verbally abused by a putative Christian

Walking home from my writer's group on Wednesdays, I usually detour onto the campus to get some extra steps walked.  I end my campus walk by walking the half ring of sidewalk that is part of the west entrance to the campus, on Oxford. On Oxford at Center, there is a steady stream of pedestians all day and evening when the university is in session. Folks walk from BART to campus, then back to BART at the end of their days. Others walk from the campus to the many restaurants along Oxford, Center and Shattuck.

I have not seen a Christian proseletizer at Oxford and Center before. Come to think of it, except for the occasional person selling the street newspaper, homeless people, I can't recall any politicizing, proselytizing or promotion at that corner. A bit south, where there is a big grassy lawn, occasionally i see some demonstrations, usually about peace. Usually baby boomer age. 

I am polite to all panhandlers, newspaper sellers and proselytizers, although i run into relatively few of the later. This is, after all, Berkeley. Berkeley doesn't seem to attract, not out in the open, anyway, bible belching Christian hypocrites.

I ran into a bible belching Christian hypocrite trying to hand out sheets of paper with quotes from the Bible. i politely declined and kept walking. And the pious, putative Christian said "It's from a book you've never read."  I kept walking but turned my head back to say "You have no idea if I read the bible or not."  He snapped back, "Yes I do know. I know you don't."

I was tired, a lugging my laptop plus hot creamed green soup from Poulet. I was very hungry. It was after 1 p.m., past my lunch time.  I could feel my glucose rising from not eating soon enough. I was tired and the computer was taking its toll. So my only retorts to the hypocritical bible belching were mental.

After I write this, and have finished my delicious soup, made creamy with blended navy beans so its dairy-free -- genius good, genius recipe -- I might, seriously, walk back there, see if he is still there and tell him some of what I thought in indignation.

I went to Christian school K-12. I attended Sunday service every year of my life until i left for college. And I returned to Sunday services, trying out different denominations throughout young adulthood and my parenting years. I reasoned I had to give my daughter some religious experience.

And I actually have read the whole Bible straight through, as well as having read parts of it for various classes. I had to take religion class K-12, plus in undergrad, I took a course on Judaisim and, yes indeed, we read some of the Old Testament. I also took a course on the history of Christianity.  I went to Sunday service with my daughter until, in the fifth grade, after I had taken to driving her to Sunday School but staying in my car to read the Sunday paper, she came out and said "I am done with Church." There, she had made her choice. That was probably the last time I have been to any church on a Sunday.

I wouldn't have told the bible belching, verbally assaulting jerk all of the above. I wanted to tell him that I have indeed read the Bible and I understand it. In my understanding, his comments to me were unChristian and, thus, suggest if he had read the book he had rudely accused me of never having read, he had failed to understand it. I am certain my Christian bible asks people not to judge others. I am also certain my Christian bible frowns on being unkind while supposedly promoting Christianity and the Bible.

I also would not have told him that for over 20 years now, I have studied Rudolf Steiner, who places Jesus Christ as the single most important being in the course of life on this planet throughout time. Through my study of Steiner, I have studied various sections of the Bible very closely. Bible belching Christians often refer to Anthroposophy as a cult. Fuck them. They know not what they speak.

Fuck that pig, eh?

He was wearing a t-shirt that said "Yahweh" on it. Fuck his vision of Yahweh, too.

I won't go back, although I need another 48 steps to hit 10,000 steps today. I am positive the guy would be even more unpleasant if I were to return and claim I had read the Bible.  I have. Really. Truly.  And I understood it. I know my Bible would not approve of me calling that bible belcher a pig and uttering fuck that pig.

I never said I am a Christian now.

Fuck that guy. He represents much that is wrong with this culture. I doubt that he could see that I had been polite to him, and that courtesy was a kind of Christian kindness, albiet Christian anything is not on my agenda.