Was the world created in 7 days or over a span of millions of years? Did dinosaurs really exist? The rapture - does it take place before or after the tribulation period, or not at all? Being a Christian, I have been involved with these types of conversations with Christians and non-Christians alike.
Last summer a friend of mine invited me to a Blue Jays game, and on the one hour bus trip to and back from the game we talked about all kinds of things. During the conversation he said to me that he had a Christian relative who had a different point of view with regard to the creation of the universe. Basically, this relative kept pressing the issue, trying desperately to change my friends point of view based on various pieces of information.
The whole experience had made for my friend to have an awkward visit - not enjoyable to say the least.
My friends response to this situation really stood out to me. He said something to the effect of "Does it really matter? Aren't we missing the point?" The point my friend was referring to was the Gospel.
After hearing this, I started thinking about the types of conversations I had with the people in my life, and started to realize that the whole point of my existence is to love God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love my neighbour as myself. I need to put this at the forefront of any conversation that I have.
During a presentation skills course I was a part of, my instructor made the point that it is very difficult to change someone else opinion on important matters, and that to be an effective presenter, you need to be aware of that. The exercise that he used was one where you had a few minutes where you had to convince your partner that you know of the ideal vacation spot, and that your vacation spot was better than your partner's. Not one person was able to change their partner's point of view.
The point? Differences of opinion are ok, so long as it doesn't cause you to stop loving God or your neighbours.
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