Cartoon from nakedpastor.com
On Saturday night I was stopped by a woman from a Colchester church. She was handing out leaflets about Jesus and wanted to talk about what I believed. I was happy to, she was fairly pleasant. As we talked a friend of hers kept adding comments and snide remarks. He typified arrogance with his shouting in the street about Jesus and people's need to believe in God. I tend not to understand this approach; shouting at people with an arrogant assumption that you are utterly right and everyone else is wrong usually makes you look like a git.
I'm a patient person and it takes a lot to make me angry, but this guy pushed all the right buttons to make me lose it. When I said I was an atheist he said I couldn't have ever been a Christian. I challenged him and said how dare he make such an assumption. He didn't know me and had no knowledge of my past and of what I used to believe and do.
He asked the usual questions about being 'baptised in the Holy Spirit' and whether I used to speak in tongues (an angelic language some Christians speak whilst praying). When I affirmed I experienced these things he then said I must have been a "false prophet." It's been a few years since I've become so angry, but after that comment I was definitely close to punching the guy.
I think it's disgraceful that someone who is meant to be a representative of the Church believes he can say something so potentially harmful with little or no concern of its impact. He didn't seem take what he said seriously too. I worked with a lot of people in the time I was a Christian and listened to many people's hopes, fears and dreams. My home was always open to those who needed a listening ear or shoulder to cry on. I worked for a charity that helps thousands of young people. For this idiot to call me a false prophet was attempting to undermine my integrity because of his arrogance and ignorance.
If god does exist I'm sure this guy's approach was not what he would want. It's people like this who caused me to walk away from the Church because instead of seeing acceptance, I saw judgement; instead of listening there was shouting; instead of openness, there were closed minds.
Peace.
Who will you allow to affect you more, the snide guy or those who listen?
ReplyDeleteI know of people, just like you described; and, they came close to pushing me away from God as well. I came across the right people to help guide me, at just the right time. However, the best approach I have found to understanding what it means to being a Christian, and following Jesus, is to, just start reading the bible, forgetting what everyone else has said about it. It's less confusing, and if you stick with it, it becomes much easier to understand, and live. Let no one judge you. They who do, are judging their self as well.
ReplyDeleteDiana
You're right Peter, I shouldn't have allowed him to get under my skin so much. It's interesting because that is the first time I have lost my temper in about six years!
ReplyDeleteI think it was about how damaging his words could have been to other people if he spoke to them like that. Also, it probably brought back memories and emotions from listening to damaging words in the past.
Hi Diana. I don't think it'd possible to read the Bible as if from a blank slate. We all have our own prejudices and assumptions when we open anything. And I find the Bible less problematic than I thought I would. I'm simply not convinced by its words.
Peace, Tom.