May Book Club

May: Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot by Seth Andrews
Seth Andrews wasn't an idiot during his thirty years as an evangelical Christian. He wasn't unintelligent, nor did his IQ shift when he ultimately left religion entirely. He considered himself thoughtful, moral, reasonable, and at least as smart as the average person. In other words, he wasn't an idiot. Yet strangely, he often sounded like one. In any other context, Christians would likely smirk, scoff, or recoil at many of their "normal" beliefs and practices: reenacted Easter crucifixions, eating monthly communion "flesh," singing hymns about being washed in blood, and the embrace of a Bible containing scripture verses about golden hemorrhoids, apocalypse dragons, and human sacrifice, So what gives? Are these notions embraced only because they're familiar? Do they make any sense? And do they cause otherwise reasonable people to sound like idiots? Seth Andrews admits that, for himself, the answer was a definite yes. For everyone else? Read the book and decide.
Jim will be moderating this month. Hope you can join us for some thoughtful discussion.
Upcoming books:
June: The Scheme: How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court by Sheldon Whitehouse and Jennifer Mueller (Steve)
June: Book Selection Month: Please bring a book to recommend.
July: A History of the World in 6 Glasses Paperback by Tom Standage (Roxanne)