Highway to Hell Witness, pt 1

I spoke with a man last month while at a friend's house.  I'm going to call him, Joe (not his real name).  Joe was definitely NOT a Christian, a fact he was very proud of.  Ironically, Joe asked me where I went to church.  This was a question, which led to Joe telling me how he and his wife had been going to a specific church for 10 years.  Apparently, his wife was a woman of faith, but he had no belief or faith in Jesus or the Bible.  Yet, he called this specific church, "his home church."  While I can not fully articulate the animosity Joe had against Jesus in this article, I can tell you, he recoiled from any mention of God and was very hostile to the concept of anyone quoting or using of the Bible.  He stated the Bible was a tool written by men to manipulate and control others... obviously not the inspired Word of God viewpoint many Christians hold. Surprised, I asked Joe what he liked about that particular church since he didn't believe in Jesus, the Bible, or the "other nonsense" being spoken from the pulpit as he put it.  He response was mind-blowing.

Over the lyrics to Highway to Hell by AC/DC playing on his stereo, Joe explained, "I like the biker group at the church and the music. The music is usually fast and good."  He went on to say that he really enjoyed hanging out with his "Biker Brothers" before or after church service.  Joe really liked the fact he could dress like a biker to go to church.  He was so glad to have biker brothers to watch his back while he was out on the road after church too.  Joe explained the Christian biker group were really good guys who took care of his bike after he was in an accident last year, and it flipped.  When I asked him about whether or not the Christian biker group focused on Jesus, his response indicated a negative.  Apparently, being "biker brothers" was by far more of a mutual bond than being "Christian brothers," at least in his mind.  Joe's view had been reinforced by the fact none of his church biker brothers had really tried to talk to him about God.  He stated they knew he wasn't into God and left the topic alone.  Joe said he was very glad he could hang with the church's biker group and no one bothered him about God while he was with them.  That made him comfortable to be at that church.

The notion of God was real to Joe, but God was a vague concept that existed somewhere in the great beyond.  Joe's God had no real tangible connection to his daily life.  To him, God was "the man upstairs" that he would meet one day after Joe died.  Additionally, Joe was convinced there was a test on Earth that he had to pass to please God.  Once he had passed the test, Joe could "move on" to be with all his deceased family members and live happily ever after in Heaven.  When I asked Joe, what was the test he had to pass, he replied, "I don't know, but as soon as it's done, I'm outta here."

WOW! 

to be continued...

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