The Unlikely Disciple
So I heard about Kevin Roose’s story via the Friendly Atheist. Kevin Roose transferred to Liberty for a college exchange program and wrote about his experiences. He’s offering a select number of his books for free in pairs. A potential reader needs to sign up with someone of a different belief system or world view to qualify for a pair of free books.
I googled a friend of mine who I remembered was a Lutheran minister and suggested we sign up. I haven’t seen him for years but I thought we were good friends during the time we did know each other and judging by his approval of my idea, I’d say he agrees.
I mentioned in an email that I have beliefs about how a person should treat their beliefs. Then, I thought those points would make good blog points as well.
I think every person has two jobs if they can manage it. They need to be capable of advocating their position i.e. meekness and silence don’t allow any growth. They need to be capable of putting their position in their pockets and working toward common goals where those can be identified. Between those two goals people should get good debates and conversation and society should be able to make some progress somewhere.
Ultimately, I think most people are not as extreme as they sound. My friend laid claim to an inerrant position on the Bible as the Word of God. Now, to those who have known me recently, you’ll probably catch the point at which I disagree. But to reiterate my stealth virtue, the ultimate virtue is the ability to state your position, hear the position of your friends and fellow citizens and then to find a way to put your back behind the same problems and lift society up to some extent. We can’t all succeed. We should all try.
So now I get to put my money where my mouth is. Unlike some of my other theist friends, this one has a professional position and an interest in discussing his perspective. It’s one of the things we had a bit in common, I think. And maybe, just maybe, I can capture the discussions in some form right here.
Stay tuned.
