By John Beckett
It’s happened to all of us. Someone offends you and you walk away in anger – after you get home you think of the perfect witty comeback. A friend is hurting and you feel useless – a week later you think of what you could have done to help. Sometimes we can’t think of what to do or say, while other times we don’t feel like we should do or say anything.
I found myself in that situation yesterday at the CMA Beltane festival. I attended a workshop led by Bryan Lankford titled “Counter Evangelism – Defending Yourself from the Army of God.” Bryan went through a number of laws from the Bible that everyone with the exception of Hassidic Jews ignore. His point was that most Christians don’t really “believe the Bible” (or even know it) – they just like to quote the parts that affirm what they already believe. The discussion was lively and continued after the workshop’s ending time. One young man made several comments in support of traditional and fundamentalist interpretations of scripture. I assumed he was a recent convert to Paganism who simply had a good knowledge of the Bible. But as the conversation continued, he made it clear he wasn’t Pagan and was very much an Evangelical Christian.
What’s been said…