As I walked up to my door the other day, I noticed a book on the porch. What I found was a bible from a local church with a note on the back. Apparently, these unsolicited books were left on everyone’s doorstep. No one ordered them, just as no one orders political flyers or handyman ads left on their porch.

Initially, I was confused, but as I thought about it more, not only did I find it offensive, but it was for me a metaphor for today’s society.

For example, social (I call it antisocial ) media is rife with provocative statements that are meant to stir up emotions. It’s impersonal and leaves little chance for positive give and take. Keyboard warriors. It’s us versus them and of course, our way is the right way. The same goes for politics, as exemplified by our ongoing government shutdown. The Hatfields and the McCoys are at it again, with no meaningful discussion to compromise from our position.

So I return to a bible on my front porch. I wonder what this is supposed to accomplish? As a practicing Christian, I know what the New Testament commands. We should evangelize through personal witness. This means actually talking to people one-on-one and engaging their concerns and thoughts.

While many people find door-to-door evangelism of the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses annoying, at least they are going about it in the correct way – personal interaction and a willingness to listen and debate. A bible on the front porch does none of that. It’s an inanimate object.

I don’t understand what the thinking was here and what it was supposed to accomplish. If the goal was to get more people involved in church life, it’s a flop. Leaving a bible on a doorstep is impersonal and lacks context. It is guaranteed to solicit one of two reactions. For those who accept the bible and all it means, it’s speaking to the choir. For those who are either of a different faith, agnostic, or an atheist, it is an unwanted object and most likely tossed away. And for some like me, it will be returned.

Our society has morphed into a less engaging and more enraging personality. Differences of opinion are not resolved by personal interaction but by using inanimate objects like social media to solicit reactions rather than promote engagement. Placing a controversial book (and yes, the bible is controversial to many people) on someone’s porch is sadly of a piece with this behavior.

Until we return to personal engagement, whether it’s theological, political or social disagreements, the lyrics from Buffalo Springfield’s 1966 song “For What It’s Worth” are prophetic: “There’s battle lines being drawn/Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.”

Or as Yogi Berra famously said:

“It’s impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.”

Gregory Smith

Sewickley

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