Spare the Rod and Debunk the Lies … A chat with authors M. Dolon Hickmon and Chris Rodda (Friday, September 27, 2013)

This week’s Freethought Fridays & Variety Show is about authors and their books … upcoming and new. One’s a thriller; the other is a debunking of false Christian nationalist history. What the books have in common is a view of topics advocated by the Christian right. Our guests include authors M. Dolon Hickmon and Chris Rodda.

1st Hour: M. Dolon Hickmon
13:24 — A Story of Faith and Obsession

Allen approaches the lectern, opens his Bible then reads aloud, “‘Children, obey your parents in all things’.” The congregants fall silent, attending politely to his words. “God’s rule for children is complete, immediate obedience to every parental command. That applies to specific instructions, like ‘take out the trash’, as well as to standing orders, like ‘put the seat down when you are finished’. Disobedience occurs any time a child does something that is forbidden, or fails to do what is required. If you have to say it twice, that’s disobedience. If the child hesitates or puts you off, that’s disobedience. And, if there is the slightest demonstration of displeasure in the child’s eyes or posture as he obeys, then that must be dealt with as disobedience, as well. (From 13:24 — A Story of Faith and Obsession)

How’s a good, Bible-believing parent supposed to handle this disobedience?

Avoid sparing the rod, as Proverbs 13:24 advocates?

M. Dolon Hickmon is handling this issue in an unusual fashion, drawing on his own abuse survival and expertise to pen a fiction thriller. “Josh’s philosophical lyrics and demonic stage-persona have earned him fortune and fame—along with a deepening romance with his band’s fiery female drummer. But when he learns that a familiar fourteen-year-old fan is wanted for murder, Josh’s sanity and sobriety are tested by memories of his own abusive childhood. Meanwhile, detectives follow their young murder suspect into a disturbing underworld, soon realizing that he is involved in a twisted investigation of his own. Clues indicate a possible link to the Christian Fundamentalist fringe…” the plot synopsis of 13:24 – A Story of Faith and Obsession reads.

13:24 is not yet published … it’s the subject of a Kickstart campaign.  “With weekly audiences in the millions, television police procedurals would be the most successful child abuse awareness campaign ever invented—if only they gave accurate information about abuse and recovery,” Hickmon writes on the Kickstart campaign.  His goal is to raise $5,000 by October 2.

Friday night, Dolon will share with God Discussion why this project is important and what he envisions with his book.

M. Dolon Hickmon is a child abuse survivor, a writer and occasional activist. He’s a husband, a father, and a business owner.

In the spare time that he can find, Dolon has written and advocated on behalf of abused and endangered children. He has lobbied successfully for county-level school corporal punishment reform, ensuring that parents in rural districts have the right to choose which adults may physically punish their children. He has also volunteered with young adults at a close-custody prison, sharing his experiences of successfully moving past a violent upbringing.

“I have been honored to have my opinions appear in newspapers around the country and overseas to have my original research cited by many experts and included in a recent presentation to the US Congress,” Hickmon says.

2nd Hour: Chris Rodda
Debunking David Barton’s Jefferson Lies

Chris Rodda is well known for her ongoing work in debunking David Barton and other Christian fundamentalists’ versions of American history.  Rodda is the Senior Research Director for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.  Her books include Liars for Jesus and a number of books (some still being written) in the Debunking David Barton’s Jefferson Lies series.  Her work has been published on numerous major media websites and she has been a guest on talk shows throughout the country.

In his book The Jefferson Lies, Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton professes to correct what he claims are seven lies about Thomas Jefferson, in chapters titled:

Lie #1: Thomas Jefferson Fathered Sally Hemings’ Children

Lie #2: Thomas Jefferson Founded a Secular University

Lie #3: Thomas Jefferson Wrote His Own Bible and Edited Out the Things He Didn’t Agree With

Lie #4: Thomas Jefferson Was a Racist Who Opposed Equality for Black Americans

Lie #5: Thomas Jefferson Advocated a Secular Public Square through the Separation of Church and State

Lie #6: Thomas Jefferson Detested the Clergy

Lie #7: Thomas Jefferson Was an Atheist and Not a Christian

It is David Barton, however, who is doing the lying, says Chris, and not those whom he accuses of being the revisionists. Through a series of seven short books, one devoted to each of Barton’s seven Jefferson lies, the real liar will be revealed, and the real Thomas Jefferson will be preserved.

Her latest installment of the debunking series, Debunking David Barton’s Jefferson Lies: #5 – Jefferson Advocated a Secular Public Square, was published earlier this month.  We’ll get some of the highlights from Chris about her new work.

Show Time: Friday night, September 27, 2013, 6 Pacific / 7 Mountain / 8 Central / 9 Eastern (Additional time conversions at the World Time Server).

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