Nothing new, religious people lie too.

What I’m about to tell you didn’t surprise me that much but, as it was happening I had to really question the situation and step out of myself for a moment because I couldn’t believe the way it all went down.

All of this happened around 5.45pm this evening, probably not that far from where you are right now. A colleague and I had finished work and being a bright sunny day we chose to walk from near London Bridge to Canada Water.
Working closely on a project together for the last two years meant that we have a good rapport and talk about our personal lives from time to time. During the walk we discussed family, friends, our children and other crap dudes talk about. We were nearly at our destination when a cyclist pulls up out of nowhere and before he see’s my face he addresses me by saying: “Hey! I know you don’t I?” in a really thick Polish sounding accent. Taken aback, mainly because he really sounded as though he believed he knew me, I spun sideways and replied: “Whoa, I’m sure you rode up and said that before seeing my face, but hey – do you play basketball or something?” this is my default question when a random dude rolls up on me. I’ve played a lot of ‘pick-up’ basketball games across London so there was a possibility he’d know me from an indoor/outdoor court. He looks at me baffled, partly due to the language barrier, partly because I speak fast from time to time and maybe he just didn’t play ball – who knows?

The next thing he says lets us know what is actually happening here: “So ... do you believe in God?” This causes me and my colleague to immediately look at each other, smile and say in unison: “OH! Okay ...” I’m all for letting people say their piece unlike my friend from work who tells the guy to walk and talk. He agrees and continues with: “So ... would you say you’re a good person?” I reply: “Yeah” after very little thought, then he asks: “Do you lie?” I say: “Yeah, I lie from time to time.” Then, with an unnervingly smug smile on his faces he asks: “So, what does that make you then?”

WHOA!

Ok, pump the brakes, wait-wait-wait-wait-wait, nah-ahhhh, noooooo he ditn’t!
In actual fact – he did.

We stop walking because I stop dead in my tracks and tell the guy to pause, this is not the part where I lose my cool, in retrospect tons of thoughts pulsed through my head in that split second, and this was the result:

“Dude, really? You’re going to roll up on us, tell me you know me which is obviously a lie, and I choose to let that go and give you the floor to talk, then you, in a round-about kinda way try to sneakily call me a liar? Tell me I’m wrong because I don’t think me being right is gonna pan out well for you this evening.”
At this, my friend is saying: “Hold on, hold on – naaaaah.” I stand between him and the guy because as much as I appreciate the input, this dude on the bike needs to do a ‘self-check’ pronto.

He tries to comeback with something which I fail to remember because at this point all I’m saying is: “Dude, get back on your bike and ride away ... No seriously, I hear you trying to say something but you really need to pedal in another direction because I don’t appreciate the fact that you were under-handed about starting a conversation, then you want to talk to me about lying – nah, I’m good, please, be gone.”

Obviously embarrassed he says there’s no hard feelings whilst fiddling with his bike trying to get back on and, over and over like he’s reassuring himself he repeats: “It’s okay, this happens, not to worry, it’s okay ...”

Now, if you think I was unreasonable, please let me know? It’s like; the majority of experiences I’ve had with religious people when they attempt to evangelise to me, usually end not so well for them. I have nothing against religion as it’s as much a discipline and choice of life that brings out the best in most people, forgetting all the sex and killing etc ... done in the name of God, religion is a pretty cool gig. Being first Christian, then Muslim, now neither, I see the appeal. I can respect someone that has beliefs and holds to them, provided those beliefs, and the actions from them do not hurt others physically or emotionally.

As I’m writing this I’m thinking about that guy and I’m wondering what were his set of beliefs, I didn’t give him the chance to ask much more than a few questions before waving him on.
The way I see it (and you’re allowed to disagree here) is in the form of the paragraph below:

A wise woman once said: “If you don’t believe in God, then at least believe in something because you need something to root you within this world.” That quote came from the mother of a man I used to work for and it’s as true today as when he told me a few years ago.