(no subject)
Today I was all ready to leave campus when I spotted a guy I'd been meaning to approach. Sensing a good moment, approach I did, and then we talked for three hours, largely about Jesus but also about tangential sorts of things. Interesting dude. I'd seen him before near Lillis-- he's pretty recognizable, quite young and slim and dark, walks with a cane or crutches and sometimes wears a brace on his left knee. A couple weeks ago I happened upon a group of people I adore and sat down with them intending to hang out, but discovered that this guy had come over and sat down with them and made a pitch of some kind about Jesus, and by the time I got there my friends were stumbling over themselves to argue with him, which operation was made much easier by the expedient of not listening. He tried to say a few words, but by the time I got there he was pretty much toast. I decided, since he'd been so calm about the whole thing, and also because he is pretty, that I wanted to find out what he meant to do at the UO, what he believed, why he hangs out to talk to people about the Bible and things.
Which brings us to today, and talk we did. He'll be better at this whole evangelism thing when he gets a handle on his own charisma and isn't nervous, I think, but he certainly has potential-- and isn't it odd that when people convert as a result of other people's evangelical intervention, the interveners are almost always extremely appealing in very earthly ways? The good ones are usually attractive, definitely charismatic and smooth and able to care or appear to care deeply about everyone about. (Okay, that last part is supposed to be true of all Christians, and if you're at the point of Christian that involves starting God conversations with strangers, I should hope you'd care about them.)
He isn't that good yet, though.
He said at one point: "God loves us too much to let us stay as we are. I love you too much to let you stay as you are."
I (automatically, not taking well to "let you" anything): "Well, you kind of have to, if I decide."
He: "No I don't." Flatly.
I, taken aback, digging in my heels: "Excuse me?"
He: "Prayer is a very powerful thing."
So I'm definitely in some prayers tonight. It was oddly erotic, and I have decided for the sake of everyone out there not to plumb those depths any further in this forum, but it's pretty distressingly self-evident if you care to do the math. I let him entirely off the hook eroticism-wise because he's younger than I am and I want him to do well with his doing good. I didn't want to see him embarrassed.
So I hung out with this guy, whose name is Dennis, and then I scampered home, heated soup, and raced off to Mother Kali's, where Womenspace was having a demonstration-- purely a visibility event, banners and balloons-- and discovered that the people there were Carrie, the woman in charge of our site; two guys from North, who needed volunteer hours and were great; and seven of my friends, plus me. Seven! Out of eleven people, eight were because of me! It was awesome. Lots of good honks and arms sore from waving.
Final stage of Friday night: Ouspensky reading group with a grad student friend of mine. I took six pages of notes: definitions of psychology, another philosopher or two, and PDO's framework of consciousness ... he's all about self-cultivation, I guess. I think it will be a cool crew and interesting discussion.
And tomorrow I'm sleeping the fuck in.
Which brings us to today, and talk we did. He'll be better at this whole evangelism thing when he gets a handle on his own charisma and isn't nervous, I think, but he certainly has potential-- and isn't it odd that when people convert as a result of other people's evangelical intervention, the interveners are almost always extremely appealing in very earthly ways? The good ones are usually attractive, definitely charismatic and smooth and able to care or appear to care deeply about everyone about. (Okay, that last part is supposed to be true of all Christians, and if you're at the point of Christian that involves starting God conversations with strangers, I should hope you'd care about them.)
He isn't that good yet, though.
He said at one point: "God loves us too much to let us stay as we are. I love you too much to let you stay as you are."
I (automatically, not taking well to "let you" anything): "Well, you kind of have to, if I decide."
He: "No I don't." Flatly.
I, taken aback, digging in my heels: "Excuse me?"
He: "Prayer is a very powerful thing."
So I'm definitely in some prayers tonight. It was oddly erotic, and I have decided for the sake of everyone out there not to plumb those depths any further in this forum, but it's pretty distressingly self-evident if you care to do the math. I let him entirely off the hook eroticism-wise because he's younger than I am and I want him to do well with his doing good. I didn't want to see him embarrassed.
So I hung out with this guy, whose name is Dennis, and then I scampered home, heated soup, and raced off to Mother Kali's, where Womenspace was having a demonstration-- purely a visibility event, banners and balloons-- and discovered that the people there were Carrie, the woman in charge of our site; two guys from North, who needed volunteer hours and were great; and seven of my friends, plus me. Seven! Out of eleven people, eight were because of me! It was awesome. Lots of good honks and arms sore from waving.
Final stage of Friday night: Ouspensky reading group with a grad student friend of mine. I took six pages of notes: definitions of psychology, another philosopher or two, and PDO's framework of consciousness ... he's all about self-cultivation, I guess. I think it will be a cool crew and interesting discussion.
And tomorrow I'm sleeping the fuck in.