Popular Post Lerk Posted August 27, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted August 27, 2013 Well, that sounds positively evangelical, doesn't it? No, that's not what happened. What happened is that I had a telephone conversation with someone in which we discussed our non-belief. I found out, by her mother's facebook post, that this young woman whom I had known since she was in elementary school, had "lost her faith". Her mother said nothing nasty or mean in the post, it was just a sort-of "I have to not blame myself" thing, and was followed by sympathetic comments. She didn't name the child, but it wasn't hard to figure out which one had deleted their facebook account. This was Sunday morning, so I did a bit of Googling to find a current email address, and composed a letter hoping it would reach its intended destination. In order to ensure its opening, I had to choose a subject that would clue her in to the fact that I wasn't trying to reconvert her. Frankly, I didn't know what the situation was: For all I knew, she had converted to a non-Church of Christ denomination! (The parental reaction would have been the same.) But I didn't really suspect that, because I know this is a really smart young woman in engineering school. The subject line was "Congratulations! / Confession". The email address was good, and she replied pretty quickly. The result was a 20-minute phone call today. Her main curiosity was what caused me to wake up, and we talked a bit about her situation. She's out of the closet and self-sufficient, so her life is off to a good start. Her family did break off contact. (Some people believe that 1 Cor 5:11 ("with such a one, no, not to eat") applies to family, and not just the general population of the church. Apparently her family believe this. I suspected that, as her dad is a former minister of my former church and I seem to recall him stating his position at one time.) While she said she would like to have contact with her family, she also said this situation greatly reduces the stress in her life. She actually sounded really happy that she is able to move on, and the "discipline" doesn't hurt her (as it's supposed to), but allows her to live her life. I told her I envy her being un-closeted. This is the first time I've actually spoken, not just talked anonymously online, with a former believer. It really cheered me up. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceWoman Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Thank you so much for going to the trouble to find this woman! What a good guy! She now knows that she is not alone, and I'm sure you mentioned that there are plenty of others (like us here) who have left religion and faced many struggles. That was probably a huge boost and comfort for her. You "came out" yourself to a sympathetic ear, so I'm sure that was also a big relief for you. Thank you for having the compassion to reach out to her. She may not have her family at the moment, but at least she has you... and that is something. (I would rather have you, too!) Your story made me smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ ficino ♦ Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Cool! For both MT's and TO's friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopardus Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Good job man. Glad you were there for her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted August 28, 2013 Super Moderator Share Posted August 28, 2013 Excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Hi MisterTwo, It is so good that you did that. For your friend and for yourself. Very cool. I would high five you if I could. It's good your friend is doing well. I don't get how a parent can cut contact with their child over religious belief. It's so harsh and extreme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipVanWinkle Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 "I don't get how a parent can cut contact with their child over religious belief. It's so harsh and extreme." This one of the ways in which Xtianity causes its believers to do evil rather than good. It also an incredibly selfish thing for a parent to do. That's one of the lines I'm proud to say my Xtian wife would never do. bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Selfish as this may sound, it's consolation for me to know there's others on here familiar with that verse in Cor. on shunning. Mister Two, you were so kind to her. Thank you. I'm not sure why I'm saying that except I feel almost like you did me a personal favour by being a friend to a person who was treated like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerk Posted August 29, 2013 Author Share Posted August 29, 2013 Well, I wasn't looking for kudos, but thanks, all. Really, she seems to have it all together. I think the conversation helped me more than it did her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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