This semester, the Fellows were tasked with interviewing a friend on their worldviews to practice having spiritual conversations. I knew that my friend was interested in going into worship ministry, so I thought it would be beneficial to get a rough view of where she was spiritually. We met up at a local coffee shop to hang out and go through the list of twenty questions that we had been given. There was a cozy atmosphere to the coffee shop and as I walked through, I found a quiet room that had a leather couch and three soft chairs forming a small circle. I had also invited some of our mutual friends to come and join us, so we were able to get comfortable quickly. We all got our coffees, and I began the survey by telling her that I would not comment on anything that she said until after we were done with all the questions. This way, I could let her feel more in control of the conversation and not influence her to give the “Christian” answers she might think I wanted to hear.
Spiritual conversations in Utah, Fall 2020
As I sat and listened to my friend answer the questions, I began to realize that she had not fully thought through her belief system. She believed that we can know truth, that a loving God exists, and that humans are sinful, but once I asked her about ethics, she believed that ethics stem from what humans make them to be and that there is no known solution to the main problem of humanity and suffering. I walked her through the definitions of subjective and objective truth, which she had not ever had anyone explain to her before.
Objective truth is something that is true of an object regardless of what I believe to be true about it, while subjective truth is subject to my opinions and thoughts.
Since this was a casual discussion, it was easy for me to ask deeper questions and move the conversation forward. She expressed a significant interest in understanding more about morality and how we can know whether things are right or wrong, so it was really cool to leave the conversation feeling as if I had left a stone in her shoe – the idea of giving someone something to think about later.
The Lord can work in the hearts of humans in any place. Coffee shops, Waffle Houses, and car rides are where some of my most favorite conversations have begun. I am eager to continue to pursue growth in this relationship through continued conversation. I hope to continue meeting up with her whenever I go home over breaks, and I will continue to pray that she is surrounded by Christians that push her towards truth. When I look at how I have grown these past eight months, I can see through what we have done and through conversations like these that I have grown in my ability to empathize with someone’s current belief system. It comes more naturally for me to understand why someone believes what they do. I thank God that he has opened my heart to understand, and I am thankful that I will be able to utilize this gift as I move forward into my college years and beyond.
Spiritual conversations in Utah, Fall 2020
by Mason Kendall