Losing My Religion
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God’s plan vs., 211–12, 237
healing power of, 207–10, 212, 236
for personal gain, 26–28, 31, 32–33, 35, 60, 243
Rosary and, 120, 224, 233
studies on efficacy of, 207–10
unanswered, 48–49, 236–37
“prayer warriors,” 207
Presbyterianism, 16, 55, 84, 168, 169, 235
Price, David, 114–16
priest paternity cases, 254–58
Prime Time Live (TV show), 176
prison ministries, 14, 87–88
proselytizers, 32, 83
Prosperity Gospel, 175, 177
Protestantism, 55, 84, 161, 162. See also evangelical Christians; specific churches
Purpose Driven Life (Warren), 69
Reform Judaism, 64, 65
Rehab, Larry, 113, 115
Religion Newswriters Association, 137
Revelation, 13, 51, 166
Robertson, Pat, 17, 20, 29
Rodda, Madge, 39–41, 62
Roman Catholicism. See Catholic Church
Roosa, Ken, 226–27
Rosary, 120, 224, 233
Ross, A. Larry, 178, 181
Rossetti, Stephen J., 112
Saddleback Church, 33, 42, 68, 70, 166–67
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 55, 159–60, 235
Saint Francis of Assisi (Chesterton), 14
St. Luke Institute, 109, 111–13
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 5–7
St. Mary Major Basilica, 142
St. Michael Island (Alaska), 215, 227, 228, 229–34
St. Philomena Church, 100
saints, 62–63, 198–99, 200
Saint Thomas Aquinas (Chesterton), 14
Salas, Ed, 66
Salas, Timothy, 66
Samueli, Susan and Henry, 64–65
San Francisco, Archdiocese of, 164–65
San Francisco Solano Church, 151, 152–56
Santa Ana Catholic Worker, 67
Santa Margarita High School, 61, 93, 109, 115
Satan, 170, 190, 201, 272
Sawyer, Diane, 176
Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, The (Sider), 205
Schleimer, Jon, 265
Schneerson, Rabbi Menachem M., 73, 74, 75
Schuller, Robert H., 167, 194–95
Schwarzenegger, Arnold, 103
Scientology, 121, 271
Screwtape Letters, The (Lewis), 14
Seattle University, 220
Sechrest, Alan, 49
Sechrest, Ethan Shigeru, 48–49
sexual abuse. See clergy sexual abuse cases
sexual teachings, 84, 85, 93, 206
Sider, Ronald J., 205
sin, 6, 28, 99, 271
Sipe, Richard, 217–18, 228
60 Minutes (TV show), 184
Smith, Al, 55
Smith, Dwight, 66–68
Smith, Joseph, 122, 123–24, 126
Smith, Leia, 66–68
Smith, Roger, 261, 264
Smithsonian Institution, 122–23
Society of Jesus. See Jesuits Socrates, 260
Soto, Jaime, 156
Spade, Will, 144
Stations of the Cross, 140
Stern, Howard, 263–64
Story of a Soul (Therese of Lisieux), 199
Strobel, Lee, 14, 197
Sundborg, Father Stephen, 219–20
Sunstone Education Foundation, 280
Supreme Court, California, 111
Supreme Court, U.S., 82–83
Survivors Network for those Abused by
Priests, 97, 146
Swaggert, Jimmy, 177
Swaim, Will, 2–4, 8
Sweeney, Julia, 247–50, 262
Swinburne, Richard, 208
Tamayo, Father Santiago (“Henry”), 100–101
TBN. See Trinity Broadcasting Network televangelists, 13, 17, 70, 167, 173–95 media characterization of, 29
Temple Beth El, 65
Ten Commandments for religion journalists, 80–84
Teresa, Mother, 199–200
Theo Lacy Branch Jail, 87–88
Therese of Lisieux, St., 120, 199
This Is Your Day! (TV show), 178
Thomas Aquinas, St., 14, 120
Thompson, Hunter, 58–59
Thousand Pines Christian Camp & Conference Center retreat, 16–22, 203
Tilton, Robert, 175–76
Times Community News, 33, 53, 56–57
tithing, 47, 70, 124–25, 205
transubstantiation, 84
Tribune Company, 56
Trinity Broadcasting Network, 177, 180, 187, 188–95
Trinity Foundation, 174, 175–77, 179–80
Twain, Mark, 207, 253, 275
Unitarian Church, 121, 246
United States v. Ballard (1944), 82–83
University of California, Irvine, 58–59, 64
Urban VI, Pope, 161
Urell, Monsignor John, 110–11, 113–14
Uribe, Father Arturo, 254–58
Vandenkolk, William, 186–87
Wall, Patrick, 216–17, 226
Warren, Kay, 70
Warren, Rick, 68–71, 166–67, 178
Washington Post, 29, 80
Waters, David, 80–84 “Way of St. James” pilgrimage, 203
Weight of Glory, The (Lewis), 76
Whitmore, Kelly, 191
“Why Does God Hate Amputees?” (website), 209–10
Winter, Damon, 226, 230
Woodward, Bob, 59
World Vision, 235
worship music, 9–10, 20
Ybarra, Anthony, 87
Young, Brigham, 130
Young, Father Roy, 6, 10
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
WHERE TO START is easy. I’m deeply grateful for my wife, Greer, who has hung with me—in good times and in bad—for more than 20 years, and my four wonderful boys: Taylor, Tristan, Matthew and Oliver.
I owe a special debt to Hugh Hewitt, who never stopped being my best friend even after our spiritual paths diverged. My little brother Jim, his wife, Colleen, and my old friend Will Swaim were especially supportive of this book and offered quick and invaluable feedback. And thanks to my parents, Robert and Nancy Lobdell, who have always been the biggest fans of my career.
Several of my colleagues at the Los Angeles Times deserve special praise, especially Roger Smith, who so expertly edited the article that provided the seed for this book, and Christopher Goffard, Dana Parsons, Steve Marble and Stuart Pfeifer, who provided spot-on critiques and unwavering support.
Tricia Davey, my agent and former Mater Dei High School homecoming queen, was an enthusiastic backer of this book from the start, giving me a major confidence boost. Bruce Nichols, my editor at HarperCollins, used gentle suggestions, encouraging words and an amazing editing touch to keep my story heading in a straight line.
Thanks to Julia Sweeney and David Price for generously allowing me to excerpt their works.
I owe my sanity to Judith Van Dixhorn, a woman of deep insight and charity, and Howard Stern, who makes me laugh each day and gives me the ability to be honest about myself. Also helping clear my mind were Dani and Roda, my Spin instructors, who provided freakishly hard (and fun) workouts, and my triathlete friends in the International Tri-Blogger Alliance.
A special thanks to my one and only journalism teacher, Joseph N. Bell, the first person to tell that I could be a professional journalist. And to college classmates W. Tom Davey and Greg Hardesty, who showed me how thrilling reporting can be—even at a school newspaper.
Finally, I am most thankful to those people who have appeared in my stories over the years, giving me their time and sharing their heart, especially the survivors of clergy sexual abuse. You are always in my thoughts. I thank you for telling your stories, and I admire how you strive each day to reclaim your life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
William Lobdell, 48, is an award-winning journalist and a visiting faculty member a
t the University of California, Irvine. He lives in Costa Mesa, California, with his wife, Greer, and four boys. He competes in the sport of triathlon and is an Ironman. www.williamlobdell.com
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Credits
Jacket design by Jamie Keenan
Cover image collage: David Muir/Getty Images and Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images
Copyright
LOSING MY RELIGION. Copyright © 2009 by William Lobdell. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Mobipocket Reader February 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-187734-6
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