Saturday, April 2, 2011

The Cynic

Have you ever tried striking up a conversation with a total unknown, random person..at the airport, in the pub , at the metro station and even anonymous chat rooms? I keep doing these wonderfully stupid things every now and then, and get some interesting ideas about life and other things from my fellow human beings.

This is an excerpt of one such conversation…


Stranger: Hey
Me: Hi
Stranger: Waddup
Me: Nothing much. Back from office early
Stranger: Sweeeet
Me: what do you do?
Stranger: I’m in high school.
Me: good
Stranger: yuppp!
Me: So what else? Is it still cold on your side of the world?
Stranger: Nope! 22 deg outside right noww
Me: Nice weather...where do you live?
Stranger: Alabama! wbu?
Me: A million miles away brother…India :)
Stranger: wowwww
Stranger: That’s a long way!
Me: Dodo!Its not a million miles though...its a figure of speech
Stranger: well its still far
Stranger: I’ve never been out of the country soooo
Stranger: It seems like a long way
Me: so what r u doin sittin on the computer on a weekend?
Stranger: i got in trouble
Me: grounded?
Stranger: yes sir
Me: haha..what did you do? pulled a fast one on the principal?
Stranger: no.. according to my parents i did something inappropriate around all these girls and they found out soooo
Me: you are 15, you are supposed to be doing things. We all did crazy things
Stranger: I know!!!!!!!!! its soooo annoying
Stranger: Ok temme, are you a Christian?
Stranger: Im guessing not
Me:Am not
Me: and why that question now?
Stranger: what?
Me: I mean why did you bring religion in the middle?
Stranger: because I want to talk about that...
Stranger: DONT DISCONNECT
Stranger: God made the world…and then we spoiled it.
Stranger: God wants u to be happy and married and have kids but what are we doing? when u face God when u die ur gonna regret it
Me: ok, I got your idea…but my friend…why will I have to regret when I die?
Stranger: This whole world has turned into chaos. God is so disappointed with everyone in this world it’s so bad
Me: And you have strong beliefs in religion. DON’T DISCONNECT, but how can you say God exists?
Stranger: OMG! Everybody on here asks me this question.
Me: I mean I was raised as a Hindu but I don’t follow any religion.
Stranger: I know you probably don’t believe in God, but I do and I know he exists.You don’t have to think that but I know he does.
Stranger: He made the world were in right now so….
Me: But how will a non believer get to know if God exists?
Stranger: We didn’t come from freaking monkeys…that’s impossible
Me: I like your attitude…but again….there’ something called evolution
Stranger: Hahaha well I’m serious about this
Stranger: You probably think I’m so gay but I don’t care
Me: I don’t think that gays are better aligned to ‘God’...that's why I’m still talking to you and asking a simple question…how will a non believer know God exists?
Stranger: Read the Bible!
Me: It’s a big book.
Stranger: Go to church
Stranger: Yea I know, you don’t have to read the whole thing.
Stranger: You just need to read the beginning pretty much cause it’s all about how everything started its so cool
Me: I go to church, but not for Sunday mass...I'm an amateur photographer so I take pictures of churches…the Gothic architecture is fascinating
Stranger: You are photographer!?! That’s awesome my sister wants to be that
Me: That's great
Stranger: I guess so
Me: You can capture a moment forever, and you'll know what exactly happened in that moment. For others it’ll be a picture
Stranger: So do you even have any interest of having a relationship with God? Like trying to get to know about Christianity? Or anything? Just wondering
Me: Not religion. God yes
Me: I strongly believe that religions were created by humans. So religion should have nothing to do with the existence of God
Stranger: Well then do it! His love for you is so great...well I see what you are saying
Stranger: I have a religion, its just Christianity. You don’t have to have a specific religion. You can just have a relationship with God!!!
Me: That's the idea, how to know where he is as to talk to him
Stranger: u pray...
Me: Nopes…bcoz it’s all one sided...we pray, we cry…but does an answer come?
Stranger: an answer doesn’t always come... he blesses us in ways that we don’t realize
Stranger: He’s not just someone you ask for something and he gives it to you
Me: Means he is like a guide...you ask him to send you to place X and he points the way, going there is your own choice?
