November 1 2023

Every first Friday, Las Vegas lights up with an art festival dubbed "First Friday" - simple and to the point, right? The vibes are all about art displays, music, food vendors, some with vegan treats, and a whole lot of Vegas locals letting loose and having a blast.

At this shindig, me and my squad of vegan activists are geared up, ready to spread the word with our leaflets and flyers. But it's not just us; there are activists for Black Lives Matter, environmentalists, and yep, you guessed it, Christian advocates. That last group? It's like a cherry on top for me.

Before we get rolling, this lady, a Christian activist, steps up, waving a pamphlet from her church. I check it out and spot the Pentecostal name. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I'm cool to see folks doing their thing for the man upstairs.

She tells me she wants to save my soul from a fiery eternity. Nice of her, right? I get where she's coming from, thank her kindly, and let her know I'm already aboard the Christian train. I suggest she save her brochure for someone who might need it more. Gotta conserve resources, you know? But then she quizzes me about my personal savior. My reply? "Like I said, already in the club. Thanks for the effort, though!" and throw her a thumbs-up.

Now, here's where it gets interesting - she drops this bomb: “I didn't think you were a real Christian because you had long hair. It’s a sign of sexual immorality.”

That's a curveball none of us saw coming. My crew of vegan pals, they're atheists, and they're all ears, smirking, curious about where this convo's headed.

I've tangled with this kinda thing back in the '70s, so I'm cool with it. I appreciate her effort, even if it's a bit offbeat. But, sadly, some Christians are more about scoring Heaven points through arguments than lending a hand.

So, knowing her church, she’s linking my long hair to homosexuality. I'm like, "Hold up, let's get this straight." (Pun intended) I toss out a few Bible verses and arguments about hair, but hey, I'm here for veganism, not Bible brawls. But she's persistent.

Then, I notice she's chowing down on a hot dog, and I figure if she's throwing shade at my hair, I'll dish some back about her non-vegan grub. According to Matthew 7:2, turnabout's fair play, right?

So I shoot back: "I didn't think you were a real Christian, chomping down on a product made from animal abuse." She's puzzled, brushing it off as just a hot dog that humans gotta eat to live. Lame.

I press on, asking why disobey God's plan of munching on plants (Genesis 1:29) by chowing down on violence. She's caught off guard, throwing out this line about the "circle of life." My sarcasm kicks in; I'm like, "I just quoted God to you and you give me what…Disney?!? Seriously?"

She was really sticking to her Disney viewpoint and kept saying, "The circle of life is God's plan," like it was the ultimate comeback.

Knowing where she stood on moral issues, I went all out. I asked her straight up, "You're picking Mufasa's words over God's? I bring you Bible verses, and you're defending eating animals based on a song by a guy you see as a sinner, written for a cartoon?" She got all flustered. Clearly, she had some hang-up about homosexuality, and I hit a nerve. Just like she never connected her food to animal abuse, she never linked her Disney song to its writer, someone she judges as a sinner. She stormed off, saying she'd pray for my dead soul.

Alright, I might've stirred the pot, but was I helpful? Maybe but I doubt it. Initially, she judged my salvation based on my hair's length, assuming I am a homosexual. Something, my wife and my girlfriend will confirm I'm not :-)  But let's be real, this kind of Christian probably spent the rest of the night judging folks with tattoos or drinking alcohol.

Maybe I pushed a bit hard, mentioning things like homosexuality, but I wanted to make her think. She couldn't back her meat-eating with biblical sources, resorting to Disney and non-Bible stuff. Plus, she's quoting a guy she'd label a sinner. I hope that through her anger; it keeps our convo spinning around in her head for the rest of the night. She’ll have to admit to herself that she had nothing biblical to support meat eating.

Eh, probably not, but I don't think I did any more damage than what’s delivered every Sunday at her church. Sometimes you gotta shake things up for a shot at understanding, you know?