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A religious lesson in a taxi

Written by Martin Belam
Published 19 January, 2005
Categories: Cyprus, Travelogue

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I had a worrying conversation with my taxi driver to Paphos airport yesterday. I had been in the car for five or so minutes when he turned and asked me:

"What religion are you?"

"Sorry?", I replied

"What religion are you?"

"None", I answered.

"Are you a Catholic or a Protestant?", he continued.

"Well, my dad is Catholic, and my mum Protestant, but I am neither."

"You have no God? Why?"

It is actually a question that I have rarely, if ever, voiced the answer to. I didn't want to launch into a long discourse on science and history and cause offence to my driver, who, like most taxi drivers in Cyprus had religious icons on display on the dashboard.

"Well", I said, improvising, "I think to believe in God you have to feel it in your heart. And I do not feel it. You are Orthodox?"

"Yes, yes, all Greeks are Orthodox. But we all have one God. Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Orthodox, we all come from one God."

"Erm....well....maybe."

"Not maybe. For sure, for sure. I am certain of it."

We passed the rest of the journey in silence.

What really concerned me was that it was only after he had established that there was very little possibility of divine intervention on my behalf that he suddenly put his seat-belt on.

Posted by Martin Belam, January 19, 2005
Read more posts on currybetdotnet about: Cyprus, Travelogue

The views expressed on currybetdotnet are my own, and do not reflect the views of my current or former employers.

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About Martin Belam

I'm a London-based internet consultant and writer, with 8 years experience in product management, information architecture, and user experience design for global brands like Sony, Vodafone, The Guardian and the BBC. I specialise in advising on search, widgets, RSS, online news publishing and bulk email delivery.
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