You’re a great author.

Why, thank you. But that’s not a question.

Oh … I think you’re a great author. Would you agree?

Yes, I would.

What’s the strangest place you visited?

A Christian wrestling match. To be fair, this was Ultimate Christian Wrestling where “good” wrestlers did battle against “evil” wrestlers. Fallen wrestlers, I kid you not, are actually resurrected at these matches. And you thought Rowdy Roddy Piper was weird.

When you say “you,” do you realize that you’re referring to yourself?

Yes.

OK. Just checking. So, did you ever feel uncomfortable?

Yep, the time I appeared on Jesus’ JumboTron. While attending a Baptist megachurch in suburban Georgia, the camera operators thought it was a good idea to focus in on the one Jew in the house among the 15,000 dancing faithful – thereby ensuring my fate as the proverbial Wicked Son in the eyes of my rabbinic father.

Since I’m you, I already know the answer to this next question: Has anyone tried to convert you?

Surprisingly, not one person tried to convert me while I was church-hopping. But since the book came out, well, that’s a different story. The most absurd attempt to win my soul for Jesus came from none other than Stephen Baldwin, the youngest of the acting Baldwin brothers. He’s a born-again Christian and, apparently, thought I wanted to be one, too.

Where can I go for more info about your great book?

Glad you asked. You can visit me online here: www.myjesusyear.com.

TAGS: author interviews, authors, Benyamin Cohen, My Jesus Year

BENYAMIN COHEN is the son of an Orthodox rabbi who married the converted daughter of a former Christian minister. He was the founder and editor of the award-winning national magazine American Jewish Life and the online magazine Jewsweek, and he has written for the Daily Beast and Slate. Prior to that he edited Torah from Dixie, thoughts on the weekly Bible portion, which was later turned into a book by the same name. He is now the content director for the Mother Nature Network, an environmental news network. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and two dogs. For more info, please visit him online at www.myjesusyear.com.

Related Posts Announcing The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience, Seattle Edition! Thursday, September 23, 7 pm at the Jewelbox Theater in the Rendezvous! Be There or We’ll Talk about You by  LITSA DREMOUSIS Cadaver Blues: Chapter 47 by  J.E. FISHMAN An Excerpt from Panopticon by  DAVID BAJO Be a Part of The 24-Hour Literary Marathon- THIS SATURDAY! by  ANNE WALLS An Excerpt from Imperial Bedrooms by  BRET EASTON ELLIS

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 12:17 am and is filed under Nonfiction, Nonfiction Self-Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.