Posted by Hemant Mehta in Josh and Karlene are seminary students looking to speak to non-Christians as part of a class project:
We are seminary students who have been given an assignment in one of our classes to have a series of conversations with others who do not share our Christian faith. The purpose of these conversations is NOT to convert anyone, but to practice talking about traditional elements of our Christian faith in ways that make sense, and even more importantly, listening to others about their beliefs and experiences. We are also interested in talking about the different assumptions atheists and Christians have about the “Christian message.” It is an exercise in friendly dialog across differences in belief, and for open, honest, and safe dialog together.
So we are asking for two conversation partners who would be willing to spend about an hour a week for the next 12 weeks talking on the phone or chatting online, who are not Christian and are interested in this type of friendly conversations with us.
Josh and Karlene
If you have questions or would like to speak with them, go to Conversation at the Edge to get their contact info.
[tags]atheist, atheism, Christian[/tags]
Slow down there, everyone. The first comment over at CATE says they’re done.
Thanks for the mention, Hemant – as Ben said I heard back late last evening that two people have already responded to their request, so they’re all set.
What seminary are they attending? Would they be willing to publish their paper on a blog?
I have done this sort of thing with a few local seminarians. It was always a worthwhile experience. Although there papers(which I always got a copy of, put did not have editoral rights to) always a bit different than what I remembered of our talks. But that is the way it works.
Edward T. Babinski (editor of Leaving the Fold: Testimonines of Former Fundamentalists, Prometheus Books, 2003) is researching a book about ex-seminarian atheists…Perhaps others could contact him with their testimony about why and how they left their Christian college to become freethinkers. There must be hundreds if not thousands out there, like myself, who outgrew the supernatural fairy tales and opted for a natural worldview. It would make an interesting read.