tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7902761780006896883.post1543193362179921492..comments2009-04-17T11:03:33.129-04:00Comments on Roasted Religion: Jesus was anti-religionChad E Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09308693831976313576noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7902761780006896883.post-7346501801941906622008-01-31T09:27:00.000-05:002008-01-31T09:27:00.000-05:00Hey, Chad! Thanks for the link and for referring ...Hey, Chad! Thanks for the link and for referring me to your blog! <BR/><BR/>On Jesus being "anti-religion," one of my favorite descriptions (thanks for reminding me!) is from Bruce Bawer's "Stealing Jesus." I can't possibly quote it in full here, but it's a very long rant about Jesus' own screed against the Pharisees ("You cross entire oceans to make a single convert, and when you do you turn him into twice the son of hell you are!") and Bruce asks, "How can conservative Christians read this and not feel convicted on every single point?" That's how I came up with my own explanation: mental jujitsu, repeated loudly and often.<BR/><BR/>If you're writing a novel, you might want to look at Martin Garnder's "The Flight of Peter Fromm," which is Gardner's own roman-a-clef about his loss of conservative faith. I have never actually read it myself (so many books in the world!), but if you're going to do something similar it might be good to read one of your forbears. <BR/><BR/>Finally, if you're looking for ideas for posts, I have to say that your bio, just in that little box on the right-hand side of the page, is fascinating already. Why not tell any individual incidents that helped clarify your views? I have a couple of them in my book and I think they're some of the strongest parts.<BR/><BR/>By the way, I know almost nothing about publicity. I got lucky and wound up on This American Life, then got lucky again when they agreed to describe me as writing a book which hasn't been finished and has no agent. All I can really say is that the secret of gaining readership is to update regularly: most sources I've read recommend two or three times a week, but really--the blogs I go to (like Andrew Sullivan and Savage Blog) update at least twice a day, and that's what I shoot for. I average around 100 hits a day, which is pretty small by Andrew Sullivan standards, but not bad for a guy whose only fame is associated with three appearances on a radio show.Cowboy Dave Dickersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07195995470092779724noreply@blogger.com