please don’t tell me you just said that friend!

There’s a certain Christian friend i have who is so full of joy.  The only thing is, this person is also full of disdain for any religion besides Christianity.  i had a conversation with him tonight.  

He wants to one day evangelize to buddhists in tibet.  i asked him how he would go about evangelizing to a buddhist.  He said he would say “i hope you become a Christian.  Why don’t you come to church with me?”  Seems harmless enough i suppose, but i think it would take the moving of a higher power, or a lazy minded response from someone for them to consent to such an invitation with no questions asked. 

aside from that, he began to explain to me how people in this country still worship their ancestors.  He went on to say how ancestor worship started with Confucianism (i question the validity of that claim).  He said that Confucians are hypocrites.  Reason being, when their parents die, they build a tent by their grave and mourn over them for two or three days, usually against their desire.  He considers this not only to be idolatry, but also hypocrisy because these people didn’t honor their parents during the lifetime of their parents. 

i sat their smiling and nodding the whole time, but inside i was cringing.  To disregard a religion or a philosophy b/c it’s nominal practitioners are hypocrites is what causes so many avoidable divisions among people. 

i didn’t get the chance to question his reasoning b/c our conversation was interrupted. 

i just wonder; this man is so happy and seemingly full of peace.  However, his reasoning is an aid to avoidable divisions.  And yet, he’s still full of peace.  i can see it in his eyes.