Monday, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Deacon Robert Banet
Meet Mr. Lin Yutang.
So you were brought up Christian?
Yes. My father was a pastor in China. I came to the United Sates to study.
Ah. You studied for the ministry?
Yes. That was when I saw the light.
The light?
Yes. I saw that the teachers considered such things as the Virgin Birth an open question. That’s when I began to doubt the whole thing.
You gave up your belief?
Yes. It seemed so ridiculous to me. I mean, the idea that God punished Adam for eating an apple. And not only Adam but all who came from him, down to the present time. It’s really unfair that they should be punished for something that somebody else did.
I see what you mean.
How silly. How petty of God. And then He had His Son killed. It just did not add up. I consider myself a pagan. I still believe in God and the Bible but I think men complicated and distorted the message, all for the sake of keeping people in line and in the dark. I consider myself a good person.
Well, Mr. Yutang, you have brought up very thoughtful points. But you could be wrong, you know. But you have to consider that God removed he curse by the death and resurrection of His Son. Many wise men, many intelligent men believe this beautiful Christian message.
Yes, and many others, equally smart, don’t. If God loves me half as much as my mother loved me, He will not sent me to Hell.
Ah, Mr. Yutang, I cannot agree with you. I will pray for you.