Religious Debate to Friendship

During the first week of school, a friend and I were making some rounds around our floor, trying to meet everyone and make some new friends. I made a stop in one of the boys' rooms, and noticed a rosary on a desk. A simple question about what was the actual point of rosaries led to a three hours conversation about Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

Don't get me wrong, this was not an argument at all. It was honestly very refreshing to hear one person's side of the story and be able to tell my own without telling them they are wrong or being told that I am wrong. I told him about how the Catholic church has changed so much and seemingly made up so many things along they way, as well as how the Orthodox church is still the original Christian Church. It was an extremely productive discussion. We even got on the internet and research some of the things we disagreed on. He was definitely listening to everything I was saying and trying to see how it fit in with his beliefs. I also tried to see his points, most of the conversation was him talking about him Catholic beliefs and traditions. It really excited me to discover that there are people out there that can respectfully talk about religion.

The primary points of the conversation consisted of the ways of worship of Catholics, as well as the moral and political beliefs and opinions. He is very conservative. We literally disagree on every single point one could ever disagree on, whether it be the actual church service, what we believe certain religion symbols represents, abortion, gay marriage, basically everything. Yet, our conversation was completely civilized and enlightening.

I wanted him to walk away thinking twice that his religion is the right one, and that his traditions were actually just accumulated over time. I walked away with the knowledge that some Catholics will listen to another perspective.

After the conversation, I respect Catholic views a little more and perhaps understand why people believe them. It was interesting to listen to an educated person talk about how they feel. Not everyone can explain why they feel a certain way. His argument was backed up by a lot of historical information, so that was a large reason why I could listen to his argument. The way he presented his evidence was also very calm and matter-of-factly. He never put down my opinion or told me it was wrong.

I never thought I would start a friendship on a conversation about religion!