On the way home from class Friday night, I caught This American Life on NPR. The theme this week was "This I Used to Believe." I wanted to share Act II because it was my former self in a conversation with my new self--faithwise.
A woman, grieving an inexplicable death of her close friend, is a former Catholic who thinks she may be agnostic now. She has a (frustrating) conversation with an evangelical Texas football coach. He goes all arrogant and apologetics (Josh McDowell style) on her, when all she seeks are a few answers to her questions about God and why do bad things happen to good people.
I know that answers to her questions probably don't exist in this lifetime, but I grew so sad for the woman. In the middle of pain and hurt and grief, nobody CARES whether Genesis 1 is literally true or whether postmodernism is wrong. All she needed was a fellow human being to just listen and BE with her in her questioning and doubt. Act II demonstrated why (aside from the church's love affair with militarism, patriotism, and consumerism), I have no desire to be involved in an evangelical church. You can throw all the answers and arguments and facts at me you want, but if you have no way to address the gaping wounds in the world, you won't get very far!
The episode can be found here: This I Used to Believe.
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