Based on a true story.
RELATED ARTICLE: How to debate atheists
Once upon a time a Christian (me) went for coffee with six other people.
Initially the discussion was centered around issues of everyday life. We discussed politics, the latest news of our community, economy, even gossip about known people. And time passed over like water.
At some point, the discussion went to more “serious” subjects, namely philosophy and religion.
And then it all begun…
Four of the participants found the perfect opportunity to start expressing their anti-religion ideas. Which is perfectly cool by the way. I was about to be engaged in an interesting discussion when…
All of those people understood that they agree (between them). So they almost instantly orchestrated to produce a cacophony of anti-religious rant against any idea of God. And with this they created an impenetrable wall which was impossible to break. Every time I attempted to get into the discussion with an argument which destroyed a fallacy in which they believed they just… ignored me.
No matter how well-placed my counter-argument was, they simply stared at me, looked to each other, told me that I was wrong (without explaining why of course, as if it was obvious to all but to the ignorant me) and then kept on their ranting. As most people today, they were there to talk and not to listen. And the moment they realized they had audience who was on their side, they kept on trying to please that audience.
The end was not a happy end.
Because no matter what, they never did sit to listen to the different opinion. The coffee ended and they went back home, happy that they explained once more their (correct) view, without paying attention that at the same time they ignored a different opinion which could be (or not, this is not the point of this post) equally or better founded than theirs.
In a world full of people with opinions, no one listens.
In a world full of educated people, no one wishes to learn.
In a world full of noise, nobody ever sits to hear the silence.
So the next time you start a speech about what you believe, spend a second to pay attention to someone who sits silent at the corner. He may have much to say…
