In the beginning...

In the beginning there was nothing. There was a void and then there was light. Matter formed, followed by the first signs of life. From the vast emptiness of space came forth substance, and the first signs of meaningful discourse. The conscious choices of intelligent beings began to determine events, such as that first ladies' night out.

What? Oh, you thought I was talking about Creation, or Intelligent Design, or the Big Bang or the Big Whatever. No, indeed. I was talking about how Alex and I became friends. Now there's no need to be disappointed, we can talk about that ponderous "In the beginning..." at great length later. But this first posting is actually about how two thirty-something women (Marta and Alex) met, and how they kept meeting, and became the kinds of friends who could talk as easily about the miseries and joys of parenthood as they could about religion.

Here's the thing, we don't believe the same thing at all. And yet, we seem to share this endless curiosity about how that can be. We met and were instantly friends, and there the Big Bang analogy ends. On her second visit to my house, Alex produced a light bulb from her handbag, and installed it in my fridge. I wasn't offended. From the formerly dark and dank recesses of my fridge, there emerged light. Here endeth the somewhat dubious reference to Creation. Our familiarity with each other was virtually instant. Curiously, of all the connections that have bonded us, it is ironic that the one that seems consistently to tighten the bond is the very thing we can't agree on; our religious beliefs.

Alex is an atheist. I am an evangelical Christian. I believe a virgin gave birth to the savior of mankind. Alex finds it easier to believe the possibility that Aliens have visited this planet, removed some of its citizens for some unknown purpose, and returned them, shaken, to their homes. Which of us is crazy?

This blog is our way of cataloging our incredibly deep and important discussions on such matters. Actually, speaking for myself, I'm neither deep, nor important, and I hope the title of our blog reflects that. But the matter of religious faith is deep, and important. Although we are new to blogging, and more importantly, new to discussing our faiths openly - we feel it's a discussion that millions of people are either having, or dying to have. So let's talk.

We'll explore the rationale behind our beliefs, and when we fail to provide rational arguments, we'll justify why rationale has no place in religious debate (a tried and true tactic for novice evangelists like myself). Alex, an intrepid skeptic of conventional wisdom will continue to blow my mind with her unemotional examination of humanity and its flaws, and I will try to blow some minds with my optimistic view that the Bible is actually Good News. We'll read books. We'll watch movies. Some of these will actually be relevant. And then we'll share our ongoing discussion on how irrational we both are to believe what we believe.

Faith, of any kind, after all, is a crazy leap into what you can only hope will offer a safe landing. We won't consciously aim to convert each other. What we'll try to do is to convince each other that we're not, either of us, crazy for choosing in which direction to leap.

Marta