Encounter #1
The other day I had lunch with one of my
former buddies who is still a christian.
He reported having recently had what he
calls a “god encounter”. In this encounter,
my pal (we’ll call him “Hal”), apparently
bumped into an old acquaintance who had
come down with the same condition as
Hal (a common skin disorder). Hal reports
that he and his old buddy were “so excited”
that they both had the same malady, and
they saw this re-acquaintance as “god’s
hand of providence” reuniting them so
they could pray for each other. Seriously?
how fucking stupid do you have to be to
actually rejoice for having an uncomfortable
skin disorder?
I asked Hal if the mutual prayer time
helped any with the rash or the itching, and
Hal said “No, but isn’t god great!?” I was
struggling to see how god could be getting
credit for doing nothing for their condition,
and I was curious what was so great about
the meeting. I asked Hal, “Are you under
the impression that god gave you the skin
rash in order to bring you two together?”
Hal was silent; I added, “If that were
the case, would you still praise god for
bringing you two together? Surely god
could have done that without having to
cause the two of you so much pain and
discomfort associated with your rash.”
Hal stepped back, looked me up and down,
and said, “I heard you lost your faith,
but I had no idea how bad it had gotten.
May I pray for you?” I told Hal that my
question was a Sincere one, and that it
deserved Proper consideration. Hal
seemed Very uncomfortable and asked
if We could change the subject…
(one that he brought up to begin with)
I’ve seen this over and over again.
When a christian is asked a sincere
question that causes them to truly
consider the bullshit coming from
their own mouths, they often attack,
divert, and/or avoid. Needless to say,
I’m sure “Hal” walked away re-
considering his “god encounter”. I
wonder If he can consider our meeting a
“god encounter” since it was of actual
value?
Encounter #2
I bumped into an acquaintance from
the last church I left. The pastor there
is a Pentecostal preacher with a Southern
Baptist upbringing. The last straw, and the
reason I finally left the church, was
the “tongues and interpretation of
tongues” that was being practiced there.
All a bunch of “Shambalambana Tooduto
booku” crap - you know the type. I
heard that crap there one time and left.
(I was obviously still christian at this point)
Following my departure from that
church, I met with the pastor to explain
why I left, and what I believed the bible
says about the heresy being practiced
in his church. He sharply rebuked me
for my lack of faith and said that he was
glad I had left the church since
I was behaving “So rudely”. I told
the pastor that I saw his church
closing within the next six months,
and that he would have to repent
to the congregation for his
arrogance in presuming a Moses
role over the church, and for not
listening to the people. He told me
I was no prophet, and that my
prediction was a “dung heap.”
Now, back to the guy I bumped
into…. You’ll never guess what he
had to report to me…
Yup, the church closed. Exactly five
months and twenty-two days
following my “dung heap” prediction,
the church closed, and the
pastor publically repented to the
church for his poor leadership and for
not listening to the people. I used to
call that prophecy - now I know it was
just a common sense observation that
the church was a doomed mess.
Another one bites the dust…
I could not be happier.
The other day I had lunch with one of my
former buddies who is still a christian.
He reported having recently had what he
calls a “god encounter”. In this encounter,
my pal (we’ll call him “Hal”), apparently
bumped into an old acquaintance who had
come down with the same condition as
Hal (a common skin disorder). Hal reports
that he and his old buddy were “so excited”
that they both had the same malady, and
they saw this re-acquaintance as “god’s
hand of providence” reuniting them so
they could pray for each other. Seriously?
how fucking stupid do you have to be to
actually rejoice for having an uncomfortable
skin disorder?
I asked Hal if the mutual prayer time
helped any with the rash or the itching, and
Hal said “No, but isn’t god great!?” I was
struggling to see how god could be getting
credit for doing nothing for their condition,
and I was curious what was so great about
the meeting. I asked Hal, “Are you under
the impression that god gave you the skin
rash in order to bring you two together?”
Hal was silent; I added, “If that were
the case, would you still praise god for
bringing you two together? Surely god
could have done that without having to
cause the two of you so much pain and
discomfort associated with your rash.”
Hal stepped back, looked me up and down,
and said, “I heard you lost your faith,
but I had no idea how bad it had gotten.
May I pray for you?” I told Hal that my
question was a Sincere one, and that it
deserved Proper consideration. Hal
seemed Very uncomfortable and asked
if We could change the subject…
(one that he brought up to begin with)
I’ve seen this over and over again.
When a christian is asked a sincere
question that causes them to truly
consider the bullshit coming from
their own mouths, they often attack,
divert, and/or avoid. Needless to say,
I’m sure “Hal” walked away re-
considering his “god encounter”. I
wonder If he can consider our meeting a
“god encounter” since it was of actual
value?
Encounter #2
I bumped into an acquaintance from
the last church I left. The pastor there
is a Pentecostal preacher with a Southern
Baptist upbringing. The last straw, and the
reason I finally left the church, was
the “tongues and interpretation of
tongues” that was being practiced there.
All a bunch of “Shambalambana Tooduto
booku” crap - you know the type. I
heard that crap there one time and left.
(I was obviously still christian at this point)
Following my departure from that
church, I met with the pastor to explain
why I left, and what I believed the bible
says about the heresy being practiced
in his church. He sharply rebuked me
for my lack of faith and said that he was
glad I had left the church since
I was behaving “So rudely”. I told
the pastor that I saw his church
closing within the next six months,
and that he would have to repent
to the congregation for his
arrogance in presuming a Moses
role over the church, and for not
listening to the people. He told me
I was no prophet, and that my
prediction was a “dung heap.”
Now, back to the guy I bumped
into…. You’ll never guess what he
had to report to me…
Yup, the church closed. Exactly five
months and twenty-two days
following my “dung heap” prediction,
the church closed, and the
pastor publically repented to the
church for his poor leadership and for
not listening to the people. I used to
call that prophecy - now I know it was
just a common sense observation that
the church was a doomed mess.
Another one bites the dust…
I could not be happier.
