Conversation Number 6!

Today, Alex and I met at Union Grounds for another conversation and discussion!  We grabbed some drinks and got to talking!  First, we discussed how the rest of week went since we had last met on Monday and what we had done this weekend.  We both participated in LEAPS yesterday, so we shared our experiences with each other and both agreed that it was rewarding. 

After this discussion, Alex abruptly changed subjects and asked about religion and Christianity.  He associates Americans with Christianity, and to clear things up I made sure he knew that America is founded on freedom of religion and we don’t have an official religion.  There are a wide varieties of religions practiced in America, but approximately 75% of Americans do identify within the umbrella of Christian faiths.  It was interesting to hear about how he does not believe in God or in a god, and that he views the world as a material thing.  It was also interesting to hear some of the stereotypes that he views in regards to Americans and Christianity.  While some are true in regards to some people, they are after all just stereotypes and were not necessarily true for the mass population.

 

Alex asked me to explain some of the basic components of Christianity, such as God, his son, Jesus, forgiveness, sins, and communion.  While explaining, Alex would also share his view and opinion on these topics and what he knows/has heard before.  It was interesting to be presented with his perspective on this stuff, and I also realized how weird and crazy some of these beliefs may sound to an outsider; also, it could be hard for him to believe in something like this when he has never been exposed to it.  He told me that his grandparents are Buddhists and explained some of those beliefs; I explained that as Christians because of Jesus we are forgiven for our sins, but he said for Buddhism that if you do something wrong then directly or indirectly at some point in your life something bad will occur to you.

 

We also talked about history in many regards.  First, we talked about the history of religion and I asked how important religion was in China and what faith is most widely practiced.  Alex gave me a little history of the migration of religions through the dynasties which was actually pretty cool!  Alex was then interested in the history of Texas, as they had briefly touched on it in one of his classes on Friday.  I explained the six flags over Texas, who Texas has been ruled by, and the process of Texas gaining their independence – being sure to mention the Alamo.  Explaining this to him took a lot of digging and memory as the last time I’ve studied Texas history was in 7^th grade (when I did not particularly enjoy history…).  But I did my best and Googled a few articles and pictures to better help my explaining and his understanding. 

 

The conversation today was definitely interesting and for the first time I was required to do most of the talking.  It was truly enjoyable, and I am glad that Alex was comfortable enough to ask these questions and that I was able to explain these things to him!