Stand Up

This blog post is being written in lieu of my research methods paper.

I have a story for you people. It's a true one, or as true as my memory will allow.

Once upon a time, about 90 seconds ago, I saw a post on facebook from a church I've been to a few times about the series they're apparently doing right now called "Stand Up." I found it ironic that they're doing this series, since this was the very church I stood up in front of over a year ago.

Sunday, January 2, 2011, I went to one of their morning services with my boyfriend at the time (who was a member there). He and I had had some discussions about our views on the creation of the universe. We were both Christians and we both gave the credit to God being the creator. However, while he (my boyfriend, not God) was a pretty conservative guy, I considered myself to be "searching". He firmly believed that God created the world 6,000 years ago and that evolution (except micro-evolution) was a myth. I believed that God might have used things like evolution and the big bang to create the world, but that no one could really know because no one was there at the time except him. This was a disagreement we had but it didn't really cause any problems between us until that Sunday.

The pastor (who to this day I hold in the highest respect) was basing his sermon on the evolution vs. creationism debate. He kept trying to prove that evolutionists were all wrong and were all atheists. I had a really hard time accepting this, obviously. First of all, his ideas and logic against evolution were not based on proven data or facts. Second of all, I thought he was wrong to say that one who believed in evolution was certainly not saved. In my opinion, salvation is found in Christ, not in creationism. I knew born-again Christians that supported evolutionist ideas. While, as a Christian, one is expected to accept and believe the Bible in its entirety, can't there be different interpretations?

So as I sat there listening to the pastor bash evolutionist ideas (and even some of my own ideas), I felt my blood boil. And that's not a sensation I get very often. When I looked to my left at my boyfriend sitting next to me, I watched him, the man I loved so much, soaking in every word, nodding in agreement. He believed so blindly this man that he loved, admired, and looked up to. He didn't have a grain of criticism toward him. His pastor's word was gold. It was practically gospel. And boy, did that make my blood boil even more. I was uncharacteristically pissed.

Eventually I could take no more of this sermon. I murmured to my boyfriend, "I have to go." and I picked up my coat and purse, and I stood up from my seat (which was front and center of the church), and walked down the aisle of the church, with my back straight and my held held high, looking straight ahead of me. I made a point and probably upset a lot of people. Some of them probably thought I really did need to leave to be somewhere; some of them probably understood that I was angry and prayed for my pour hopeless soul.

My boyfriend and I broke up four days later.

He said my religious beliefs were too different than his. I begged to differ, but he would have none of it. Our breakup was for the better, but that's the story of how we got into an argument that ended it once and for all.


I look back on that day and I'm still glad I did what I did. Although my beliefs regarding creationism vs. evolution have been modified and slightly solidified since then, I would like to think I would still stand up for my beliefs with such resolution.

Unfortunately, saying "stand up for what you believe in!" is both cliché and easier said than done. My quiet and unobtrusive attitude usually inspires me to sit in the shadows and observe while my conscious is screaming, "SAY/DO SOMETHING!!" and my inhibitions are practically sobbing, "No, I'll dieeeeeeeeee!" So sometimes there's just a little bit of inner conflict going on there. I'm almost certain I would be a willing martyr if God brought me to such a situation, but it's hard sometimes to get up the courage to talk in smaller-scale situations.

Where am I going with this?

I don't know. I'm done. I really need to write this paper.

P.S. I have gone back to that church since then (obviously not with my ex-boyfriend). And I still like it. And I still like the pastor.

In conclusion, stand up for what you believe in. AND DON'T LET NOBODY TELL YOU NO DIFFERENT.


God bless.