(Good natured) Letters from the culture wars
Scene: Local 7-11. I'm at the counter to pay. My purchases: 2 cans of cat food, one candy bar, latest issue of National Geographic sporting the headline and subhead, "Are We Alone? Searching the heavens for another Earth."
Attendant: (Picks up Nat Geo and examines) Another Earth? I don't think so.
Me: Really?
Attendant: Well, it's not in the Bible.
Me: So you don't think that in all the solar systems in all the galaxies in the universe there isn't another planet like ours?
Attendant: Well, maybe but God made 'em all and He's in charge. (Or something to this effect. His position was that God wrote the Bible and if it's not in there, it ain't so.)
Me: Well, that may be true. But maybe He hasn't seen fit to tell us everything.
Attendant: (laughs) Maybe so, maybe so.
The whole exchange was good natured and friendly. I've been a customer there for years and we know each other's faces. But I was so surprised by this exchange that I've been just sort of mulling it over ever since I left the place. I'm proud of myself that I didn't turn the conversation into a "Does God exist?" debate, or a "Is the Bible the infallible word of God" discussion because that would just have been counter-productive. I was able to provoke some thought without challenging this man's whole world view (and by extension his self-image and identity, which I really believe is a big part of the culture wars...on which more another time). It stayed respectful and pleasant. Win-win in my book.
Yeah, there really are people in the world who see it this way. I just so rarely encounter them here in the PNW that it took me off guard.
Attendant: (Picks up Nat Geo and examines) Another Earth? I don't think so.
Me: Really?
Attendant: Well, it's not in the Bible.
Me: So you don't think that in all the solar systems in all the galaxies in the universe there isn't another planet like ours?
Attendant: Well, maybe but God made 'em all and He's in charge. (Or something to this effect. His position was that God wrote the Bible and if it's not in there, it ain't so.)
Me: Well, that may be true. But maybe He hasn't seen fit to tell us everything.
Attendant: (laughs) Maybe so, maybe so.
The whole exchange was good natured and friendly. I've been a customer there for years and we know each other's faces. But I was so surprised by this exchange that I've been just sort of mulling it over ever since I left the place. I'm proud of myself that I didn't turn the conversation into a "Does God exist?" debate, or a "Is the Bible the infallible word of God" discussion because that would just have been counter-productive. I was able to provoke some thought without challenging this man's whole world view (and by extension his self-image and identity, which I really believe is a big part of the culture wars...on which more another time). It stayed respectful and pleasant. Win-win in my book.
Yeah, there really are people in the world who see it this way. I just so rarely encounter them here in the PNW that it took me off guard.