I didn't think about this a ton recently until I just watched this pastor from NYC Tim Keller lecture at Google about his new book. I wish I could have pointed the guy from last summer toward someone who can more eloquently pick apart "disproofs" of God.
Among my fun travels last summer, one thing I did was spend a week at Pebble Beach with my family for the 4th of July. The proximity to the links had no draw for me, since I am hardly what you would call a golfer, but I love to read, write, walk/run on 17-Mile Drive (arguably one of the best roads on earth) and hear ocean waves with the best of them, so I was in heaven. Almost.
The week was going smashingly (everyone but me golfing during the day, and then playing cards and drinking margaritas at night) until another houseguest found out that I was going to become a Christian minister. That is when the week got a little dramatic. At first he started making snide comments, but eventually he cornered me and berated me for a good hour about my beliefs. That's fine, I've met plenty of atheists before, and have had peaceable 'agree to disagree' converations. Almost always, it is a very personal thing to them and they have been wronged by believers, so the last thing on my mind is changing their opinions.
However, this guy was relentless and tactless, and the bad news for him (and for me, to an extent) was that I was not there by myself. My dad was there. And after he observed the dialogue for a short while, the father-bear-trying-to-protect-his-cub in him took over. The two men went outside, male testosterone full bore and mixed with alcohol (like I've always said, BAD combo) their voices escalating to the point of a senseless screaming match, ending with the exchange of F- YOU!'s. Super. Awesome vacation. Our families parted ways like the Red Sea.
My step-mom and I went off trying to find my dad, who was down by the water, steam blowing out his ears like in the old cartoons. I understood why he felt the need to be protective and angry at his supposed "friend." Yes, I agree, I think it is a good policy in general to have friends who will not attack your children.
HOWEVER, I felt tremendous compassion toward this man, which my dad was not aiding by saying, "I never want to speak to him again." I tried explaining that Jesus was persecuted all the time, and he still a) KNEW who he was and never lost sight of his identity and b) MET others where they were and c)LOVED people. This is my call as a Christian, and should hopefully be my dad's call too. We will hopefully always meet people who are different than us and learn from one another. Mutual respect is always better than categorically denying someone else's beliefs or discarding relationships with people who believe differently than you.
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