It's not as though I dislike Jesus. I like Jesus as much as I like Cleopatra, or Joan of Arc. If one can believe the hype, Jesus taught some super-cool philosophies: Don't be hateful and judgmental. Don't fear what you don't know. Share what you have with those who have less. And more!
The unfortunate thing is that so few self-proclaimed "Christians" seem to live Jesus' philosophy.
The neighbors have a six year-old son. He is an only child. They feed him crap food that can't possibly nourish the brain of a growing child, but that is fodder for another post. They are brainwashing him in such a way that causes me anguish when I hear him speak of his beliefs.
His father leaves for work very early each morning and his mother works from home. As the elementary school is close by, I offered to take him, with my kids, to school each morning. As a result, I have a few minutes with him every day.
He is very vocal about his Christianity and though I have NEVER told him that his beliefs are wrong, I have told him that we think differently but that we can still be friends with him, no problem.
This morning, he showed up at my door and said, "I may be moving soon, guys".
This is funny, because my Mom stayed with us for about a month just after we had moved in and she gathered pretty quickly what was up with the neighbors. She said, (with her authoritative Mom nod - oh, you know what I'm talking about...), "Oh, they'll be out of here in six months".
At the time, I thought she was silly. Why would anyone move because their neighbors had theological views which conflicted with their own?
Before I continue, I must color the story with the following: Their kid is not an easy kid. He is hyper, literal, difficult to handle. One day, his Mom stopped me and asked me if I had noticed a difference in his behavior, if he was tougher to deal with than usual. I allowed that yes, he is a handful, but that no, he was just himself. Days passed, and I reconsidered.
According to his parents, he is incredibly stubborn about diet. Once, when I asked him what he ate, he said, "Chicken nuggets, cheese quesadilla, and grilled cheese". I refer to this as the "beige" food group. One morning, he showed up in my kitchen ready to be walked to school with a blue mouth. I asked him what he had eaten and he answered, "Powerade, a Jolly Rancher, and six marshmallows." It was at this point that I decided to risk incurring the wrath of his mother.
She was remarkably cool for a woman who was hearing, "I'm a better mother than you are; let me tell you why." She even allowed that perhaps she really didn't understand what "healthy eating" meant. I respect her immeasurably for this. After all, I came to her saying, in essence, "You feed your kid processed shit and wonder why the teacher has an issue trying to get him to participate appropriately?"
Several months pass, and today he announces that he might be moving. The explanation was fascinating - I can't wait for tomorrow's walk to school.
According to him (and take this for what it's worth - a six year-old) his parents want to live surrounded by more Christians, not people like us. People who aren't Christians are "taking over our world!" Direct quote.
At this point I must add that a couple of months ago he came upstairs and into my kitchen and stated that "Jews like you who don't believe in god will go to hell". I wasn't quite sure where to begin with this. So wrong, on so many levels.
I'm not Jewish. As far as I know, most Jews DO believe in god, but not in heaven or hell. Jews? Correct me where I'm wrong.
This morning, he told me that his Mom says that my kids are bad friends (and here enters the ray of hope for the child) but "I don't think so", he says. He's okay being our friend. Duh. We're nice to him. And, we have Beyblades.
So I double-checked, "Hey, did your Mom really say that my kids are bad friends?" and the answer was, "Yeah! But I don't think so."
I answered that I was sorry that she felt that way and, as far as I was concerned, his different beliefs don't prevent me from being his friend. He answered that his Mom said that we can be who we are but that they "just wish that we would take the right path."
Well, shit. I've been trying to take the right path for a long time now. If only I had known that it was so easy.
What is funny is that despite their vehement opposition to my theological attitude, his parents have somehow been okay with me taking him to school for about four months, now. And, they send him over here to play with regularity; they never come to pick him up (they just wait 'til I send him home) or thank me for having watched their kid for free for hours a week.
And yes, my Mom did say (à propos of the neighbors), with some degree of confidence, "they will be gone within six months".
Mom, correct me if I'm wrong.
And she further stated that they would move because they are threatened by my ideas and the way I live. At the time, I thought that ridiculous. My renegade, off-center ideas about fresh foods and agnosticism? Ha!
Questions: Are they really moving out? Are they really moving out because we aren't Christian? Are they aware that Christianity teaches (in theory) tolerance and forgiveness? I don't know.
Tomorrow morning, as I (heathen) walk the child to school, I will mine more deeply for information. The following questions are: Should I confront the mother a) just about the possible move? b) about the impetus behind their move, e.g. my sacrilegious education of my children c) her calling my kids "bad friends" or d) keep my piehole clamped?
All advice and opinions welcome! To be continued....
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