On paper, this whole podcast series either shouldn’t exist or should be a lot more combative than it ever gets. Mostly. That’s how opposite Randy and I appear – on paper.
As this atheist has said here a few times before, Randy and I were social friends for a year before I knew he preached for a living. Opposites must attract because, conceptually, that made him “sexier” if you will. Knowing Randy was that different from me made it imperative that I get to know him better than I did. That started a series of lunches and conversations and books we agreed to read together and friends joining in occasionally, and more laughter and insight than should be legal. But I have always kept to my side of the aisle while Randy has kept to his.
That ends today with this podcast.
Okay, what if Presbyterian pastor Randy had to pitch atheism… could he do it (the pitch has to be genuine – you have to believe what you’re selling)? How about Alan? Could this “dropped from the womb an atheist” atheist make Christian faith appealing? That’s today’s podcast challenge. Alan the Atheist will step to the pulpit and Reverend Randy will tell you why unfaith is the way to go.
But, first, we’ll talk a little LA… LA is a city of opposites. It’s sun-shiny most of the year but, at the same time, there’s a pervasive darkness about the place. There’s a reason the noir literary genre was invented IN Los Angeles – by writers like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain – who were trying to wrap their brains around it. People started moving to Los Angeles because of the bright, healthy weather. So, where did all the corruption that’s haunted LA forever come from?
Turns out? Both Randy and I have distinctly opposite feelings about Los Angeles and about living here. Let’s start there…
We’ll have the YouTube version up shortly…