Wednesday, June 11, 2003
at 8:31 PMIs Sin Serious?
My little tummy hurts. I consumed a massive quantity of junk food this evening. My grandpa and my aunt, Laura, opted to drive over here rather than have Pam and me drive to Grandpa's house (he probably felt concerned she might drop the hatchling at his place, for which I cannot admit I blame him). We played Chicken Feet Dominoes, Shang-Hai, and Hearts. I won the first round of dominoes, but that was it.
As Pam and I waited at the card table in the kitchen for Grandpa and Aunt Laura to arrive, two boys about my age (give or take a year) rang the doorbell. Pam and I could see through the window that they must have been Jesus People (suits minus the jackets, plus briefcase totes), so Pam allowed me to handle the situation. The boys were very polite and amiable, which made my life a bit easier; one asked me,"Do you believe in God?"to which I replied,"No."For a second we all just stared at each other almost expressionlessly as they soaked in this information (Pam said later that she supposed most people just lie, but I have read that lying is a very un-Christian virtue, so I do not lie about not being one). Then I said something to the extent of,"And there it is,"to which the same fellow then asked (after regaining his composure) why I do not believe in "God" and whether I follow a particular belief system (all unassumingly, which made me comfortable enough with his line of questioning). Neither kid appeared to want to overstay his welcome; the one holding the tote started digging through some pamphlets in it, and I heard him mutter,"Well, she doesn't believe in God- I don't think we have anything for that..."This ejaculation on his part struck me as most comical and I doubt I suppressed my urge to smile very well. He nevertheless managed to find something suitable, he gave it to me, and we all wished each other a pleasant afternoon. I calmly shut the door and then skipped giggling to tell Aunt Pam details about the episode (most of which she overheard anyway).
A few days ago (while Pam and Chris were gone to the doctor's for a baby appointment) an older gentleman from the local Baptist church came to the doorstep with a few goodies as part of a "Welcome to the Neighborhood" gift. He seemed nice enough as well, unlike most Baptists I have encountered Down South (Southern Baptists usually at some point into the conversation squeeze something about me being "bound for Hell"). Naturally, one of the Baptist pamphlets was, indeed, titled "Is Sin Serious?" That seems to me either a moot or a fairly self-explanatory question, but apparently some people need these sorts of things spelled out for them.
Aunt Laura's coffee burned my tongue. Ouwth...
