8-31-86 Sunday. This past Friday, while [I was] playing frisbee and talking to several friends, Lynn Hofmann came by. Lynn sat in on my [Introduction to Philosophy] class during the spring semester. He’s extremely religious, but we’ve always gotten along fine. During our conversation, I mentioned to him that I sometimes see religious signs during sporting events. The most common says “John 3:16.” Now, I memorized this verse when I was little. It was in a small booklet that I found in a laundromat. So I decided to impress Lynn with my knowledge. “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever shall believeth in him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life.” I then said “Of course, it’s false; but I’ve memorized it nonetheless.” This threw Lynn into a rage. He accused me of insulting him and began to walk away. I tried to stop him, but he insisted that it was an insult and that our friendship was over. I couldn’t believe it. Finally he mumbled something about staying friends and walked away.
In all honesty, I didn’t intend to insult Lynn. My intention was simply to impress him with my knowledge of this verse and perhaps stimulate discussion. But even if I did insult him, the sword is two-edged. Lynn followed my recitation with the word “Amen” and went on to say something about “Jesus, our Lord.” He knows very well that I’m an agnostic and that this would irritate me. If my comment was an insult, then surely his was. Perhaps Lynn was just looking for a way to end our friendship. If so, then so be it. I recount this incident only to show the reader how touchy religious belief can be in our age. People are fighting the world over in defense of their religious beliefs and lifestyles. It has always been this way and probably always will be. I saw Friday just how strongly such beliefs are held, and how they influence personal relationships.
I had a record-setting day on my bike. Not only did I break my gross-average-speed record of 15.77 miles per hour (set four months ago, on 27 April 1986), but I broke the sixteen-mile-per-hour mark for the first time. My gross-average speed today was 16.65 miles per hour. I covered 40.2 miles in 144.81 minutes. What explains this, you ask? I don’t rightly know. The wind was virtually nonexistent, so that didn’t help. Traffic was no lighter. I stopped once to change a [cassette] tape. And the temperature was in the high eighties [degrees Fahrenheit]. The best explanation is that I’m stronger and more determined. I rode eighty miles last [sic; should be “this past”] weekend, which had to have strengthened my legs. I was also determined, once I got to the cave [Colossal Cave], to ride hard on the way back and shoot for the record. Lo and behold, I did it. I feel great about it.