Allow me to formally introduce my brother, Nathan. He is younger than me by four and a half years. He did his undergraduate degree in music at UNC, so we had a few years of friendly rivalry since i went to NC State. He is currently working as a chaplain in a hospital near Arden, NC. He has two beautiful dogs, Lola and Dakota, who romp and play with Nugent whenever they get together. Nathan and his wife, Heather, are two of my favorite people.
Nathan has had a blog of his own, called Nate’s Davar, for nearly two years. He writes about a lot of things, and often looks at them through a lens of faith. Lately, many of his entries have been about some of the experiences he has had as a chaplain and how his work has affected him. I really love those posts – more than a few of them have made me cry.
A few months ago, Nathan discovered my blog. I was completely giddy to hear that he devoured it. He found my letters from Grandma and was dismayed by the idea that she and i had been having a theological conversation that ended so abruptly. He wrote to me, in an email that was titled “1st Letter From Nathan” and invited me to discuss my beliefs with him. It has so far been an immensely enjoyable conversation, and i hope it continues throughout, well, our lives.
I am an atheist/agnostic/freethinker/humanist/whatever. I do not believe in a higher power. My parents believe that is a failure on their part. Nathan, a product of the same environment, has chosen a different life path and set of beliefs. In fact, in May he graduated from seminary. Our beliefs are very different, and yet… It turns out that an atheist and a divinity school graduate can agree on quite a few things. This has sometimes surprised me.
This is the beginning of what i hope will be a series of posts discussing some of the topics Nathan and i have covered in our emails so far. So far, there have been five Letters from Nathan, with responses from me. The topics we have covered include:
- Each other – how we view each other, especially in the context of the rest of our family
- Family dynamics – how we grew up, how we were influenced by our family, judgment we sometimes feel, how much we have revealed to them about our beliefs
- Evangelism
- Faith and the nature of belief – how faith is a choice, how questions play into this.
- Audrey’s transition to atheism, how i “came out” to my family and the effect it has had
- Creation and Genesis
- The Bible as the Literal Word of God – flaws that may exist in the Bible, the Bible as a historical work
- Morality and where it comes from., hinking for yourself versus being told what to believe.
- God’s Plan – the idea that God has a plan for each person, whether God is personal
- Homosexuality
- Cultural influences regarding religion
- Christianity as the One True Religion, and how other religions fit into this idea
- Islam in particular
- Religion as an institution – religious warfare and religious killing
- Free Will
- Theodicy – the dilemma created when people say God created all things, so what is the purpose of suffering in the world? Nathan’s work as a chaplain, and how this has affected him.
- Heaven – life after death.
- Hell/Satan – punishment and its purpose
- Egotism of Christianity – being thankful for Plenty
- Narrative Theology – as opposed to Proposition Theology which is the more standard way of thinking about things
The list is longer than i realized. We’ve covered (or are in the process of covering) a lot of things, and we have a 30-page (single-spaced!) series of essays on the topic, which only promises to get longer.
Nathan, i want to say to you that this has been a really amazing experience for me. I am getting to know you in a whole new way, and also getting to know myself better as you challenge me to think about what i do and don’t believe and why. Thank you so much for engaging in this dialog with me, and for being willing to explore all these topics openly and honestly. I feel that you are genuinely interested in the discussion, and you listen to what i say and have respect for it, and the feeling is mutual. I hope this conversation continues, and that you’ll comment on this series of posts as we go along, and possibly write about it on your own blog.