Atheist Teresa MacBain
Yesterday on National Public Radio, religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty did an incredible piece about a Methodist minister who was lately tossed out of her church after she declared that she’s an atheist. The beauty of the piece was that it anatomized a spiritual crisis, an individual sorting out her beliefs in the face of an orthodoxy and concluding she was not down with the program.
It reminded me of the piece Terry Gross did on Anna Quindlen leaving the Catholic faith over the child abuse scandal and women’s sexual freedom.
Are Christians the only people whose religious apostasies can be dissected on NPR?
I would urge NPR to interview Joseph Dana, a former Zionist who has studied Jewish history and is now dedicated to the struggle for equal rights. Or Max Blumenthal. Or Hannah Mermelstein. Or Anna Baltzer. Or Lia Tarachansky. Or Matthew Taylor. Or Rae Abileah. Or David Sheen. Or Jerry Haber. Or Jack Ross. My heart breaks as I write this: for all these people only got where they did because of a spiritual crisis and struggle; and Jewish life is now being flooded by brave young Jews of real accomplishment who say they want no part of Jewish nationalism. When do we get a voice in the MSM?
“When do we get a voice in the MSM?”
Probably when you can afford to buy a major newspaper or TV network.
Sad to say.
i was in the car when this piece aired and caught most of it. frankly i found it strange, and the ‘pastor’s’ dilemma contrived. some might say that the timing of this ‘soul searching’ piece on the methodist/atheist and the ‘cultish’ non-responses of the Methodist church to NPR inquiries are curious. (if i remember correctly, she reached her final decision about leaving the church in the middle of march and subsequently attended an atheists conference later in the month. thank g_d NPR was able to put this bit together so quickly!)
Is it just a coincidence that NPR would air this piece about a former Methodist minister just when the Methodist conference is considering BDS?
Christianity does get a thorough dissecting in the MSM, doesn’t it? And it’s not just Zionism that gets ignored. If NPR wants an interesting story on dissenters of faith, I’d recommend they check out Aron Rottenberg.
Actually, there are a couple of MSM outlets that might be willing to deal with such things. CBS and Nat Geo are the only ones that come to mind. I believe it was this program from Nat Geo that interviewed an atheist leaving his hasidic community: http://natgeotv.com/asia/inside-hasidism
You really think NPR is that in cahoots with Zionists?