An Epistle
Sunday, January 21, 2007 at 9:42PMI'm cleaning up the house, in anticipation/ preparation/ exhaltation of my girl returning home. She's been gone a year, a very lonely year, and I'm picking her up at the airport on wednesday.
However, I've taken a break, because I wanted to put up something that I acquired nearly 10 years ago, and recently rediscovered. What I've uploaded below was given to me by someone I once knew. It might be best to call it an evangelical letter, in the spirit of Paul writing to the Romans, though a better analogy might be C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity
I've taken out all discernible biographical information (names, mostly), but I wanted to point out a couple of things. First, when the author refers to "the blasphemers", he's not speaking specifically of non-christians, but rather of the name that my friends and I had arrogantly given ourselves. It came from a quote by George Bernard Shaw, who said "All great truths begin as blasphemies", and in our rebellious teenage years, we took this as our mantle. Secondly, at the end of the third page, there's a note to turn over, but I couldn't get that page to scan. Suffice to say, the four words that appear on it are "with bitterness and hatred." Incidentally, the "P.S." from which those words come refer to a t-shirt I used to wear that said "Love Sucks", with a picture of a vampire biting the neck of a woman.
During the letter, the author asks me to destroy it if it means nothing. In reading it again, I found myself pondering why I hadn't destroyed it. I think at the time, I probably would've told myself that it was a great laugh and worthy of keeping for the comedy file. Still, given my ever changing sense of humor, it would've hit the trash at some point if all I had seen in it was punchlines. No, I think something struck me about the depth of feeling, and the poetry of the language. It is quite a moving plea, and even now I feel somewhat overcome (overpowered?) by the strength of conviction in the words. I can't say I've become an evangelical, or even a christian, but I'm infinitely more spiritually minded now than I ever was in High School, and I know I respect the author more now than I did then. So, thanks man, for having my back, even when I didn't.
"... with bitterness and hatred."
Reader Comments (5)
Thanks for posting this. As I know the author in question, and definitely view him very differently as I've gotten older and (hopefully) becomes less cruel, it is quite an experience to read the passion that is/was behind his faith.
Like you, I've had my own spiritual awakening over the years, which is quite different from the framework that this author presents, although I can't help but be moved by his letter.
The other thing that struck me about this post, was the reminder of how we used to call ourselves the "Blasphemers." Can you believe how arrogant we were? :)
How arrogant we WERE? Dude, many things have changed; that's not one of them. ;)
Thanks for posting this Q, I wonder if the author will see this...?
DHP, your point is taken. I stand corrected. :)
Although I like to think our arrogance has become a far subtler and complex beast then it was in those days. Okay, that's more bullshit...
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