GIRLS!

Okay…that title is a bit misleading.  Recently, Ojo Taylor, of the band Undercover openly expressed a change in his life.  After decades and a lifetime of the Christian faith, he has become an agnostic of sorts.  I only phrase it this way because Ojo is not stating there is definitely no God.  He is basically stated it is not something he can answer for certain, but evidence is not compelling that Christianity is not uniquely true.

But that is not my primary comment here, though I have many thoughts on the issue.  There have been supportive people, but there are also those that pile on, with presumptions about the whys of the situation.

One of the more problematic criticisms I see levelled at Ojo is in relation to this part of his story:

I made the acquaintance of a bright and interesting woman and I asked her out.  She was a secular humanist and had learned of Undercover and my role in Christian music. She told me that if I believed she was going to hell and if I was going to try to save her from hell, she would not go out with me.  That simple exchange gave me pause and I told her I would consider the question and would get back to her on it.  It ended up being a transitional event for me. 

I’ve seen comments on message boards and Facebook fire away at this as if it had some great meaning, or was proof of Ojo’s insincerity in his previous professions of  Christian faith.

Of course, if the story was:

I made the acquaintance of a bright and interesting woman and I asked her out.  She was a Christian and had learned of my being an atheist/agnostic. She told me that if I did not have a commitment to Jesus Christ, she would not go out with me.  That simple exchange gave me pause and I told her I would consider the question and would get back to her on it.  It ended up being a transitional event for me. 

Well, people would have a chuckle at the crazy things God uses to win us over to his love.  I know this because I have heard this story before…about people coming to Christ because of a girl they liked.  Really, any situation that ends with “and then I found Jesus because of that moment/person!” is automatically accepted as a worthwhile story.  And yet, because it had the opposite result, it is somehow worthy of derision and condecending presumptions.

All I can ask of those people…why would anyone want to sit next you for an eternity?