Interview with David H

Posted by Helen on: 10.23.2006 /

David H has kindly agreed to be our ninth online interview candidate. (You can read all our online interviews here)

The purpose of this interview is to give you the opportunity to listen to David as he shares his thoughts and opinions with you.

If you want to discuss whether David’s views are correct, we invite you to do that here on the discussion board. David is welcome to participate in discussions there about his views if he wants to. If he doesn’t have the time or inclination that’s fine with us - we don’t consider doing so ‘part of the interview’.

I’d like to post more online interviews. If you’d like to send one in, you can find the instructions and questions here.

Please share a little about yourself with us

What screen name do you post under — so we know you when we see you?

David H

Would you like to share any of the following so we can know you better: your age range, whether you’re married or single, have children, what kind of work you do, what area of the U.S. (or other country) you live in?

I’m 45 for just a few more days. I live with my wife and 2 daughters (9 and 12) within shouting distance of the Delaware Water Gap in eastern Pennsylvania. Did you know that the Water Gap used to be considered something of a marvel in the world? I am a photo editor at major daily newspaper (Pulitzer Prize winning) in the New York City market.

What do you like to do when you have some time to yourself?

I dabble in poetry, more as therapy (I haven’t found anyone really interested in reading what I write, so I think Frost and Sandberg are safe). I coach soccer for my youngest, take pictures when we do things, listen to music (usually during my hour-long commute) and love NPR. I’m also a huge fan of movies, particularly war, SciFi and horror (go figure since I am a pacifist). I read when I can (average about 3 pages a day that can be anything from a psychology text to pulp novels) and I write occasionally (usually stuff in the sermon vein) and hope to one day write at least one really good short story. Favorite authors include Ursula K. LeGuin, John Updike, Ray Bradbury, Philip Yancey, Tony Hillerman, Dostoyevsky, John LeCarre, C.S. Lewis and (of course) J.R.R. Tolkien.

Please share with us something you really enjoy about your life.

I love where we live, except for the allergies. There is less sense of people breathing down my neck all of the time and it reminds a bit of my childhood on a farm in central PA. I like many things about my job, which often has a sense of adventure and forces me to keep learning. I love my church, a small Mennonite meeting in New jersey where I have f ound a sense of peace and love I didn’t think could happen in a church. And, to my amazement, I really, really enjoy being a father. I am forced to teach and learn unceasingly. It is a challenge, no doubt. But I am overwhelmed by how much my daughters love me. I don’t remember ever feeling that way when I was a child.

If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about you or your life, what would it be?

There are plenty of things that haven’t turned out the best in my life. I grew up living with a sexual predator who was a school teacher and church leader. My oldest brother committed suicide when I was 18. My family is a partly estranged and frequently dysfunctional unit. But my experience has taught me that wishing to change past events is a trap into which many unhappy people have fallen. What is done is done. All I can help to shape is what remains and that only with the knowledge and experience gained from what has been done. However, all t hat being said, if I could change anything I would be less of a procrastinator.

You and Conversation at the Edge

How did you find Conversation at the Edge (or, the eBay atheist blog) and what drew you to post in the comments section?

My pastor signed me up for a newsletter that I treated like spam for about 6 months until I had a moment of boredom at work.

Is this the first time you’ve participated in any online discussions on the internet? If not, could you share with us what other sorts of online discussions you like to participate in?

I have posted some one-off comments at a few sites related to computer technology and politics. The former is related to my work and the latter is an unhealthy interest of mine. I am both attracted and repelled by American politics and government. My interest in recent years is predominantly because of Christian involvement in politics (both U.S. and world).

Has posting on Conversation at the Edge (or the eBay atheist blog) changed you in any way?

I have found it a bit addictive. When there is no “conversation” occurring I feel a bit of a let down. I appreciate the chance to share ideas, to gain perspective from other points of view and to build relationships. I don’t much like to argue. But I do like to talk.

You and church/other groups

Were you raised going to church and are you currently a church attender?

