John W. Loftus should be a Christian. He attended and graduated from Great Lakes Christian College, Lincoln Christian University, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he learned under apologist William Lane Craig.

But he’s spent the last several years debunking the faith.

His books include Why I Rejected Christianity, Why I Became an Atheist, and The Outsider Test for Faith. His latest book is strangely called How to Defend the Christian Faith.

I spoke with John about the worst argument Christian apologists use, how learning the Bible caused him to leave the faith, and whether rejecting Christianity is the same thing as becoming an atheist.

David Williamson is the founder and President of the Central Florida Freethought Community. His group has been leading the way when it comes to getting atheists to give invocations at local government meetings.

I spoke with David about why secular invocations are so valuable, step by step instructions on what local activists can do to get on these invocation lists, and what atheists should say if they get the opportunity to speak in front of government officials.

Notes:

You can connect with CFFC on Facebook. The group is keeping track of secular invocations in central Florida at InvocationsOnline.com.

We chatted during the show about Christian chaplains on public high school and college sports teams, and there’s a lengthy compilation of where that’s happening at TeamChaplains.wordpress.com.

If you’d like to learn more about delivering secular invocations in your area, Americans United has a wonderful guide as part of their Operation Inclusion.

Cathy Lynn Grossman is a senior national correspondent for Religion News Service, a wire service for faith-based news. She often writes stories involving research and statistics. She also worked for more than two decades with USA Today.

I spoke with Grossman about the toughest story she’s ever written, what the Internet is doing to religion, and whether the amount of religion currently in politics is a new phenomenon.

Jocelyn Floyd is an attorney working with the Thomas More Society, a non-profit group that usually defends religious liberty cases. As a frame of reference, they’re usually on the other side of the Freedom From Religion Foundation on the issues. She also serves as a board member for the Northern Illinois chapter of the Christian Legal Society.

I spoke with Jocelyn about Nativity scenes on government property, the need for anonymity in lawsuits, and Kim Davis.

Notes:

We discussed one particular Nativity scene outside the Franklin County Courthouse in Indiana. You can read more about that case right here.