So far, about fifteen people have read Cows in the Pews and the Atheists Too, thankfully giving me some much needed feedback. Some friends, some family, my editor, me, again, and again, and again. Not all have commented much past telling me they found it interesting and well written ( as subjective as that can be). Kinda like Marty Mcfly’s mom’s reaction just after he shredded the guitar solo in Back to the Future. She said something like “that was very interesting music” with no pretense of understanding it at all. You know, just looking for something to say to be able to move on past that point.
A couple of other’s have engaged me a little further pointing out what they did and didn’t like, things they agreed with, things they didn’t; pretty much the full gamut. And on top of that, some have said they think the title and the cover are too offensive, too provocative, and will probably be off-putting to most people…
So that’s a good place for me to start, by explaining the title and the cover so people can know why. Not how I came up with it or the very moment the idea popped into my head like it was some amazing moment of genius, but why I see “Christian”/religious/churchgoing people as I describe them in the title, “Cows in the pews”. We’ll get to the ” Atheists Too” later. The connotation is obvious and describes to a tee how people involved in organized religion strike me. I’m not saying all these people are disingenuous. I am saying whether they realize it or not, many (dare I say most) are simply being herded into a behavior that may have nothing at all to do with pure Christianity…
I can hear it know… “Hey, you can’t say that”. “That’s none of your business”. “That subject is a deeply private and personal thing between the individual and God, and for you to not only offer up an opinion about it to begin with , much less write a book with a title suggesting we’re all just mooing along through our Christian life is offensive to say the least…”
Well, so be it… I’m deliberately and intentionally challenging conventional wisdom and my aim is to do what? I know I’m not alone. I know I’m not the only one who looks at organized religion and questions the very foundation it purportedly stands for. I know I’m not the first person to ever want something beyond the typical Christian experience, something more than the sterile stage of the “Church” building with it’s script of conduct that we are expected to perform each and every week. So, I’m just another Christian dude looking for more… I’ll know it when I see it because I’ve experienced it before…