I was raised attending church. The first I remember was called Harbor of Light in Uniontown, PA. We spent several years at a Christian Missionary Alliance and many more at a relatively conservative church in Morgantown, W.VA. As a teen I attended a Plymouth Brethren meeting for a few years before the family came to the Evangelical Free Church that was my “home” church through college. These days we attend a Mennonite church in NJ. I’m not a Mennonite and not even a member of the church. But I do appreciate much about what Mennonites believe (service and pacifism as examples).

What is your main reason for choosing to be a church attender/not to be a church attender at present?

I chose not to attend church regularly for years. I couldn’t make a connection at the few I visited, so I just stopped trying. After the birth of our first child my wife felt like we should start up again, but we didn’t have too much luck until we stumbled on the Mennonite church. What we found almost immediately was a sense that the people there cared about us. So we kept coming.

Apart from church are there any groups you participate in regularly for faith-based, social and/or self-improvement reasons?

Not really. If I have free time (i.e. no family or work obligations) then there is usually something I can do with or for the church I attend. Plus I have five acres of grass to cut for much of the year and a house w/pool to maintain. And that 1/4-mile drive is great fun to plow in the winter.

Is there anything else (outside work and family) which you devote significant time to? Or used to, or hope to in the future? (We understand that for some of you, work and family takes up almost all your time at present)

The Off The Map blogs take up a bit of time. I used to spend more time writing and hope to do more at some point in the future.

Labels people might use behind your back (and sometimes to your face): “fundy” or “fundamentalist”

Has anyone ever called you a “fundy” or “fundamentalist”? Have you heard or read anything which tells you that some people talk about you like that behind your back?

Fundy isn’t a word I ever had hurled at me. I have been called a communist, anarchist, and a few other such terms. The communist crack came during a Bible study. Somehow the discussion got around to some radio preacher who was proclaiming a date for the end of the world or some similar nonsense. The woman talking about it just happened to graduate from the same Christian college in the same year as I did. I questioned who rather myopic praise of this preacher and what he was saying. I mentioned that we had both been taught in school to question everything — especially in matters of faith. She kindly suggested that I should move to the Soviet Union if I wanted to be a communist. The love of Christ can, apparently, be fickle.

How would you/do you feel about being called a “fundy” or “fundamentalist”?

It isn’t so much the term as to why it is being used and by whom. I don’t think it likely such a descriptor would ever be applied to me, but I would be worried only if I felt it fit.

Are you aware of any assumptions or associations people make about “fundies” which don’t apply to you?

Doctrine is critical to fundamentalists. I find most aspects of doctrine simply divisive. I am also not big on Christian laws. I find the Bible terribly useful and quite fascinating, but it is not critical to my faith. I likewise don’t like blind obedience. Fundamentalists I have spoken with have more than once said: “If the Bible says it, then it must be true. And if it is true then we have to do it.” I have a tendency to try and think through the consequences of doing the true thing (for others more than myself). I also have a tendency to get myopic. If the “true” belief conflicts with my sense of God’s love, then my first reaction is to ignore the belief.

How do you like to describe yourself regarding your beliefs?

Always willing to learn. Always trying to love.

What (else) would you like to tell the people who call you a “fundy” if you thought they were listening?

The people more likely to have problems with me are those who are fundies. If they called me the anti-Christ (or whatever) my tendency would be to say: “Love God above all things and love me as you love yourself.”

Labels people might use behind your back (and sometimes to your face): “lost”

Please answer the following questions if your beliefs differ in any significant way from this: “Every human being has a “sin’ problem separating him/her from God and the only way to resolve my own sin problem is to believe that Jesus is God and Jesus took care of it for me”.

Has anyone ever called you “lost”? Have you heard or read anything which tells you that some people talk about you like that behind your back?

I have probably been called lost, although I am told I first accepted Jesus at age 3. However, I believe there were many years — middle school through my 20s — where I was lost. I didn’t know who I was and where I was going. And I had definitely done the “born again” thing.

How would you/do you feel about being called “lost”?

I have come to a degree of acceptance that most people are lost much of the time in one way or another. The sense of being in control is largely an illusion.

