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vignette: theology and Chinese buffet
Sep. 12th, 2010 12:05 amOn our way to Atlanta last week, we found ourselves in Kentucky, looking for dinner.
And we found a Chinese buffet in a somewhat dilapidated strip mall, and for whatever reason (?) decided to give it a shot. It turned out to be pretty OK -- there were tasty vegetable spring rolls and green beans and veggie fried rice. Oh! And there were wall scrolls of Bruce Lee and Chow Yun-fat.
But the real value of picking the Chinese buffet instead of, say, Subway, was an overheard conversation, taking place between customers at different tables.
CUSTOMER 1: "Some people are born with particular talents, and some people just won't develop them. For example, my handwriting is terrible. When I write my name, it's just never going to be pretty."
CUSTOMER 2: "You can do anything, if you do it with Jesus."
CUSTOMER 3: "Well, that's true, but only if it's the will of God."
CUSTOMER 2 again: *biblical reference about asking for things and God responding to your requests etc*
Cultural experience! Fairly loud discussion about the nature of the divine in a public place!
And we found a Chinese buffet in a somewhat dilapidated strip mall, and for whatever reason (?) decided to give it a shot. It turned out to be pretty OK -- there were tasty vegetable spring rolls and green beans and veggie fried rice. Oh! And there were wall scrolls of Bruce Lee and Chow Yun-fat.
But the real value of picking the Chinese buffet instead of, say, Subway, was an overheard conversation, taking place between customers at different tables.
CUSTOMER 1: "Some people are born with particular talents, and some people just won't develop them. For example, my handwriting is terrible. When I write my name, it's just never going to be pretty."
CUSTOMER 2: "You can do anything, if you do it with Jesus."
CUSTOMER 3: "Well, that's true, but only if it's the will of God."
CUSTOMER 2 again: *biblical reference about asking for things and God responding to your requests etc*
Cultural experience! Fairly loud discussion about the nature of the divine in a public place!
