Chapter 38 Chapter Eleven Interactions with Christians

Next day at one o'clock I went to Mr. Baker's prayer meeting.There I made the acquaintance of Miss Hollis, Miss Gabby, Mr. Coats, and several others.Everyone knelt down and prayed, and I followed suit.Each one pleads various things from God according to his desire.Usually it's a prayer to get through the day safely, or to ask God to open his heart. Now they add a prayer for my well-being: "Lord, please show the way for this new brother who has joined us. Lord, give him the peace that you have given us. May The Lord Jesus who saved us saved him also. All we ask in the name of Jesus.” At this prayer meeting, no hymns or other music is sung.After praying for one particular thing each day, we each went to lunch, because that was lunch time.Prayer takes no more than five minutes.

Miss Hollis and Miss Gabby were both elderly, unmarried ladies.Mr. Kezi is a member of the Quaker Society.These two ladies lived together, and they gave me a perennial invitation to come and sing tea at their house every Sunday afternoon at four o'clock. When we met on Sundays, I always asked Mr. Ketz to look at the religious diary I had made during the week, and discussed with him the books I had read and the impressions they had made on me.These two ladies often related their sweet experiences and the peace they found. Mr. Ke Ci is a frank and resolute young man.We used to go for walks together, and sometimes he took me to see other Christians.

As we got to know each other better, he began to read to me the books of his choice until my bookshelves were filled with his books.He enriched me with books, and that is true.In pure faith I promised him to read them all, and we discussed them as we read them. I read quite a few books of this kind in 1893.I can't remember the titles of all the books, but I remember Dr. Baker's "City and Temple Commentary", Pearson's "Many Convincing Proofs" and Butler's "Contrast".Some of these books are inexplicable, some of them I like, and some of them I don't like. "Many Convincing Proofs," which illuminates the religion of the Bible in terms of examples as the author understands it, had little effect on me.Baker's Commentary is mostly moral encouragement, but it is of little help to a man who has little faith in popular Christianity.Butler's "On Contrast" is a masterful, difficult and moving work, which requires four or five rereadings to be properly understood.I think the author's purpose in writing this book seems to be to turn atheists into theists.Many of the arguments in the book about the existence of God were irrelevant to me, because I had passed the stage of not believing in God; but it was about Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and the mediator between God and man. After reading the author's argument, I was really indifferent.However, Mr. Ke Ci is not a person who admits defeat easily.He cares about me.He saw me wearing a Vishnu necklace of basil beads around my neck, which he thought was a superstition, and was saddened.

"This superstition does not suit you. Come, let me break this necklace." "No, absolutely not. It's a sacrament from my mother." "But do you believe it?" "I don't understand its mystical significance. I don't think I have anything to lose if I don't wear it. But I must not take this necklace off without good reason, as my mother wore it in I have it on my neck out of her love and a belief that it will contribute to my happiness. When it wears itself down with the years and eventually breaks, I won't think about getting another New. But this necklace must not be broken."

Mr. Coats could not understand my theory because he had no respect for my religion.He looked forward to the day when he would rescue me from the depths of ignorance.He tried to convince me that, regardless of whether other religions have a little truth, if I do not accept Christianity, which represents the truth, it is impossible for me to be saved, and my sins cannot be washed away unless Jesus intervenes, and whether you No matter how many good deeds you have done, they all come to naught. While he recommended many books for me to read, he also introduced me to several Christian friends whom he considered to be staunch, one of whom belonged to a sect of Christianity, the Plymouth Quakers.

Many of the relationships that Mr. Koch was responsible for building were good.What touched me the most was that they all feared God.While I was interacting with the family, however, a member of the Plymouth Quaker Society suggested to me a theory I hadn't expected: "You can't understand how beautiful our religion is. As you say Yes, every moment of your life seems to be devoted to the work of confessing your faults and reforming yourself. How can this constant cycle of behavior ever save you? You will never be at peace. You admit We are all sinners. Now look at how perfect our faith is. It is useless for us to reform ourselves, but we must be saved. How can we carry the burden of sin? We can only put it on Jesus .He is the only sinless Son of God. Whoever believes in him will have eternal life. God's infinite mercy lies in this. If we believe in Jesus' atonement for us, our sins will not bind us. We are bound to sin It is impossible to live without sin. Jesus suffered because of this and redeemed all sins for mankind. Only those who accept His great redemption can have eternal peace. Just imagine how terrified your life is uneasy, and what we got was the promise of peace."

This argument does not convince me at all.I humbly replied: "If this is the Christianity which all Christians profess, I cannot accept it. I do not seek redemption from the consequences of my sin. I seek salvation from sin itself, or less Said to be redeemed from evil thoughts themselves. Until I have achieved this, I prefer to live a life of restlessness." On this point, the Plymouth parishioner retorted: "I assure you that your efforts will not bear fruit. Please think carefully about what I have said." And the parishioner Really walk the talk.He committed the crime knowingly, but showed me that he was not disturbed by it.But before I met these friends, I knew that all Christians do not believe in such a theory of salvation.Mr. Coats himself was a God-fearing man.He was pure in heart, and he believed that self-purification was possible.The two ladies also shared this view.Several of the books I have read are filled with reverence.So, although Mr. Coats is very apprehensive about my latest experience, I can reiterate to him that the distortion of a Plymouth churchman does not prejudice me against Christianity.

My difficulty lies elsewhere, and that is with regard to the Bible and its accepted interpretations.