True Bloggers Blog

So what does that make me?

That is a rhetorical question that I'll permit other people to contemplate. I blog sometimes. When I feel like it. Unfortunately, I don't usually post drivel when I have nothing to post. But lately I've posted nothing in general, even when there are interesting things to discuss. Perhaps that makes me a non-blogger. Who can know?

But I digress, because I really do need to update this thing. First of all, I went to Kyrgyzstan. Whoo-wee was it chilly. My feet thawed out when I got back to Finland, if it's possible to imagine. I will return for my third straight summer in Central Asia this July, but not before spending my first July 4th back in the States since 1998. I feel excited to have a bar-b-cue, drink root beer, play baseball... you know, American July 4th things.

But this blog is about issues, and I'm an issues man. Controversial. Probing. And often boring. So the Jehovah's Witnesses are coming by to visit me at 6pm tonight. I need to explain myself, here. When I was a missionary, I had so many doors slammed in my face (for each slammed door another happy discussion in Chile was my motto) that I started to wonder what ticked people off so much about discussing religion on their front door step. I realized that it can be annoying, inconvenient, invasive, and downright weird. But the "slammers" must realize that the "knockers" aren't stupid. The "knockers" know that what they are doing is perhaps more than a little odd. So they must really care about what they're doing, and it's so nice for potential "slammers" to become "friendly talkers." I decided that I would be a "friendly talker" if a "knocker" ever comes... you know, knocking.

Besides just trying to make life a little more pleasant for the beleaguered "knockers," I've found the J-dubs (no disrespect meant... used for brevity) to be as a general rule rather friendly. I even had a nice meeting with the J-dubs when I was a missionary when we sat down together and they asked me considerate questions about my religion, and I asked questions about theirs... you know, things I've always wanted to know, like what is the deal with blood transfusions or holidays.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that I don't want to waste their time. Plus, I would like for them to know what I'm all about and why I believe the way I do. I don't know the best way to do this, so I've put together a list of questions that I'd like to ask them. If anyone has some questions they've always wanted to put to the J-dubs, you are free to post them in a comment, and I'll add them to my list. I also have created a list of things that I would like for them to know about my religion. If they are interested in such an exchange, I think it will be productive. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I would have felt bad just closing the door on them.

And by the way, I really don't like those websites dedicated to bashing other religions. They are the first hits you get when you google the J-dubs. What kind of religion makes it their mission to destroy other beliefs? Answer: cowardly ones that doubt the strength of their own teachings to stand up next to others'.