Deep listening makes the world a better place

Arendalsuka is the largest political gathering in Norway. Over five intense days, more than 2,100 events are held, most lasting 45 minutes.

So, we wanted to see if an event with Jesus in the title would attract people to a 90-minute session in a venue slightly outside the city center. 

And people did show up! The large hall at Barbu Scene, which can hold 300 people, was completely full.

Is Jesus relevant in 2024?

In part 1, Peder Kjøs and Linda Andernach Johannesen discussed why Jesus (if at all) is relevant today. 

Despite their different starting points, it was an exciting and open-minded conversation with room for active listening and constructive challenges of each other's viewpoints.

Using various paintings as a starting point, they discussed Jesus' birth, his encounter with the Samaritan woman, and the resurrection.

Carvaggio's painting "Doubting Thomas"

Interestingly, the atheist Peder and the Christian Linda agreed that both base their lives on unprovable assumptions. In that sense, it is not about believing or not believing but merely a question of what one believes in.

Have we left sin behind?

In part 2 of the event, Øystein Gjerme and Peder Kjøs had an intriguing discussion on "sin." 

Although the term used to be integrated into Norwegian culture as part of the moral language, it is today more often used in connection with desserts.

Even though the two conversation partners took different approaches, they agreed on an essential basic premise: people always feel they fall short. 

Acknowledging the gap between what we want to be and what we are is a universal human experience. 

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the conversation was that Gjerme and Kjøs had a similar understanding of the fundamental human problem: that we are immensely self-centered. Salvation, in this sense, is about being freed from believing that we are the center of the universe.

Those who attended provided positive feedback, and many expressed the importance of having good, open conversations in our time. These are the conversations where one's agenda is toned down and concentrates on trying to understand other ways of seeing the world. This opens up a space to uncover what is shared rather than focusing on what divides.

Kjøs has the ideal of not "understanding" religious people from his perspective but attempting to recognize religious experiences on their terms. 

This could also be an ideal for Christians, the other way around, especially in our time. 

Have a great rest of the week, and see you next week!

All the best,

Peder