the question i didn't ask the atheist
this evening a strange occurance happened. i had an interesting conversation with a girl i don't know over instant messenger & she didn't know me either. not sure why we started talking, she started chiming in with me (my only guess being on some old user name of someone i don't talk to anymore). turns out she's from australia and her talking to me is as odd as it is to me... so the conversation was awkward.. and when she claims that she is an atheist, how does one respond? a bit of how i did..
grl: How old are you?
me: 33
grl: Yup see i'm 15.
me: most of the folks i talk on here are youth from my church. i am a youth pastor
grl: and im Athesit
me: that's cool
grl: Yes. I dont go to Chruch
me: i could understand that
... (random chit chat, where i found out where she lived, she doesn't like camel races, plays world of warcraft)
grl: Are you REALLY relgious?
me: it depends on what you mean by "religious"
grl: Like strongly believe in goD?
grl: Liek PRAIsE THE LORD
me: i like to think i have a healthy relationship with God. with that, i believe that God exists. i'm not too praise the lord (hands in the air type stuff).
grl: Oh I just dont believe.
me: that's cool, i have often talked with other atheists as i have trouble not believing... though i constantly go through times of life where i "go away" and "come back" to this relationship with God. i have a hard time understanding how others can't do the same.. i do get how people can have periods of not believing
grl: I never have believed
me: never thought about it? never cared?
grl: Basically
me: i couldn't imagine my life without my relationship with God. i know my life has become more joyful and more complex as my relationship has grown deeper. i could only wonder if i didn't have faith
grl: Ah I feel better. Dont gotta worry bout it.
me: i get that.. the complex part comes from my convictions to do more for those who are poor and in need.. probably part of why i work with youth. my heart breaks for those that hurt. something i didn't quite have a number of years ago
grl: KAY
... (more random chit chat, where she talked about wanting to go out for cross country, said bye)
at the close of the conversation there was one thing i found that i never did.. i never offered her to ask me any questions about "why" or "who" for me. i shared a bit about how i experience God, nothing major.. but i never gave her a chance to ask questions that she might have been interested in. you would think that could be an important part of a conversation.
You never know. Some of the things you said may have sparked questions that she will wrestle with later on. It's not always about getting the questions answered now. It's about pondering them over time and really learning and letting them challenge you. That's where real learning and knowledge come from.
Posted by: William Hartz | June 28, 2007 at 07:32 AM
Having been an atheist, Gavo, let me say this: you did very, very well. Excellent job.
Posted by: John | June 28, 2007 at 05:10 PM
Not to sweat it -- you were in the moment and you can trust that the HS had your back. You did good.
No judgment and enough to raise interest -- yeah, you did real good.
Posted by: rev mommy | June 29, 2007 at 09:20 PM
Not to sweat it -- you were in the moment and you can trust that the HS had your back. You did good.
No judgment and enough to raise interest -- yeah, you did real good.
Posted by: rev mommy | June 29, 2007 at 09:20 PM