cigars and a cemetary
I smoked a cigar in a cemetary on a snowy evening last night.
After that, I had a get-together with 4 strangers and 2 friends at 1 AM: one Buddhist, one Muslim and 4 Christians. With my dad's homemade brew in our systems, the conversation quickly turned into a heated discussion of religion. Then, this morning, Jehovah Witnesses came over. I also sat with the only Messianic Jew in Quebec at a restaurant this morning. All in the span of 5 hours. I'm just waiting for a Mormon to walk over my threshhold.
Could someone please tell me why I shouldn't be a universalist? There are people out there who are just as passionate (sometimes even more so, although that could be the effects of the wine) about their faith and their god. And I can't bring myself to undermine their intelligence either and say that they are stupid for believing what they believe. What makes us right and them wrong?
posted by ann renee. @ 11:32 a.m.
7 Comments:
who says were not both wrong? What I mean is that no argument anyone ever gives will convince someone to convert. Its a matter of heart and guidance. There is no such thing as a convincing argument for Christianity. The devil knows who God is, he doesn't need proof. Look at the Phars and Saducs in Jesus' day, they saw the signs and the teachings but were hard hearted to the fact that Jesus was the Christ. In the end, if an argument doesn't work, don't get mad, pray about it and the people you were trying to convince because it takes a certain G O D to do that kinda thing. And yes, that does seem to make evangelism completely worthless but thats another discussion
ann-- since when do you spell my name with an 'h'? :) (on a comment on my blog)
we should talk.
let's.
i agree with dane. we need to talk next sat. again!
agreed. we are all just looking for truth and end up going with what makes the most sense, which cs lewis seems to think only reinforces the possibility that christianity offers the closest thing to truth we'll ever get because if it makes sense then it was probably made up by one of our own simple minds... i like to think we'll all be surprised in the end.
I have no idea! I wonder the same thing and have no true conviction... kinda strange. I do like Amanda's above cs lewis comment.
I laughed so hard when i saw what you put on Dane's blog. You are funny and I miss seeing you here and there.
In my theology of world missions course today we discussed christian mission in contrast to the mission of other religions specifically islam. We noted that Christianity adapts the cultural language of the region of mission rather than conformng the converting individual to the koran or tamud. It's cool that Chritianity adds an essential element to a culture rather than becoming the culture. I thought it kind of applied here.
5 provinces isn't that far.... i just sent an air hug to you.
I don't know, Ann.
Passion and intelligence don't make truth.
I Peter 3 talks about winning people over "without words", and then later in that chapter there's the verse about always being prepared to give an answer...with gentleness and respect. I am assuming that would use words.
Anyway, Dane is right about it being God's work.
Recently I was reading about the ten plagues. A hard-hearted Pharoah, that makes sense to me. He does not want to lose his slaves. But over and over again it says that God hardened his heart. So that he could perform miraculous signs and display his power. That's a brain-stretch and a trust-stretch for me. It is uncomforatable for me to think about God hardening hearts, but there it is. Pharoah's heart was eventually "convinced" to let them go. God could have convinced him without the plagues, it seems, but he chose to use them anyway.
Does all this relate to anything? Anyway, that's what has been on my mind.
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