Friday, December 26, 2008

"Witnessing"

In my novel, The Runaway Pastor, there is a scene where Trent is asked by a new friend about his faith. Here is the question, and how Trent approaches his answer.

“Talk to me about your faith, Trent.”


She followed his eyes as he looked out over the sea and the moon, and toward the stars. “Love made all of this. Love so intense it reaches out to you and me and says ‘love me back!’ And I do. I love Love back. And Carman—that woman we met today lying on the street—has been so unloved, that Love begged me to love her. So I did.”


“That’s…that’s beautiful. I think. Does this love have a name, or a religious circle where it hangs out?” Kim asked.


“I think Love’s name is Jesus. And I’m not sure where He hangs out anymore.”


So what is your response to this method of Trent sharing his faith?
Will an answer like this ever meet the need expressed by the questioner?
Why didn't Trent use Jesus' name until pushed for the identity of "Love?"
Would you ever use such an indirect approach to answer such a question about your fatih? Why, or why not?

I've been wanting to get some feedback on various sections of the book, so here is an invitation for you to start a conversation.

Are there any other snippets of the novel you'd like to see discussed?

David

2 comments:

Zee said...

i loved Trent's approach because instead of directly telling people the answer to the question, it made 'em think and decide for themselves. kinda like sitting at a table and someone says that something is good. it's up to you to decide whether you want to try it, but the obvious delight on the recommender's face hints that the dish is indeed really good. *shrug* IMO.

i've got a friend who always answers tough questions that i sometimes ask him with another question. usually it makes me frustrated at first because all i want is one thing - the ANSWER. but i know another thing - if he would directly tell me something, i might doubt it. if, instead, he gently guides me to come to the answer myself, then i will see that i knew the answer all along, just did not really think of the situation from a correct angle.

and besides, Jesus always (okay, almost always) used parables and He wasn't the only one. besides letting his audience use their own imagination, it led them to wonderful truths that they discovered themselves.

regarding why Trent did not use Jesus' name - in our age, His name (unfortunately) is too *used*, so to speak. i mean, just try Googling "Jesus" and you'll get ALL kinds of weird and obscene stuff besides the normal Christian pages. and therefore, although to us who know Him His name is precious and means Love and many other things, for people who do not know Him His name is just "one of those freaks" sort of...

whether i'd use an approach like that... yes. simply because i would like to be approached in the same way myself. even though i've been a Christian for a bigger part of my life, when someone is trying to sound too religious, i find myself withdrawing from that person subconsciously. dunno why. that's just the way i am. therefore, i hope someday i'll be as handy with words like Trent (or you, since you wrote Trent's words:) and describe Him like Trent described Love.

Zee said...

and btw, that's one of my favoritest (yes, i know that's not a correct word in English) parts of the Runaway Pastor... it's honest and filled with such longing...