The God Factor

Cathleen Falsani gets religion. Ahd she practices creative, redemptive, and grace filled journalism. That is, whether she's talking to the archbishop of Chicago or the chief Pastafarian, she listens carefully and tries to tease of the truth wherever she can find it. It's a rare gift in the times, one Falsani puts to good use in her new book, The God Factor.

I had the chance to chat with Falsani about the God Factor few months back for a Religion News Service piece. The piece appeared last weekend here (and here and here but who's counting ?)

Some thoughts from Falsani on religion writing and the God Factor, a collection of conversations with public people--from Bono and Anne Rice to Barack Obama and Hugh Hefner--on faith:

• "I find people far more interesting than conflicts,” she said. “You can communicate great truths and universal ideas through the very specific. I could sit down and read four volumes of theology, but if I read a 400-word story about someone who actually expresses it in the way they live, in the way they love — that stays with me.”
  
• She prayed before the interviews that God would be present in the conversation.
  “Often I didn’t say very much (in the interview),” she said. “Being a good listener, because it is the loving and respectful thing to do, allows people to think out loud. I am comfortable with the awkward pauses, because usually the next thing that comes out of the person’s mouth is what they really want to say.”
  
• “Without grace, we are screwed,” she said. “If grace isn’t true, we might as well give up.”