Door to Door Suffering

My hot coffee was steaming as I approached the screen door.  Someone was coming up the walk, a woman and a man.  I opened the door and greeted them both, "Hello", I said to the middle aged woman, and I nodded with a smile to the twenty something man.
"Hi," the woman said. I noticed she was cluching a bible. The bible looked heavy and was filled with paper tab markers.  She climbed the steps and spoke to me on the porch, while the younger man stayed standing off on the walk.
I jumped into the conversation.  "Thank-you for visiting me today.  This is what it's all about, one-on-one communication."

"Do you know what the bible says about the end to suffereing and eternal life?" , she asked.
"The end to suffering?" I replied, "Life is suffering.  Life, death, birth and everything in between is a continual change.  You talk to me about the end of suffering and eternal life.  I have a question for you.  When you go to the dentist and get a needle, afterwards your mouth is numb, right?  You cannot talk, you cannot chew your food properly, you cannot taste a thing.  You can't tell the difference between hot or cold.  It is only when feeling returns that you can experience the these sensations.  If you're telling me that heaven is the end of suffering then I think you are saying that heaven is being numb.  Numb to pain as well as numb to pleasure.  You cannot have continual pleasure, as pleasure is a measure, a phase.  You say that this is part of the great mysterious mystery."

"Well," she said, 'It says right here," she pointed to an open page in her Bible, "that God says we are flawed, and he wants us to have eternal life."

"If we are flawed that how can you believe that your interpretation is valid?  And why do you keep refering to the almightly as a 'he'.  I believe that putting a gender on the creator is sexist and flawed.  It is women who have a more nurturing and loving nature.  Personifying the almighty with a gender is faulty and misleading, in  my opinion."

"Hmm," she said.  At this point she motioned to the man standing on the ground, "What do you think?"  He said, "Hmm, those are good questions."

Holding the bible out, again she flipped the pages and read, 'It says right here,' pointing to the passage, ' that he has made us in his image.'

"Well, that's a powerful book. But there are many great books and religions.  How can you  commit to just one?  Chrisianity, Muslim, Budism, Jusasiam, Agnostic, natural selection and so on and so forth.  I'm raising my children with respect and love  outside of any denomination.  If I teach them the lords prayer, or the Hail Mary, and another prayer, they won't understand the nuances until they are full grown adults.  Instead, we just say what we are greatful for before we eat.  No indoctronation, just simply, 'what are you greatful for.' In that way we nurture love and respect."

There have always been many trappings in the world.

I went on to say, "Today people can escape the present moment inside of video games, pornography, food, sports, work, money, or drugs.  It is like the 7 seven deadly sins of old are mainstream.  Vices everywhere and no temperance to be found.  Killing in video games or movies, coveting and lusting on bilboards or magazines covers, all our stuff leads to envy and greed, and arn't we so good and proud and are arn't they so bad.

"Like I said when you came here today, thank you for visiting me. Because this is what it is all about, one-on-one comunication.  Community, as in 'local community'.
Why are we in this situation?  Monkey see, monkey do.  Money see, money do. The children of today need good role-models. Where are they?  Please tell me who the good role-models are?"

The woman looked at me and shrugged.  She then said that she had some literature for me to read, and that I could attend a group meeting if I wanted to discuss these things further.
I kindly thanked her and replied that I would not want to waste the material.   I explained that I would not read it and I had much religious material inside already.

Seconds later they had both left and were gone from sight.  My coffee had cooled and was just the right temperature to drink now.