Lion's den

This story begins on Sunday morning. I woke up with a dull and steady pain in my lower back. I didn't think much about it and went to church as normal.

That night we had our first meeting in our home since we've been back. It was very exciting to see our friends and study together. By the end of the study (around 11pm), I was in a good deal more pain in my lower back than I was that morning. That night I simply was unable to sleep. No matter what I did nothing helped.

On Monday morning the pain had not subsided any. Since I was not in excruciating pain, I didn't know if I was in the beginning stages of a kidney stone or not. I googled the symptoms and had some of the symptoms but not all of them. One of the web sites said that usually a person with a kidney stone would need to go the doctor's to get medicine for pain and for treatment. It also said that drinking plenty of water (with high bicarbonates) was the normal method of passing the stone if the stone was not too big. Interestingly, our tap water is very hard with high levels of calcium which has caused other co-workers to get kidney stones. So, we try to drink bottled water, but we hardly purchase mineral water. But the other day, 1.5 L bottles of Volvic mineral water was on sale for about 45 cents each. R had bought 3 bottles. When I looked at the ingredients, the water was high in bicarbonates. I started drinking as much as I could. About 1pm I took a Tylenol, and I decided I was too sleepy and in too much pain to go to the meeting with the skeptics.

I was able to take about a 15 minute nap. When I woke up, I noticed I was not in as much pain. I took a second Tylenol and of course with all the water I was drinking I was in the bathroom a lot. The thought kept coming back to me to "try" to go the meeting, make the decision, and just go. I kept telling God, "But what if the pain increases, and I need to go to the hospital." The response seemed to be, "Has the pain increased over the course of the day or has it diminished?" Of course, I knew the answer so I made up my mind to go. I started getting ready, and when I walked out the door there was no pain. I wouldn't say it was instantaneous, but the pain did go away relatively sudden.

I was not too sure where the pub was, but I knew I needed to go north from the underground station. By God's grace the sun was out so I knew which direction was north. I found a local map and was on the right path.

I arrived and recognized the organizer of the event from his picture on the internet. We went upstairs to the meeting hall. One of my prayers was that I would sit where God wanted me to be. With my orange juice and lemonade, I sat at a table with two others. I was sort of expecting a warm welcoming and people introducing themselves to me. But then I remembered where I was, and that this was not home (nor church). Another person joined our table and introduced herself to me and another guy that joined the table. So, I introduced myself to everyone at my table. The girl asked me what perspective I was representing. I said the Christian/believing side. She said, "Oh."

I, then, asked the guy beside me the same question. In reality I would have assumed everyone at my table was a believer. But when he said, "agnostic," I was surprised. I don't know why, but then I knew I was in the right place. "OK," I thought, "Who's on the Lord's side at the table?" The next person answered, "Atheist." Her sister said, "On the fence." The last person to answer didn't say anything. When asked she just said by the end of the night, there would be no doubt, it would be that obvious. She turned to me and asked, "As a Christian, why are you even here?" I said, "I'm just interested in what other people think, what about you?" I forget her exact response, but it did seem clear, as she said, she was a hard-core atheist. It was me and God at that table. I was in a den of lions.

Next, the organizer started the evening by saying he was a skeptic, but introduced the speaker who would give a Christian perspective on the Gospels. The presentation was OK. It was then opened up for Q&A from the audience to the speaker. It was meant to get everyone thinking so we could break up into small groups and continue the discussion. So, the guy next to me at my table asked me, "On scale of 0 to 100% how sure are you that what you believe is true?" I said, "100%." He winced at that which is not surprising from an agnostic since they believe one can't know for certain anything, especially as it relates to God. He followed up, "Even after all the criticism just given, what makes you so sure?" My response was not what he was expecting. I said, "Well, the Spirit of God testifies to my inner being that it's true." So then, he wanted to know if it was an emotional belief. Then, he said, "Well, the Muslims say the same thing." I said, "No, the Muslims do not have the Spirit of God testifying to them that what they believe is true." After going back and forth, the leader and about four or five others joined our table and asked if they could join our conversation. Now, there are eight or so of us at the table, and all I know is that I'm the only one representing the Light. I know the other four are not, but I didn't know anything about the other three. (The original lady who introduced herself to me had moved to another table.)

Quickly, I learned the two sisters were the daughters of the leader. In a flash I thought of my two daughters and prayed for them to be able to keep the faith. This is the state this country is in. We are in the second generation of atheists. These kids are growing up in an atheist home where atheism and skepticism are normal. I thought if this dad can teach his children his religious beliefs, I must continue to teach mine about the Truth.

The night was filled with every point of contention atheists have with people of faith (i.e. religion is divisive, the fact that there are so many Christian denominations makes Christianity false, how can a good God send people to hell, how can a God say if you don't believe in me you will be tortured forever, why did God order the murder of the Canaanites, etc. etc. etc.). So much for staying on topic! Fortunately, one of the other guys was a believer so we tag teamed. He'd explain things, then I'd jump in and explain something. In these type of discussions, the best defense is questions. Everyone can criticize a point of view, but when you make them make a positive case for their beliefs, you have them on the defense. The first guy announced that he was good and didn't understand why he would be condemned to eternal torture. Immediately, the rich young ruler came to mind, and I started asking him questions. "Have you ever lied?"
"Nope."
"Have you ever killed anyone?"
With a surprised looked, "Nope"
"Have you ever disrespected your parents?"
"Never."
"Have you ever stolen anything?"
"I have not."
"Have you given to the poor?"
"Yes."
I said, "You are good. But there is one thing you have missed. You have not loved God with your heart, mind and soul, and it is because of THAT, you have missed it."
He looked at me with a puzzling look but was silent. But not for long, he then had more questions.

It was a to and fro for about two hours altogether. I didn't always have the best answers, but I left knowing darkness had a tiny light shinning it for a few moments. It was a cray time and felt just like what a Christian outreach event feels like. The only difference was that atheism was being promoted rather than Jesus.