Stranger: Everything you do is your own choice... he can’t control what you do
Me: Then why are we here? Why did God create us? Does he want to watch a movie?
Stranger: But everything you do should be something that God would be proud of…
Stranger: Why are we here? No one knows! God put us here to be HIS people
Stranger: this is not just a "movie" it’s a horror movie to him
Me: If he wanted us to be HIS people...means he wanted to get something done from us…probably the end of the planet. He couldn’t do it so created us to kill it 
Stranger: WE ARE ON THIS EARTH BECAUSE GOD SENT IS SON JESUS TO DIE FOR OUR SINS ON THE CROSS! THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE!
Stranger: Sorry caps was on... didn’t know
Me: Ya…felt like you were shouting standing on a rooftop
Stranger: Sorry!!!
Me: ok, let’s take it step by step...God sent his Jesus to die so we are here
Stranger: God sent his son, Jesus
Me: Means if we weren’t here Jesus won’t have to sacrifice himself on the cross, correct?
Stranger: correct
Me: So why did God take so many pains to create us?
Me: I’m messing up your head, I like to question things.
Stranger: He already sacrificed himself a very long time ago.... Because he loves us!!!!!!!!!! (: he used his own son to take away our sins
Stranger: No its fine I love to teach people this stuff
Me: at your age? You want to go to seminary?
Stranger: Here hang on I have a bible verse to show you that explains some of it
Me: Sure
Stranger: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." That kinda does…
Stranger: Like if you do anything wrong...God is going to forgive. He loves you even if you don’t have any idea who he is. His love is unconditional
Me: Guess its a circle - God gave up his son so we could survive, and we were created by God. So essentially God messed up things by creating humans
Stranger: God doesn’t mess things up
Stranger: Humans messed up this world he didn’t
Stranger: people around here don’t freaking care about anything. (Not trying to be against you) but a lot of people around the world just have sex whenever they want to...murder people…kids are raped all the time...I mean God doesn’t even come across anyone’s mind anymore
Me: That signals the end of the world…Judgment Day as you call it, right?
Stranger: You sound just like my mom. She’s positive the world is gonna end next year
Stranger: like 100%
Stranger: and yes it’s called Judgment Day when you die
Me: Don’t compare me to mom. She must be a much better person
Stranger: Why would she be a better person?
Me: She is a mom...moms are always good
Stranger: ahah she’s pretty awesome!
Me: Now coming back to your concern…SEX….here something for you…Isaiah 34:16 – “None shall want for a mate”
Me: If God doesn’t want us to have sex before marriage...well...then half of the world’s love stories will end then and there.
Me: Then we'll just remain friends with everyone.
Stranger: Noooo!!
Stranger: Loving someone is wanting to be with them for the rest of your life and you would do anything for them not just having sex with them
Me: But the bitter part of this story is that love doesn’t actually last for a lifetime
Stranger: It does for some people
Me: You are a Christian, and then you must be against divorce also?
Stranger: Ok my parents are divorced…and yes I am against it
Stranger: But I believe that God planned for my parents to get divorced because my dad treated us horribly.
Stranger: So my parents’ getting a divorce was a blessing.
Me: Sorry for you. I guess then your mum took right step
Stranger: Yes she did.
Me: So apart from educating people on religion what else do you do? Basketball?
Me: Skating?
Stranger: Basketball, baseball and football
Stranger: what do you do?
Me: I do quite a lot of things
Stranger: Like?
Me: Pictures, writing (blogger), I like ping-pong and soccer
Stranger: sweeeett
Me: hey wait! I just realized you are here as you did something inappropriate with a girl.
Me: God fearing people don’t do such things
Me: Hahah…our strictly “no sex before marriage”, “God will punish you” man misbehaves with women and gets caught.
Stranger: It was a joke I didn’t mean anything sexual!
Me: Well my friend, you are on thin ice…you don’t know about why you are here or who sent you here. You believed in a book which was written by humans. So all the very best to you in finding your God.
Stranger: And do you have your God?
Me: Yes, we have a pretty good working relationship.
Me: Next time, be better prepared when talking to cynics like me…as all it takes is a cynic to bring the world crashing down on your head.