After reading On Faith Panelists Blog: Non-believing clergy: Now what shall we do? – Daniel C. Dennett and the responses from the faithful and faithless alike, I’m reminded of a conversation I had with my brother-in-law, a Southern Baptist and part-time missionary.
The brother-in-law doesn’t think I should go to church with my wife. He thinks it’s the height of hypocrisy for me to even set foot in a church, Christian or otherwise. When I confronted him with the statistics that say, just within his own 2000+ member church, there could be anywhere from thirty to three hundred and twenty non-believers, he maintained his denial. There are no atheists in his church. Everyone believes.
Everyone.
Now I read this article and the attached research (PDF) showing that yes, even Protestant pastors who are still preaching from the pulpit, teaching Sunday school classes and counseling their flock can lose their faith. Of course, we already knew that, but this research by Dennett and Linda LaScola confirms it. I would like to think that this would shake the foundation of his (my brother-in-law) little world, but I doubt it. He’s made a way of life out of denial. This is the same guy who spends a couple of weeks each year with his family, trying to convert Catholics to Christianity in Guadalajara.
Yeah, I don’t think he’s going to let a little thing like facts get in the way of his unshakable beliefs.
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.bluefrogdesignstudios.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.bluefrogdesignstudios.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Google]](http://www.bluefrogdesignstudios.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[LinkedIn]](http://www.bluefrogdesignstudios.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/linkedin.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.bluefrogdesignstudios.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.bluefrogdesignstudios.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.bluefrogdesignstudios.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.bluefrogdesignstudios.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
love your blog. You have a great sense of humor. I found you on the No longer quivering website.
I have another blog. http://christianfeminism-olderandwiser.blogspot.com
I blog about bible verses that relate to women.
Maybe we can break down the barriers of lunacy.
I’ll check out your blog. Thanks for the comment. I try to temper my temper with giggles & grins.