Jumping to Conclusions
I grew up in a very small, very religious town. I credit the nearly constant evangelism for my negative reactions to people evangelizing. Religion, especially Christianity, seemed to permeate everything. The only reason that the town was not a defacto theocracy was that there were so many different Protestant churches that all fought one another that they could never really take political power. Plus there were also three or four different Churches of Latter Day Saints, a Roman Catholic church, and several very small living room churches. There were also some groups that would be called cults. Now there are also both kinds of Orthodox churches, Eastern and Oriental. There might even be Arian congregations there too.
One common trait of the Protestant churches was trying to convert children to their church. And a common phrase was calling the story of Jesus rising from the tomb the “Good News.” It was a very common thing to hear, especially when strangers came to talk. And it was common to see when in some businesses; there were adds for Good News Cleaning and the like. It all came back to evangelical Christianity. I quickly learned, in the first grade, that “Good News” was an old story.
The phrase was a lot less common outside of the few counties around my hometown. It was generally confined to Bible study groups, non-hellfire and brimstone missionaries, and books. So I was very surprised to see a “Good News” business when we took my sister to a technical school on the Charles River in Cambridge, MA. Near the campus was a business with the name “Good News Garage.” It seemed out of place to me. I noted the name in my journal, and thought of it once in a while. It combined two things I did not care for, evangelism and cars.
In case you don’t know, I am not a big fan of cars, especially driving. My disinterest in cars and dislike of driving is pretty thorough and deep. I really am not interested in any part of what could be called car culture.
There is one exception. I love a radio program named “Car Talk.” Tom (RIP) and Ray Magliozzi have entertained and enlightened me since the late 1980’s. I used to record every episode so I could hear them anytime I wanted. I bought their car care book Car Talk. It was one of my favorite radio programs. I found the Magliozzis on line years ago, enjoying their site (which was more fun than it is now.)
Not too long ago, I remembered what I thought would be the strange case of the “Good News Garage,” if it was listed at all. It wasn’t strange, as I found that they were still in business. I was sort of surprised.
Then I clicked on the “About Us” tab.
I saw Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers. I was surprised.
I was so trained that I did not realize that it could just mean that there was good news about your car. There were no mentions anywhere of evangelizing. Not even in the review sites. The universe had a joke on me.
Don’t let your prejudices interfere with learning something.
One common trait of the Protestant churches was trying to convert children to their church. And a common phrase was calling the story of Jesus rising from the tomb the “Good News.” It was a very common thing to hear, especially when strangers came to talk. And it was common to see when in some businesses; there were adds for Good News Cleaning and the like. It all came back to evangelical Christianity. I quickly learned, in the first grade, that “Good News” was an old story.
The phrase was a lot less common outside of the few counties around my hometown. It was generally confined to Bible study groups, non-hellfire and brimstone missionaries, and books. So I was very surprised to see a “Good News” business when we took my sister to a technical school on the Charles River in Cambridge, MA. Near the campus was a business with the name “Good News Garage.” It seemed out of place to me. I noted the name in my journal, and thought of it once in a while. It combined two things I did not care for, evangelism and cars.
In case you don’t know, I am not a big fan of cars, especially driving. My disinterest in cars and dislike of driving is pretty thorough and deep. I really am not interested in any part of what could be called car culture.
There is one exception. I love a radio program named “Car Talk.” Tom (RIP) and Ray Magliozzi have entertained and enlightened me since the late 1980’s. I used to record every episode so I could hear them anytime I wanted. I bought their car care book Car Talk. It was one of my favorite radio programs. I found the Magliozzis on line years ago, enjoying their site (which was more fun than it is now.)
Not too long ago, I remembered what I thought would be the strange case of the “Good News Garage,” if it was listed at all. It wasn’t strange, as I found that they were still in business. I was sort of surprised.
Then I clicked on the “About Us” tab.
I saw Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers. I was surprised.
I was so trained that I did not realize that it could just mean that there was good news about your car. There were no mentions anywhere of evangelizing. Not even in the review sites. The universe had a joke on me.
Don’t let your prejudices interfere with learning something.