I don’t have much trouble quietly reading a book or working on a laptop, but I’ve noticed that many air-travelers do. A few years ago, a young guy sitting next to me on a not-particularly-long flight seemed anxious to talk — and I was surprised to learn that he was in the Navy and had served on a nuclear submarine.
But what brings this to mind is the more surprising tidbit he shared: he was a good, God-fearin’ Christian, and he expected the Rapture to come anytime soon — and when it did, people would be whisked up to Heaven, leaving their clothes and things behind, just like that. I’m pretty sure his deep study of theology consisted of Left Behind novels.
I didn’t feel so comfortable knowing that our nuclear subs might be crewed by individuals sharing his eschatological views. I just hope the captain of his old boat maintains his purity of essence.
It’s odd how many people are uncomfortable about religious people doing an important job and yet their predictions about such people failing to do their jobs always seems to be unfounded.
I think it’s more of “this guy is not like me so he must be incompetent” bias.
The issue is not that a religious person — or a person not like me — had an important job. This was akin to someone announcing his strong Jedi belief in The Force from having watched the Star Wars movies — to a stranger sitting next to him on an airplane, for no apparent reason. And with the added complication that it was a former nuclear sub crewman with unusual ideas about the end-times, not simply a guy doing an important job with unusual religious beliefs.