Hey, look everyone. It’s a cat playing the piano.
Posted in A Cacophony of Posts | 6 Comments »I met a very interesting man this week. Ivan is a refugee from Liberia. He lives in town here with most of his family (his wife and one child are still in the refugee camp in Liberia, awaiting their chance to come to America.) His is a Christian. He was very outspoken about his faith, but there was something about it … a sincerity … that made him very appealing.
The whole time we were talking, I was thinking about what atheists would think about him if they were sitting in my spot instead of me. And I really think you would have liked him. I could be wrong, but somehow I didn’t find him offensive at all. He used tons of Christianese. He was very passionate about his beliefs. But he was still somehow not off-putting about it.
It could be that I wouldn’t know the difference, seeing as how we’re likeminded individuals. But there was a sincerity and a grace about him that I’m having trouble putting my finger on.
Part of it could be that his foreign-ness made him interesting. It could be that his background made his views understandable. But one thing I noticed was that regardless of how passionately he believed what he was saying, he didn’t seem to care if people believed him. He definitely wanted to tell people about Jesus, and does. But I think he gives people the room to disagree without pushing himself on them. He definitely wasn’t lukewarm about his faith, but at the same time he had a graciousness about him.
I’m curious as to how an atheist would respond to a man like Ivan. I really liked him.
Posted in A Cacophony of Posts, Mike O | 6 Comments »Check out Jim’s post on Church Rater about the first review of Jim and Casper go to church.
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