Our encounter with Brian and Douglas was different in perspective to the other conversations we’ve had. They were two friends, that were having lunch together. Halfway between the conversation they began to discuss and compare outlooks on life, and ask each other questions. That reflects our very mission to allow for us to connect even with contrasting views on life. It was a pleasure meeting them and learning from their experiences.
Understanding is so important when it comes to connection and relationships, and with understanding comes listening, and the ability to co-exist in a world where division is increasingly common. People tend to gravitate towards individuals that seem to replicate similar beliefs, life choices, and life stages. Many people seem to enjoy the company of those that look like them, or can relate to them. The importance of finding common ground and understanding an opposing view has seem to have taken a back seat to our own agendas. Now, I write this to demonstrate how peculiar (in a pleasant way) our interaction with Brian and Douglas was.
When listening back to our conversation, I noticed two things: these two friends (from what I could gather) were completely opposite, from personality, to life views, to experiences. When the first question was proposed about what pivotal moment in their lives impacted who they are today. There was a pretty significant difference in the stage of life at when this pivotal moment took place. For Douglas, he recalled it to be when he was a young child, and received an album from an older neighborhood kid. Which sparked an interest in discovering his passion for singing. However, for for Brian, he recalled it being a time where he began to workout and discovered the gym, following an extent of addiction. He found a quick replacement in the gym, and remains an important part of his life.
As you read along, you’ll notice semi-repetitive questions that are being asked, this is to broaden our perspective on how the world views these topics.
What happens to you when you die? – Douglas
Douglas was raised as a Catholic, and found himself frequently thinking about his destination following his time on this Earth. He reflects on attempting to rationalize the “afterlife,” which as he looks back on it was not good for his mental health. As he grew up, he began to feel disillusionment with what was being taught at church, and led him to ultimately leaving the faith. Coming to the conclusion of being content with not knowing what would happen after life – and treating it as though there was nothing.
What happens to you when you die? – Brian
Brian, a Christian, believes that following death – he is unsure of what happens immediately, however he believes all people will eventually arrive on judgement day (which is a common belief amongst Christian theologians) in which Jesus will judge according to each individual’s sins. If an individual repents and accepts Jesus then they will be granted with eternal life in heaven, on the contrary if they choose to reject Jesus they will suffer in eternal damnation in hell.
What constitutes a sin?
A common question that gets asked is why, if God, is and was before time and before language, command that we not say foul language? During the ministry of Jesus, He focused many of his sermons on the heart. Many are familiar with the Sermon on the Mount. During this sermon Jesus stated that if you even “hate your brother” you have committed murder in the heart, and if you call your brother a “fool” you will suffer judgement, which Jesus states in Matthew 5:21-22. When Jesus commands us to not call anyone a “fool” He is demonstrating that when your heart has poor intentions you have ALREADY committed a sin. In the same way He conveys this about adultery in Matthew 5:27-28.
Is Religion just a vehicle for Morality?
Religion is often regarded by Atheists and Agnostics as a vehicle for morality. And serves no greater purpose, and can be identified as a “societal structure.” Modern day religion has tied itself to pushing morality over theology. Morality is more closely connected with religion than the religion’s theology itself. Especially in modern America, Christianity has taken on political issues such as Abortion and even stretching to which political party to align with. In pre modern era, when individuals would perform atrocities, religion seemed to be a way to just create order within the chaos. It gave the people an ultimate punishment for the actions they’ve committed. Now you could view this as a secular way in the establishment of religion. However as a Christian, this is also who God claims He is in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 14:33, Paul’s describing God as a God of order. Now you could argue this is human order, or an even greater power to create order. That is up to you. In the same way, the concept of objective morality comes from the understanding that there is a greater power that constitutes morality. Without the existence of God, how could there be an objective line for morality? Can’t humans just make up what benefits them?
Is religion just a logical reasoning for understanding?
While having this conversation, we came across this topic. Did humans come up with religion just to have some understanding of what was going on around them? Does not knowing constitute there being a God?
Are Denominations Just an Excuse at Divide?
Is the idea of a Denomination a way to just divide Christians? From the beginning of the Christian faith in the first century we see early church leaders come into disagreement about theological ideologies, this is where one of the first divides came from. As Christianity began to transcend continents and travel the world, it began to split. I don’t want to go too much in detail so if you want to know more read about it yourself. Brian says that in the end it will come down to whether you believe in Christ. Which is true, the ideologies that all the denominations agree on, is more important that the ideologies in which they disagree on.
Purpose
When talking to Douglas, he told us that ever since he was a young child, he had been day dreaming about becoming a singer. He identifies it as his purpose, however, as he got older he realized that life is incredibly varied, and a single purpose does not align with his world view. Life in itself, if was given a specific purpose would be a “fallacy.” For Douglas his main purpose is just to enjoy it.
More Purpose
For Brian, he says he doesn’t know yet if there is a purpose. He doesn’t seem to feel like he has one. He says that purpose varies person to person, and it will get revealed in the end. He believes that God has a goal for people, and has a goal in mind when he creates people. But, if you turn away and you deviate from the path God has created for you, you will be so far away that you will find yourself confused as to what you’re supposed to do.
Does God create people to serve a negative purpose?
When talking about purpose, Christians will tend to say “God creates everyone with a purpose in mind to serve the Kingdom of God” however, how does that explain outlier cases such as Adolf Hitler, or serial killers. There is a simple biblical explanation for that; Original Sin. The concept of original sin, is that all people were born inherently sinful, and therefore adapted a natural desire to rebel against God. This paints all humans as sinful and therefore undeserving of the perfect love. Original Sin happens to be a logical answer for most of the questions regarding the LORD’s benevolence. And how sin has caused the numerous cancers we see in society. This does not contradict God’s benevolent nature however, because he remains faithful with a perfect plan. By coming down to Earth and adopting human nature, he became “God with us” and when Jesus died and rose again, he defeated sin – and gave each individual the ability to choose to spend a perfect eternity with Him.
In the end it was such a pleasure meeting Brian and Douglas, and being able to listen and understand their perspectives on their lives, and the world we live in. I loved watching the dynamic between the two friends during the extent of the conversation, and hope to talk to more people like them. Again, the analysis of this conversation comes from my perspective as a Christian, feel free to reread and dissect my point of view.
Perspectives 
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