Note: My mom convinced me to start writing for the memoir again. It's been two years since I started the damn thing, and a lot has changed in those two years. My writing style has certainly changed. Many of my views have changed. So on and so fourth. After awhile of thinking, I decided it's time to tackle the next step of writing my book, which is basically "re-writing" it. I'm obviously gonna copy/paste some parts from draft one into this draft, but a lot of it will be completely re-written. I'm totally happy with tackling that project. Very few people have written a good book overnight. 

Also, I'm depressingly bored. I need something to do. 

Some nights ago, I committed a deadly sin. Mom and I went out to eat for the first time in over a year (thanks super smart doctors, for making that happen with vaccines), and while my mom went to the restroom to wash her hands upon sitting down, I noticed she left her phone behind. A dangerous idea popped into my mind, and I couldn’t resist it. I unlocked her phone, tapped on her Facebook app, and searched up one of my old teachers from my Christian school I knew my mom was Facebook friends with. What came up was exactly what I was expecting. 

“Covid is nothing but a cold! Get over yourselves!” one post read. “Wearing a mask is for people who are too soft and scared! Burn your masks, NOW!!” Another post read. I wish I could just slap that idiot through the screen. But, knowing I’d never see them in-person ever again, I decided to check out another person who I knew I’d see again someday. 

I searched up one of my second cousins, and sure enough, his Facebook profile was littered with the same anti-covid and anti-lefty posts. I was really just hoping for some entertainment, but I could feel my blood begin to boil when I read a post that dragged God into it. “It’s a sin to wear masks and social distance like the anti-Christian government wants us to. If you really have faith, burn your masks and hug your neighbors! God commanded us to not have fearful hearts!”, was the post that made me put the phone down, and made me so glad that I wiped all of my social media accounts off the internet for good. It also got me thinking very hard about a number of things regarding my faith and theirs. 

How could we read the same Scriptures yet have vastly different conclusions? Was one question I asked myself. Then, another thought came to mind, You do not read the same Scriptures as them. 

I was honestly stunned by this thought. After all, I do have a regular old bible I read routinely. How could I be reading different Scripture? Well, ever since I discovered scholars such as Dr. Michael Heiser, Dr. John Walton, and Dr. Francis Collins, as well as Youtubers such as Inspiring Philosophy and Gospel Simplicity, as well as a blogger called Adamantium Joy (who I got into contact with a couple years back because we both have CF, and I was trying to figure out how to write for the CFF blog like he and others had), I’ve also been looking into the culture, language, and context the bible was originally written in. Turns out, the bible was not written in modern English by 21st century thinkers in the western world. Shocking, I know! 

Instead, Scripture was originally written in a very ancient, eastern language by equally ancient authors. It has been translated into English in many, many different ways. The first English version of the bible was the King James Version, written in 1611. For its time, it was revolutionary. But, it did have some errors and mistranslations. Over time, as the world became increasingly scientifically-minded and westernized, and people gained a better understanding of Hebrew and Greek, the bible was re-translated over and over again. Now, we can access any version of the bible we want, and translate the original, raw Hebrew and Greek into raw English online for free. And, through that, along with the guiding words of my favorite biblical scholars, I’ve come to realize that the bible I’ve gotten sucked into is very different from the NKJV and KJV bibles most of the Christians I know read from. 

To me, this is scary and sad, yet invigorating and awesome. It’s scary and sad because I wish I could talk to my fellow Christian family members and share how awesome Scripture really is with them, and we could all grow in the faith together. After all, iron sharpens iron. But, based on how hostile many of them are towards new ideas, I don't know if we can have a civilized conversation. It’s invigorating and awesome because I love learning new ideas and perspectives, and I can practically watch myself get closer and closer to God as I learn more and more about Him. Of course, whenever I fall into a rabbit hole like this one, I don’t shut up about it. But, at least it gives me something to do, and has replaced my endless monologues about hunting and dirtbikes for the time being. 

Yet, I feel like I’m getting nudged to show my not-so-open-minded loved ones what I've been learning. Almost as if God is calling me to start a dialogue with some of those people, and introduce them to the Christianity I’ve gotten myself into, as new to all of it as I am (I only just started reading Dr. Heiser’s book Unseen Realm, and I feel like I’d be way in over my head if I didn’t have access to Google. Sometimes, I have to read the same chapter three or four times before I can actually digest what is being said). My conservative Christian grandparents (who got their vaccines and take covid seriously) are gonna fly in and visit us here in Washington for a week. My grandpa is especially interested in talking about God and politics. And, as I mentioned, is very conservative and evangelical. 

Unlike my second cousin and former teacher, my grandpa doesn’t have a short fuse or a mean bone in his body, and he actually listens to learn instead of argue. He loves history, art, and learning about different people and cultures (yet, is somehow still very conservative). I feel drawn to introduce him and grandma to the Christianity I’ve discovered. If that goes over well (which it will), perhaps I can introduce my less-friendly Christian loved ones to it too, without anyone feeling attacked or patronized.  

Now, I know what many of y’all are thinking: What are you talking about? Can you elaborate on your current Christian beliefs? What have you learned?