Do you feel “lost” in any way — is there anything you’re trying to find, or is anyone trying to find you, as best you can tell?

I frequently feel lost. When I see a father and son having a good time together I really feel lost. Many times I look at or read about relationships between parent/child or man/wife and wonder why that hasn’t been my experience. I sometimes feel lost in attempting to do thes e things because I didn’t have a lot of good teaching experiences while growing up. Many times I feel as if I am trying to find myself. But I am growing more comfortable with the sense that searching is OK.

Are you aware of any assumptions people make about “the lost” which don’t apply to you?

The most common usage of the term lost seems to apply to people who don’t believe in God or Jesus. That doesn’t apply to me.

How do you like to describe yourself regarding what you believe or have no belief in?

I like to learn. I am willing, as a result, to listen to alternative beliefs and viewpoints. But I reserve the right to decide for myself. And I grow increasingly doubtful that my fundamental (yeah, I said it) beliefs can be shaken. Those are that there is an all-loving God who sent his son Jesus to earth as a way to reconcile all people to God.

What (else) would you like to tell the people who call you “lost” if you thought they were listening?

I think a lot of people, “saved” and “unsaved” have lost parts. Just because you’re a pastor or a deacon or a CEO doesn’t mean there aren’t parts of your life that are lost to yourself or others. Everyone I have ever known was broken in some way. That’s just life. Neither Jesus, nor anything else will take away the lost or broken parts. But that doesn’t mean you and God can’t build on them.

You and the Bible

Do you own a Bible? Do you ever read the Bible or look anything up in it? If so, what is your main reason for doing so?

I own several Bibles and a computer program with about 30 translations. My favorite at the moment is Eugene Peterson’s “The Message.” I look things up as a point of interest, when I am writing something (espeically sermons), and sometimes just to read. I frequently check multiple translations on a reference looking for the most poetic language or the language that best conveys the intent.

As best you know, has anything in the Bible influenced you in a good way (directly or indirectly)?

Much in the Bible has influenced me in positive ways. However, I am constantly dismayed by how some people use the words of that book in less constructive ways.

As best you know, has anything in the Bible influenced you in a negative way (directly or indirectly)?

There are many things in the Bible that I question, at least in terms of how they are interpreted by people today. How the Bible is used by people has had more of a negative effect on me than anything written in it. There are also many things in the Bible that I simply conclude I can’t understand at the moment. I really worry about those who claim they know it all about what is written in that book.

Has anyone expressed disapproval to you about your own personal opinion, or use, of the Bible? What would you like them to understand better about you and the Bible, were it possible?

If you read anything I have written above I’m pretty sure you already know the answer to this question. Yes, people have expressed disapproval about my opinions and my use of the Bible. What I try to tell people is that there is a difference between the Word and the word. The former refers to Jesus. The latter is the Bible. They are not the same thing. The big W existed before time and is part of God. The little w was inspired by God and written by man. It is, for want of better terms, just words about God and Jesus. It is not in any way, shape or form God and Jesus. Thus our human interpretations of those human words don’t necessarily lead to a full and complete understanding of the divine being whom I worship.

Anything else

Is there anything I forgot to ask that you’d like to tell us?

I love coffee. Like many other things, when I get interested in something, I tend to become a bit obsessed. I frequently talk to people about how to make the perfect cup of coffee. And also talk to them about fair trade and how the economics of coffee is important spiritually and otherwise.

Also, as an addenda to the question about being called a fundy or lost: I try not to get very bent about what somebody calls me. The terms applied by others to me don’t necessarily say much about who I really am. However, how I react to them does.

I appreciate the opportunity to share who I am. I know I have lots of opinions and can be quite verbal on many subjects. I tend to get excited about lots of things. Forgive me if I seem over-bearing or come off as if I am attempting to control a conversation. You can always tell me to just be quiet and listen. I won’t take offense.

---

Semi-Related Posts

• Interview with a Pharisee and a Christian
• Online Interview Instructions
• Online Interview Form
• Interviews
• Interview with Rabbi David Rosen
• Interview with a missional minded atheist
• Mistakes interviewees made

---