Atheist up for auction

According to a Wall Street Journal article from last week, an atheist put himself on eBay, offering to spend 1 hour attending church services for every $10 (of a bid). He advertised that it was the best chance anyone had of converting him. The highest bidder put up $504. The winning gentleman met this atheist and instead asked him to attend 10-15 church services of his choosing, and follow up by chronicling the experience on a website where he would post his reactions and reflections. He was asked to score the preacher, critique church bulletins...

I find this very, very strange. Nowadays, anything is marketed or "sold" on eBay. I don't think the winning bidder actually thought money would convert this guy, but it seemed that he viewed it as an interesting experiment of sorts. In fact, he was hoping this experiment would help save Christianity from "aggressive evangelism." His mission is "helping Christians be normal."

Sites to check out here and here. (BTW: As strange as it is, it simultaneously actually seems really interesting.)

Ok, let me just ask, what the heck does that mean - "helping Christians be normal"? When I was in high school, there were certain Christians who freaked me out... and then I think I ended up becoming virtually one of them. Why? Because I ended up taking my faith seriously, something that intervenes in, moves, influences, sustains, and transforms my daily existence. But I also think we may all have a story or a time when there was something akin to "aggressive evangelism" or perhaps just sheer "abnormalcy" that had the outward appearance of doing anything BUT furthering the Kingdom. Does this mean we disengage? I don't think so. I think it challenges us to evaluate what it truly is that will further the Kingdom. Ultimately, there are a lot of things that can contribute to someone converting to, or someone abandoning, the Christian faith. Dialogue or logic for example. I think this can go either way. You enter into discussion, and some will walk away thinking, "Hmm, I need to consider this Jesus guy a little more," but others will walk away and say "Well, just as I thought. Nothing is proven." (Etc.)

This makes me think that the only thing that can do nothing except move someone to consider Christ anew is love. I don't think going to 10-15 random church services will be conclusive for any one individual. Maybe someone sits down in a pew in a Baptist service and comes to faith. Maybe someone enters a Roman Catholic church and comes to faith. Maybe someone goes to a Church Under the Bridge service with the homeless and comes to faith. Maybe someone walks into an elementary school or into a movie theater auditorium on a Sunday morning where electric guitars are playing praise songs and comes to faith. But someone else? They might be in any of these scenarios and emerge unmoved, untouched, unchanged, perhaps even repulsed. It could look really really different. I couldn't say why there's a difference in how people come to faith, or how it even happens, or conversely why it doesn't. This is the inscrutable wisdom of God. But love? How can agape love offend, unless it makes you feel ashamed, like the high priests walking away from the cross that Jesus is hanging from... unless you have repudiated the love that is given?

Incase you're wondering about my absence, well, I was ill for a few days. Spent some quality time vegging out with movies, sleeping, and walking around the house in my P.J.s. That and eating lots of Girl Scout cookies. It's a new week though, and I have been busy with an application. ::suspenseful music in the background:: Yep, I'm moving forward and submitting an application with MTW. I will hopefully submit by Friday and hear back before April on if I am accepted...