Bullying, Like A True Christian

 MY NEIGHBOR, apparently, is quite angry with me. He is from Guatemala, a former Catholic, converted by the love of  an American woman to the Pentecostal faith. In other words, from bad to worse. From infamous, to insane. As Voltaire said of the Catholic church: "crush the infamous thing".  (Voltaire was quite controversial, but charming,brilliant, and entertaining, and had the good favor of the King of France) My Hispanic neighbor is big, strong, macho, somewhat of a bully disguised as a follower of Jesus, with his name "Mejia": tattooed on one muscular arm,  the phrase "Jesus is my king" on the other.  Its bad, but it gets worse.  Eager to praise the Lord, and to share his faith, not so eager to listen to any other point of view.  Normal Christian behavior. He has the audacity to tell God what to do. "Tell me what do do", is what he told me he told the Lord. A direct order to God. Predictably, he considers LGBTQ people sinners, certain to go to hell for their genetic inheritance. I  can think of little or nothing more evil than hating human beings  because of whom they love, who they are attracted to, what their chromosomes require of them. But my Hispanic neighbor wouldn't understand that, for, after all, it's science, logic, understanding, acceptance,and compassion, ideals often foreign to devout Christians.  Love the sinner but hate the sin? Garbage. Our sins are we. We are our sins. Mejia evidently does not trust God to  judge or not judge and deal with gay people, he must step in and do the Lord's work, a self appointed role which he gladly accepts, being a hard worker. I cannot imagine Jesus hating, judging, or harming gay people. His father, the diabolical mass murdering Judeo-Christian biblical god, I can. Mejia and I were talking. He started referring to  the father and the son, and I listened. And I listened. Then I asked him a few questions, about the Bible, the number of books in it, about who wrote it,when it was written,by whom. He couldn't answer, and I could, and I did. I know these things because I have read a few history books, history books other than the Bible. Mejia has not. After providing him with a brief Bible study, and briefer history of his religion, he erupted. Mr. macho Christian did not take kindly to a mere pantheist egghead knowing more about his Bible and about the history of his religion than he, and having the audacity to share it. After all, he is going to heaven, and I, poor unsaved I, straight to his hell. I can think of nothing more pernicious, more hateful than inventing and believing in hell, and consigning somebody else to it. Anybody who believes in hell is either mentally ill, hateful,  or both. My Christian neighbor is angry at me. I know this, because every month I give him and his family a large box of groceries.  Christian behavior from a non Christian, as usual. This month, he gave them back. Perhaps I will offer them to him another time,when I see him again, in heaven or in hell.