*Jerry joined the group last, looked straight at Bob and said “Merry Christmas!” Not only did he say it, but he said it cheerfully and with attitude. “I see you enjoy annoying me,” muttered Bob. “I thought you’d be offended,” said Jerry. “Isn’t that the normal atheist response to a simple greeting?” “It doesn’t bother…
*The group was solemn, though they were gathered in a decorated living room on Christmas afternoon. It remained solemn even though everyone had a drink in hand and there was plenty of food. It was the sort of picture Norman Rockwell might have painted. He would have put smiles on their faces and portrayed a…
Ellen brought everyone their food and then sat down herself and joined the group. They were no longer surprised, as this had become a habit with the group, and they all knew Ellen had an arrangement with the owner. “So why don’t you just let one of the other waitresses serve us?” asked Bob. “Because…
*“I don’t understand how you can believe in a loving God in the face of what we’re seeing on the news right now,” said Bob Norman, bringing the small talk to a halt. In that informal way they had, the God-Talk Club was now in session! “It is difficult, isn’t it?” said Jerry to the…
After Ellen had brought everyone their orders, she joined the God-Talk Club group herself. “Wow,” said Mark. “We have a full house.” “I just got off work,” said Ellen a bit defensively. “You don’t have to justify yourself,” said Justine. “I like it when you can join us.” “My boss is a little bit touchy…
He was dressed in ragged clothing, more patches than original cloth. His face was covered with the stubble of several days without shaving. He looked like he should be cold but he wasn’t shivering. In fact, he looked peaceful. Tom saw the tramp out of the corner of his eye. He looked around to see…
[This is a work of fiction, Copyright © 2009, Henry E. Neufeld. Any resemblance between the characters in this story and any in the real world is purely coincidental.] It was a small hotel room in a small town, and Jack had driven three hours on small county roads to get there. Now he was…
[This is a work of fiction, Copyright © 2009, Henry E. Neufeld. Any resemblance between the characters and the church in this story and any in the real world is purely coincidental.] He was surprised to see her in his office. She was one of those members who attended regularly, but you didn’t really get…
[This is a work of fiction, from my God-Talk Club series. – added 11:42 central time] Small talk was dying down and everyone had their drinks. Mark had a question: “I’ve been given an assignment,”1 he said to the group, and I’d like your thoughts. “What is it?” asked Mandy. “We’re supposed to write a…
[This is a work of fiction.*] Vernon noticed the arrangement of the room. As manager of a regional chain of restaurants, he was used to reading the way a meeting was set up and evaluating peoples’ attitudes. It was hard to be precise about the five men sitting across from him. He saw eagerness and…
