Salvation Boulevard

---

Just be natural.

Talk from the heart. Go.

Is it...

Oh, okay. Hey.

Well, I guess my story

starts right around here.

I was in town for

a show by The Dead.

And I was trying

to get a ticket,

and I needed

a miracle, really.

And one didn't come.

My van just sort of

up and ran out of gasoline.

So, I pulled into

this parking lot.

And I woke up the next day

and saw this big building,

and I went inside

to use the bathroom,

which you're not

supposed to do,

and I stayed for

the church service.

And, you know, really when

I would go to a Dead show

I always felt like

I was coming home,

but really it was like

one big party in a hotel room.

And with my family,

when we go to the church,

you know, it's kind

of the same thing.

We all get together,

and we... They play songs,

and there's a real

sense of community.

People are nice here.

It's me,

it's me, oh Lord

Standing in

the need of prayer

It's me,

it's me, oh Lord

Standing in

the need of prayer

Not my brother, not my

sister But it's me, oh Lord

Standing in

the need of prayer

Not my brother, not my

sister But it's me, oh Lord

Standing in

the need of prayer

It's me,

it's me, oh Lord

Standing in

the need of prayer

It's me,

it's me, oh Lord

Standing in

the need of prayer

When I look at

the historical record,

when I know deep

down what's at stake...

Oh, it's started

already. It's started!

Carl! Carl! Come on.

I believe He was

who He said He was.

A savior who took on

the sins of this world

and opened a door

to another world.

Hey, Jim.

Sorry.

You rock, Pastor Dan!

May I respond?

Please do, please do.

Very well, let's ask God

a few simple questions then.

Where was He during

the Spanish Inquisition?

9/11? The Holocaust? Disease?

Massive starvation?

Earthquakes?

And where has He been for the thousands

of years of human suffering?

Come on!

If there is a God,

has there been a more

unjust, lazy, vindictive...

Boo!

...capricious bastard in

all of human history?

How about you? Huh?

How about you?

Ladies and gentlemen, please.

Pastor Day, what do you see as the

evidence for the existence of God?

I see evidence for God

everywhere I look.

In law. In nature. In culture.

In fact, we're standing in an

auditorium full of evidence.

Is there any

evidence here tonight?

- Right here!

- Yes!

I see a face I know.

Yes, my husband!

Yes. Come on, son.

Carl, is it Carl Vandermeer?

Come on, stand up.

Yes!

There you go.

Not so long ago,

Carl was a lost soul.

He was a follower of a rock

group called The Grateful Dead.

A "deadhead"?

Is that it?

A deadhead.

Which meant a life of

alcohol, promiscuous sex,

drugs, lots and lots

and lots of drugs.

That lifestyle brought you a lot of happiness.

Didn't it, Carl?

No.

True happiness doesn't come from

destroying our beautiful brains.

It comes from submitting

to God's perfect plan for us.

And God's

perfect plan for Carl

was for him to meet a

beautiful girl named Gwen

and her daughter Angie.

They brought him to Christ.

Hallelujah!

Now he's got

a wonderful family,

a job in the publishing

department of my church,

but above all else,

love.

He is a transformed man.

Did he do all this

all by himself?

No! The fingerprints of God

are all over this man.

That's not nonsense.

That's evidence.

I wouldn't call it evidence.

I'd call it trading

one drug for another.

Oh, come on!

And I prefer the drugs

taken by deadheads.

At least you know

you're hallucinating.

Please.

Please, come on.

Thank you.

There we go.

Thank you so much for coming along.

Excuse me one moment.

Hey there, pretty lady.

Dan, so wonderful.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

So wonderful.

Great victory, Pastor.

You just demolished him.

Thank you, thank you.

Yeah, absolutely.

You must be Gwen's dad.

Yeah, that's right. Jim Hunt.

Petty Chief, U.S. Navy retired.

We've met in church.

Of course, of course.

Oh!

When you talked

about Carl, so moving.

Thank you. Well,

he is an inspiration, Gwen.

Nice job, buddy!

I framed it beautifully.

I even got kind of a nice halo around

your head from the stage light.

Thanks, Jerry!

Hey there, fellow traveler.

What?

Whoa!

I couldn't help but hear you've

been on the road, so to speak.

Whoa!

Okay...

Honey, Honey Foster.

On tour from '81 to '92.

Always find each other, huh?

Yeah.

That was a long time ago.

One minute you're in a van with nine

people, tripping out of your gourd,

and the next you're

campus security guard.

Churchy guy.

It's weird.

So what's up, man?

Well, uh...

I gotta... It was very

nice to meet you.

Oh.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right.

Rock on, man.

Gwen and I have been batting around

an idea for the past couple of weeks.

And we'd like to

share it with you.

Please do.

We'd like to open a movie

theater, you know.

Where we could offer up a full

schedule of all Christian movies.

From The Ten Commandments

to The Passion of the Christ.

Mmm-hmm. I think it'd be perfect

for the City on a Hill.

Yes. Who created

this image?

Oh, that was Gwen.

Quickly. I did it really quickly.

It is lovely.

It's beautiful, Gwen. Absolutely beautiful.

You like it?

We could open with one,

and then we could expand it

into a chain across the...

Carl! Carl, come down here.

Don't be shy.

Really very beautiful. You have

a very talented wife here.

Oh...

Thank you.

Yes.

Well, I hope I didn't

embarrass you, Carl,

by getting you to stand up

and present yourself.

No, no. If it helps, I think that...

It's one of those...

He knows full well he's

an inspiration, right?

A beacon of hope.

Yeah, he absolutely is.

But you know, as for this...

Pastor Dan!

Nice performance.

Oh, thank you, Paul.

A cheap shot,

here and there.

Well, even God's not above

a cheap shot now and then.

Whatever it takes, Paul.

This is Carl Vandermeer.

Ah, yes, the deadhead.

And his wife, Gwen.

Hello.

Hello.

Yes. And this is her

father Jim over here.

- How do you do?

- Now, Pastor.

I traditionally invite my opponent

for a post-debate nightcap.

What?

A drink. My office.

Paul, I'm not sure about that. I have

a sermon to prepare in the morning.

I'll help you write it.

Bring your deadhead!

This is a great

opportunity, son.

I want you to make sure that

you get this to Pastor Dan.

Now don't forget.

It's real important.

Okay.

You're not coming?

I wouldn't break bread

with that dirty little atheist

if he was

the last man on Earth.

There you go.

Thank you very much.

Uh, no, I don't...

Oh. Right. Of course.

So, Pastor. A confession.

Mmm-hmm.

I lied.

I don't actually invite evangelists

I debate to share a drink with me.

Really?

However, you're different.

A worthy opponent.

Cheers.

Cheers.

So, there's something

I'd like to propose.

Mmm-hmm?

What's that?

We're both authors of

best-selling books.

Mmm-hmm. What if we

co-authored one?

Oh! A book-length

series of conversations

about our

opposing world views.

We go to my lake house, record

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