The Everyday Club

11/12/11         Brendon,     late 20's
I was outside a video game store with Tony (from church) where I asked a customer leaving the store if he had a minute to answer a few questions. His name was Brendon. He had grown up in a Catholic household but had ceased believing in the God of the Bible since his early teens. He took pride in having an open mind and being accepting of other people's religious beliefs and experiances. He said he believes in a higher power of some sort but rejects organized religion and the idea of a personal God. He said he simply lives for the present, trying to make the most of each day, yet he was quick to point out that he is a moral person who would be a very good person compared to many of the hypocritical people he has seen in church. He clearly feels accountable for his personal behavior even if he doesn't believe in a personal God. He was very opinionated and defensive about his own personal goodness, and his personal beliefs wouldn't allow him to judge the religious experiences of another person without obvious hypocracy so instead of questioning him directly about his own morality I applied the "good person" questions about keeping the Ten Commandments to myself. He vigorously defended me, I believe because he could see the connection that whatever applied to me must apply to himself also. He quieted down after that, and seemed quietly convicted of his own sin and denial of God. He was very willing to listen to an explanation of the Gospel from that point on, and was very grateful that we had asked to talk with him.