewood Church in Houston. As for me, the mere thought of going to any church has been the furthest thing from my mind for quite some time now. Of course, if church leaders were to take note of Hemant's observations, and do their best to follow what advice he has to offer, then I might be more open to setting foot inside a church in the future. Still, I would like to have been there to see the look on Joel Osteen's face when Hemant blurted out "Joel, I'm an atheist, and my mom, well, she's not Christian, but we're huge fans!" It must have been priceless.
And speaking of first impressions, Hemant has suggested elsewhere that his book could serve as a good way to break the ice, especially if you're an atheist. It's already worked once for me, so I'm inclined to agree. Just the other day I was visiting a friend when a mutual acquaintance of ours happened to stop by. He asked what I was reading. The title interested him, so I offered to let him read the back cover. Once finished, he asked "So, what about you? Are you an atheist?"
"Yes," I replied, "I am an atheist."
Judging from his reaction, my being an atheist wasn't that big of a deal, at least not to him. Whether or not he considers himself a Christian, I'm not really sure. But that's not the point. The point is we were having a conversation, and a civilized one at that. He wanted to get to know me better, and maybe tell me more about what he either does or does not believe some other time. Now that I'm through reading it, maybe I'll pass my copy along to him. That way he can get to know Hemant a little better, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment