Evangelist Ray Comfort has released a film called Audacity with the goal of convincing gay and lesbian viewers to renounce homosexuality. Jessica and I watched the film (so you don’t have to) and we give you the play-by-play along with commentary. So there’s your spoiler alert!

After that, beginning at the 34:44 mark, we have an *exclusive* interview with the film’s star Travis Owens. He plays Peter, a very devout Christian who wants to spread the Good Word, but sometimes hesitates because it might be awkward. Because he hesitates, bad things happen — especially to gays and lesbians who didn’t accept Jesus into their lives.

In real life, Travis is actually very supportive of LGBT rights, which makes his appearance in this film both questionable and fascinating.

We spoke with him about what it’s like to work with Ray Comfort, whether he’s received more feedback from LGBT viewers or Christians, and why he took on a role that contradicted his personal beliefs.

Notes:

You can read Camille Beredjick‘s review of the film right here.

Also, Ray Comfort spoke with us about the pro-LGBT beliefs of his film’s two stars and whether that mattered to him.

Linda Stephens was one of the two plaintiffs in Town of Greece v. Galloway, the 2014 Supreme Court case that legalized religious invocations at government meetings (with a few caveats).

She worked as a librarian for two decades, served as president of the Greater Rochester Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and was vice president of a local chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

We spoke about the worst moment of the oral arguments, how she followed SCOTUSblog.com to get updates on her own lawsuit, and why losing the case has ironically worked out in atheists’ favor.

Notes:

Here’s a link to Dale Carpenter‘s excellent book about the Texas sodomy case, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas.

Matt Dillahunty is a former fundamentalist Christian who now debates religious apologists. He was the President of the Atheist Community of Austin for several years and co-hosts The Atheist Experience call-in show. He recently began a video series teaching viewers how to respond to frequently-used apologist arguments.

Jessica spoke with Matt about his religious upbringing, why he loves debates, and what he sees as the future of faith.

Dianna E. Anderson grew up in South Dakota, and after stints as an English teacher in Japan and a radio producer in Chicago, she’s turned her focus to writing.

Her first book, out now, is called Damaged Goods: New Perspectives on Christian Purity and it’s all about the intersection of the church and sexuality.

We spoke with Dianna about why sex is often seen as shameful in parts of Christianity, what conversations the broader evangelical culture is having about sex, and whether the church can ever become sex-positive. Lots of sex. #Sex