Religious Persuasion
I'm stood in the laundry room of the campsite. My endless search for a plug socket so I could charge my phone had brought me here.
A Dutch guy walked in. We started chatting about football and stuff, he was really friendly. After a while he left, no problems.
Anyway, about 30 minutes later he came back in with his wife. After introductions we talked in depth about my trip and they were impressed.
He then asked me how I felt about being out on the road. I replied it gave me a sense of freedom. To which he said "But I also have a sense of freedom within me, mine is given to me by Jesus Christ our Saviour"
My heart sank, I thought to myself - here we go.
He then rambled on about knowing he'd be living forever in God's arms in the eternal afterlife.
He said to me "You are a believer also" but it was said more as a statement than a question. I answered politely No, I'm not at all, but if someone is and it makes them happy then it's not for me to say anything bad about it. It's just not for me.
Between him and his wife they were laying traps for me in the conversation. She would say things like, how do you feel when you're cycling through nature, in the countryside?
I said "Well, it's a feeling of peace and relaxation"
To which she said " Exactly, and it's God that created the nature and that's why you feel so content because of his wonderful work"
Give me a break missus. I nearly asked, where is your God with regards to all the wars, famine and misery? But they would of trotted out a well rehearsed answer.
Don't push it on me, if you believe then good for you. They almost had a sense of pity for me, as if I was missing out on something.
I like looking round a church, for the history and the architecture, but the religious side of it feels a bit creepy to me.
Before they left he gave me his name and the town they lived in. He said "Just go to the local supermarket and mention my name, everyone in the town knows me"
I thought, Yeah, I bet they do...
* Religious Persuasion is a song by Andy White.
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