PC

Is it appropriate to discuss personal religious beliefs socially? I was trained to actively proselytize for my faith, yet those who do so are perceived by many to be among the most offensive. Last night at work, I experienced the other side of the coin. An associate, who I'll call Blondie, seems to have taken me on as a project. I've been reading "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong. It is what it says, an academic approach to monotheism through the ages. It attracts a lot of attention. After glancing through it, another coworker asked, "Is it favorable to the lord?" Well, what do you say to that?

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During a conversation about the origin of the details on Christmas, I mentioned that the pope superimposed the Jesus celebration on the existing pagan solstice celebration to promote observance. Later Blondie asked,

B "Are you an atheist?"

rc "No."

B "What are you then?"

rc "I'm an agnostic."

B "What does that mean?"

rc "It means I'm not sure of anything."

B "Do you know what faith is?"

rc "I don't want to get into a theological discussion with you."

B "Do you know what faith is?"

rc "Yes."

B "What is it?"

rc "It's believing in something that you can't prove."

B " 'Faith is the substance...' "

rc " 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it the elders obtained a good report.' I've read the Bible five times. I used to be a Christian."

B "Oh, so you know what faith is, you're okay."

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I'm not precisely sure what that means, but that's what happened.

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rc