Well, the inevitable has happened: someone's tried to convert me to Christianity. I suppose in a way I'm surprised it's taken this long, but I do find it quite annoying.
The guy's a friend of Genesis', his name's Pastor Moses (so I suppose the name did give me some forewarning). He dropped in on me in the office and asked about my ministry or something (I'm not really up on the terminology).
I was trying to do some work, so wasn't really up for big theological debate, but he started one anyway. It was quite a repetitive, one-sided discussion, and to my mind factually inaccurate on the finer points (who am I kidding basic points) of the origins of Mankind.
In the end, he promised to send me a sign so that I would know god. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything.
I'd say that I agree with the majority of Christian values (though not their beliefs), hence why I'm working with a Christian organisation, and married to a Christian. I do get quite irritated when people try and convince me of their beliefs without any invitation though. I think that's wrong. If someone has indicated their willingness to discuss such things with you, then fine. Otherwise, you shouldn't go around telling people that what they believe is wrong (I mean on a spiritual level here, I reserve the right to mock Hev for cluttering up my iTunes with S Club 7 and other such rubbish).
I know he's well intentioned, that he just wants to 'save' me, but the thing is, I don't want to be saved. I have my own beliefs, it's just that those beliefs aren't built upon a shared framework of a particular religion, which makes it harder to express your beliefs to others. That's fine though, because I don't have a particular need to discuss my beliefs indepth.
Well, no need until I get mugged by in-your-face evangelicals, that is...
Comments
Hey Joe,
I get you about this. I once found myself working in an Born Again Christian summer camp in Kenya (long story how I got there). A lot of "saving" was going on but they didn't manage to save me unfortunately. I had to take a lot of bible classes and had to pray before doing anything including the washing up! Worst thing was I wasn't allowed to talk to boys. I liked boys. Funny singing Americans kept visiting and sprouting on about abstinence rather than protection, preaching for hour upon hour, giving out free t-shirts at the end. I respect religion, I sometimes envy people who have found it, but at this level that Marxist phrase "opium of the people" did keep ringing in my head. It is easy for us to stand outside it all and question, but we have equivalents in the west too I guess – consumerism ect.
Kate
I live with paul, he just showed me your blog; brillient. keep them coming i'll stay in tune.
You could try the tactic my mate did when he opened the door to find some Christians there trying to convert him with their opening line of 'Do you know who God is?'. To which his reply was 'Yes, Trevor Brooking' (this was in the 80s and he's a die-hard West ham fan). It shut them up. So just substitute the name of a world-class Swindon player .... er ....then again...
I'm happy to arm you with plenty of ammunition on how even the most cursory study of the history of the Bible reveals what a highly suspect and inaccurate document it is in places. But I doubt that will matter a jot to the good Pastor. And quite right too.
Stu
I don't have any use for the door-to-door Christian, or the in-your-face variety, either. It's obnoxious and inappropriate. However, I do believe that religion is not the only subject that can feel like a weapon. For example, when I lived in Britain in the late 80s, people often wanted to engage me in discussions of American politics, particularly about the evils of Reaganism. They seemed not to care whether or not I wanted be part of such a discussion. Some would persist even when I tried to change the subject. The assumption seemed to be that this American needed converting, though I'd never given an indication of my beliefs about Reagan. So I agree, sensitivity is needed when approaching potentially volatile, personal or emotional topics.
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