Last Thursday evening I drove my rattletrap Volvo into downtown Portland. I had to run out of a book release party for one of my closest friends in order to make it to an event downtown.

I parked my car as close to the venue as possible, more than five blocks away, and began the trudge to the evening's festivities. I was going to the historic Portland landmark, the First Unitarian Church. I was going at the invitation of Tom Krattenmaker.

If you don't recognize the name, Tom Krattenmaker, let me tell you a bit about him. He is a member of the Board of Contributors for that beacon of the liberal agenda, USA Today. Not only does Tom write for them, he is their most prolific writer on the topic of religion in America. He writes more often than not with a piercingly critical eye toward American evangelicalism. Tom would never join a Christian church. While he speaks with respect for Jesus as a teacher and ethical-leader, he finds the supernatural and incarnational Jesus-teachings of the Christian ...