Special Guests

• AJ Jacobs — Author of The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

  What if a modern-day North American followed every single rule in the Bible as literally as possible? Not just the famous rules like the Ten Commandments and Love Thy Neighbour, but the hundreds of often ignored ones like: don't wear clothes of mixed fibres; grow your beard; stone adulterers. A.J. Jacobs' experiment is surprising, informative, timely and funny. It is both irreverent and reverent. It seeks to discover what's good in the Bible and what is maybe not so relevant to 21st century life.
  www.ajjacobs.com
  
  

• Frank Viola — Co-author of Pagan Christianity

  Have you ever wondered why we Christians do what we do for church every Sunday morning? Why do we "dress up" for church? Why does the pastor preach a sermon each week? Why do we have pews, steeples, choirs, and seminaries? This latest book stirring up the world of Christendom reveals the startling truth: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is not rooted in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles. Coauthors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence in the first-ever book to document the full story of modern Christian church practices.
  www.frankviola.com
  
  

Journey

• William Lobdell — Former Evangelical LA Times Religion Editor turned Atheist

  William Lobdell, is a journalist with the Los Angeles Times who used to cover the religion beat for eight years. He earned several national awards for his work before becoming a metro editor for the paper in 2006. He is currently on leave writing a book, tentatively titled Jesus Wept, for Harper Collins about how he lost his faith while covering religion for The Times. Today, William will tell us his story of how he went from being an evangelical Christian to a reluctant atheist!
  
  www.williamlobdell.com

  ← 24m:03s – 5.51 MB →

  Listen to our interview with Droogleview William Lobdell on October 9, 2010 Listen to our interview with William Lobdell on February 28, 2009

  
  

Talkback, etc.

• What would you like more of and what would you like less of from TDMS in 2008?

  Guest ideas? Topic suggestions? If you were in charge of programming TDMS, what advice would you give to Drew? Every year we start off with listener feedback & today's the day to have your say! (We're trying our best to keep Drew on the right path.) Also joining for the show is our Compassion Co-host for the Day winner Jeff Ponke. Jeff is a Christian medical doctor currently working at the Credit Valley Hospital and a local walk-in clinic, as well as an associate pastor at Freshwater Christian Church in Mississauga.
  
  www.freshwaterchurch.com
  
  

• Judge orders distribution of Bibles in school "unconstitutional" — Your reaction?

  Fifty million children attend public schools in a nation that coined the phrase "In God We Trust," but the number of those allowed to receive free Bibles on campus appears to be shrinking. However, according to a Gideon USA spokesperson, they don't really care about this recent decision and feel that this is "no big deal". They also had no idea how many schools are still allowing distribution of bibles. Gideon Canada however, told us that about 80% of Canadian schools are still receiving Bibles. Should the courts decide that Bible distribution in Canada is unconstitutional, how would you feel?
  
  

• The Counsel Of Many!

  Need Help or Advice On An Issue In Your Life?
  Tell us your situation and Drew will ask the listeners of TDMS!
  
  This Week: a person wants to know "What role should the church leadership play in dealing with a couple from the church, currently going through a messy divorce?" Everyone knows that each spouse contributes to a divorce, but what if the husband isn't paying proper child support? Or what if he's putting the wife and mother of their kids through absolute hell? Neurotic emails, manipulative text messages and false criminal accusations? Really playing the "custody" game well! Should the church leadership step in or just stay out of it?
  
  

• What advice would you give to William Lobdell, former evangelical turned reluctant atheist?

  After hearing William's story, I'm sure you can sympathize with him. After all, there's an awful lot about North American Christianity that is absolutely repulsive and just flat out wrong. But maybe William is missing a piece of the puzzle? Maybe after hearing his story, you could call and share your thoughts with one of North America's most respected religion reporters!