2/19/25

Here are a few brief highlights from our conversations today!

• One young lady that Alan and I talked to shared with us the story of her near-death experience, miraculous survival, and vision of heaven that led to her conversion to Christianity. Some years ago, she was in a fatal car accident in which she barely survived. She experienced severe brain damage, and her parents were encouraged by doctors to remove her from life support due to her critical condition, but her parents decided to continue with medical efforts. She told us that she was in a coma for weeks, and with extreme medical attention for months, but she miraculously survived and recovered to the point where she can walk and attend school independently. She told us that, while in the coma, she remembers seeing a vision of the gates of heaven where people were arriving. Multiple times in the vision, she approached the gates to be let in, but those at the gates sent her back, telling her that her time was not yet. She told us how this vision and her miraculous recovery revealed to her a reality far greater than the one she had known before and eventually led her to her Christian beliefs. We were blessed to talk with her and pray for her as we were encouraged by her testimony and sought to encourage her in the Lord as well!

• We were also visited by a young man who identified himself as a hedonist. This was a very interesting conversation as we explored his beliefs similar to those of utilitarianist Jeremy Bentham and his "hedonistic calculus". In this thinking, a significant emphasis is placed on orienting our lives so that the greatest amount of pleasure can be experienced by the greatest number of people. There's a lot of "math" that goes into this determination, but that is the basic concept. This young man also expressed his belief that all conscience life is equal in value and can only be distinguished by our prejudice and bias to those forms of life which are most similar to ourselves. For example, we discussed the scenario of the choice to save the life of a dog or a human. The young man responded saying that either option is equally viable, but we are wired to select that which we feel more closely associated. He even mentioned that this could exist within a species as we discriminate against one race, gender, religion, etc. in favor of ones closer to our own. This is a quite unsettling idea that was all too lightly expressed by this young man. Ideas most certainly have consequences, and these have drastically left the realm of realistic reason in pursuit of some other goal or indulgence. It's a scary thing when our cognitive philosophies detach themselves from our practical experience and drive us places we would never soberly arrive on our own accord. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" Ephesians 6:12

•  We spoke for a while with another gentleman who is a devote Muslim. Alan and Nick primarily spoke with him while I was engaged with other people, but it seems that they had a good conversation. After a good amount of time conversing, Nick shared that he believes that Muhammad was a false prophet and not from the true God. This seemed to be a topic of focus for them, rightfully so, but I'm not certain how this man will proceed after this conversation. After being offered a copy of the gospel of Mark to explore on his own time, the man expressed that he is not allowed to read other religious texts outside of Islamic literature because he is a relatively new convert. Nick tried to point out that that should be a red flag, but the young man was not phased. It seems that it is not due to reasoning that this man remains a Muslim, but perhaps something more deeply rooted in his identity and social relationships that hold him back. 

• I had a very interesting conversation with a young man about the nature and objective of love and marriage. I'm really not sure how we began discussing this topic, but he seemed very fixated on it. We talked about the demeaning nature of lust and abuse and how love is not a selfish pursuit, trying merely to obtain its own desires. I'm not sure how helpful this conversation was, but we were engaged with this topic for quite some time. As I reflected on our conversation, I think it would have been more beneficial that I asserted a more direct opposition to his unhealthy approach to love, marriage, and sex as I soon discovered that he was not particularly open to changing his mind. In some situations, it is most fitting to approach a topic with more cautious inquiring, but I've learned that sometimes a direct opposition can be the most beneficial for the conversation as well as the other individual. I hope that this young man talks with us again and is able to change his mind about the nature and objective of love. While speaking with him, I was reminded of how profound God's love is for His people. Even while we were sinners, prostituting ourselves to other gods and despising truth, God remained faithful and true to the love He chose to establish. How great a love must exist for God to create, in all knowledge, creatures that He knew would reject and hate Him, and to uphold and sustain their life despite it!

• We had many other conversations, but this is a brief look into a few of them!

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you"

Titus 2:11-15