Overheard at Table 3: Prince, The Artist Formerly Known as "How do you pronounce that weird symbol?"

Niall Carter "Why is everybody so obsessed with Prince's sex life?   It's like everyone wants him to be gay?  What's up with that?  Why can't they just be interested in the music?  Does it make a damn bit of difference if he preferred girls or guys or guys who used to be girls or girls who used to be guys?

John Steppenwolf  "I dunno."

Niall Carter "To me, if you wanna know, thanks fer askin' - it was all summed up when he went through that stupid period of the symbol.  He changed his name to the symbol but didn't tell anybody how to pronounce it.  I always thought that was being a little dickish, but whatever, his name he can keep the pronunciation a secret if he wants - but anyway, I think the symbol pretty much summed it all up: Prince wanted to be asexual, or polysexual, or amorphous, or ambidextrous or whatever the hell that word is when you're both man and woman."

John Steppenwolf "Androgynous?"

Niall Carter "Yeah!  That'll work.  Androgynous!"

Overheard at the Counter: Socialist Revolution

The barista looks at my Bernie Sanders shirt and says coquettishly, "Are you a ... socialist?"

I smile conspirationally and reply, "I'm a demoCRATic Socialsist!"
Then, I take my $2 coffee, and walk out into the warm Sunday afternoon, feeling quite revolutionary.

Overheard at Table 3: Husband and Wife Are Thinking

Husband, silent over his cup of coffee, is thinking, "She is so lucky to have me.  She doesn't know how many times I've wanted to grab a suitcase, throw all my clothes into it, and just leave her - but didn't."

Wife, silent over her cup of coffee, is thinking, "He is so lucky to have me.  He doesn't know how many times I've wanted to throw a bunch of his clothes into a suitcase and kick him out the door - but didn't."

Overread at Table 2: from Notes from Underground Revisited

Niall Carter had long since given up trying to read this book.  He left it in the "take a book leave a book" bookcase beside the door of the Z&T Acoustic Café.   Someone has pulled it off the shelf and now sits at Table 2, reading this passage while sipping a latte and eating a freshly baked raspberry scone:

When it gets right down to it, I mean at the base core, and this is gonna sound harsh, and you ain't gonna like it, but brother, man it's the truth - if you really need an answer as to why God allowed Aurora to happen, or why He allowed Columbine to happen, or why He allowed all the misery and murders and child molestation to happen, is because He allows it to happen the same way He allows people to fall in love, how He allows you to hold up your newborn baby and realize you love that child more than your own life, the way He allows you to paint a beautiful sunset, or sing a beautiful song, or realize that every day is something you gotta hold on to, the way He allows you to remember the sweet smells of some Thanksgiving dinner your Grandma made when you were a kid.

He allows all these things to happen, the good and the bad, to let you know that this is a whole great big world you live in, and that it's complicated, and that it's beautiful as well as ugly, and that you are a part of it, and you can impact it in a bad way, or you can bust your ass to make it better.

Other people are making their choices all the time.   What are your choices going to be?

Overheard at Booth 2: Sneezes

Blows my mind.  My wife, see, you know how tiny she is, right?  She's this totally cute adorable, TINY little woman, but when she sneezes, man, it's like the house is gonna come right off the foundation!

Then the other day, I heard my boss sneeze.  Now, my boss is this huge woman, physically built like a linebacker,  We're talking Klingon size.  Nice lady, sure, but just physically powerful.  Heard her sneeze in her office and it was like a newborn kitten.  Like, "mew.  mew.  mew."  

It just goes to show, you never can tell, right?

Overheard at Table 4: TV Remote

My parents always had a television remote, sine the time I was old enough to walk.  Know what it  was?

Me!  That's what it was.  I was the damn remote.  My dad would say, "Go turn to channel 6!" when he wanted to see All in the Family, and other times he'd say, "Run over there and turn it to Channel 2!" when Sanford and Son was coming on.

So yeah, we had a tv remote in our house - years before everyone else!

Open Letter to Young Earth Creationists

First, let's define Young Earth Creationists.  They are those who believe that the earth is literally roughly 7,000 years old, defining years in our human time frame, from the perspective of time as it passes on the surface of the Earth.

Second, most YECs also define Adam and Eve as two physical human beings, such as the same way that one's grandparents or parents were physical human beings.  (Hold on a second, don't jump to conclusions).

Third, YECs have a tendency to attack other followers of Christ, believing that if other FoCs do not believe in Young Earth Creationism, then they are not saved, and will be cast into Hell instead of spending eternity with God in Heaven.

If this describes you, then this open letter is for you.  If these three points do not describe you, then this letter is not directed to you.

Let's begin:

First, the problem with YEC is that it relegates God to the constraints of our time-line.  God is outside of time and is not constrained by it.  2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4.  Therefore, to say that the earth is 7,000 literal "our" years is simply incorrect.  One day could have been millennia.

Second, what God allows us to know:
Matthew 11:25 God hides things from the learned.
Deuteronomy 29:29 Secret thing belong to God.
Isaiah 55:8-9 His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
Matthew 13 - Mysteries are cloaked in parables.
1 Corinthians 2: 7 We speak of the things of God in mystery.
2 Timothy 3:16 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is usefulfor instruction, for conviction, for correction,and for training in righteousness, 

 In none of these passages, nor anywhere else, does the Bible say that one must believe that every single word is literally true or else you are going to Hell.   Because here is the truth:

Proof.  Therein lies the problem.  Proof.  One man's proof is another man's malarky.  One reason why atheists refuse to acknowledge the existence of God is that they demand proof on their terms, according to their understanding.  Thus they will never have the proof that they need because nothing will live up to their standards.

The converse is also true: to demand that everyone believe in the literal interpretation lies on our limited human mental understanding of what "literal" is.  It's arrogant, because it implies that you have something that others don't.

Now, you are wondering what I believe: Creationism or Evolution.  I believe in both, and in neither.  Just like Jesus Christ is fully 100% God and fully 100% human, I believe both theories are simultaneously true.  I believe that God created us and is still creating us.   I also believe that both theories are creations of the human consciousness and thus are fundamentally flawed.

That paragraph will most likely infuriate both atheists and YECs alike, but that's all right, because Jesus Christ called us to love Him with our whole mind, and to spend all our lives thinking about Him and His mysteries.  I believe that He planted these mysteries not to confuse us or send us down rabbit holes, but to focus our attention on Him, constantly, daily.

Lastly, on a personal note, the main problem with Young Earth Creationism is that it does not demonstrate humility, meekness, or charity.  You do not show love.  You attack atheists and other Christians alike.  You impune other people's belief systems without truly engaging in honest debate.  This technique demonstrates a rigidity which only belies a true weakness of faith.  Also, most importantly, it does nothing to further the message of salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

So, I understand any YEC who is still reading this letter is probably saying, "Verble's going to Hell!" but just know that you are not the arbiter of my faith, Jesus Christ is and Him alone.  Yes, He will either say to me "Well done good and faithful servant" or He will say "Depart from Me I never knew you" but that is not for you to judge.
Romans 14:10
James 4:11
Matthew 7:1
and a host of others.

A follower of Christ dedicates his life to furthering the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Salvation does not come from arguing constantly about every scrap of scripture.  It comes from an honest, true, humble, meek and intimate relation with the Creator of Everything.

I know I will not have changed your hearts, but I do hope that I have said something good about my Lord and Savior.

Thank you for reading,

Verble Gherulous