Bridging the Gap: Jihye and Channy's Journey of Nurturing Unity Despite Religious Diversity

“Channy, I’m telling you, the gospel is true.” Jihye sighed as she leaned over her desk in her dorm room to study for a midterm exam.

“Please, Jihye. You can’t believe that nonsense! It’s just a bunch of stories from the Bible, like Noah’s Ark and Jonah and the whale. It’s all lies.” Channy scoffed as he fiddled with various bottles of colored ink in front of his painting station.

Jihye paused to look at Channy, puzzled. “But... but God is real. Jesus was real! He was resurrected and he lives today! The Bible is true! I can prove it!” She picked up her copy of the New Testament, which lay on her desk beside her textbook, opened it to Mark 16:16-18 and pointed to the passage. “Jesus told us to go make disciples so that His name would be known throughout the world. That means we are supposed to spread His word about Him to everyone we meet or talk to! If you believe in Him, then you are a disciple! So that means you believe in Him too! You just don't realize it yet since you've never heard about Him before! But if we keep talking about how great He is together, then maybe someday you will be able to receive God's love as well!"

Channy scoffed again as he shook his head and continued to paint his masterpiece. “I know about Jesus already, Jihye," he said curtly without looking up at her. "I do not accept him nor do I need your religion."

"How can you say that? How can you look at the creation around us and not see God's greatness? Everything around us proves that God exists!" Jihye exclaimed as she grabbed a stack of pamphlets from off of her desk and threw them across the room towards Channy's painting table. She had done this many times before when trying to persuade Channy into accepting Christ into his heart. However, every time she did this, Channy stubbornly ignored them and continued working on his paintings instead of reading what she had given him. "You know nothing about my religion!" She shrieked at him. "You don't even read what I give you or what I tell you about it!"

"I do not need your silly book because I am fine the way I am." Channy responded flatly as he drew a single line down his canvas with his brush and set it down on the table next to him along with several other brushes filled with different colors of paint. He picked up another brush filled with red paint and dabbed it onto his canvas for a second before setting it down again in between green and blue brushes used for other color combinations on various parts of his painting. He turned back around towards Jihye after putting down his brushes and spoke again without looking at her while he put away the rest of the paints into their proper places within his collection of colorful paints in front of him on his workstation table: “And furthermore, there is no such thing as Hell."

Jihye gasped as she stared at Channy in disbelief while still seated in front of her own desk. After a few moments, she closed her eyes slowly and exhaled deeply with a shake of her head as if being unable to believe what she just heard from him: "What?! No such thing? You mean... What about people who don't repent? What about murderers? What about rapists? What about people who take advantage of others? They deserve eternal punishment for their sins!"

"No one deserves eternal punishment for anything." Channy said flatly as he stood up from his desk abruptly and walked over towards Jihye's desk where he snatched up all three copies of the New Testament from off of her deskspace by their covers in one swift motion: "You shouldn't even have these! These books shouldn't exist anymore because they're false."

Jihye jumped up out of her seat quickly while standing directly in front of Channy with both hands raised defensively outwards towards him: "What are you doing?!" She demanded with wide eyes staring right at him in response to his sudden action. "These books aren't yours! Give them back!" She reached out towards Channy's left hand holding onto the three copies of the New Testament books now clenched tightly inside of it by their covers tightly gripped tight within both hands against him defensively by their covers between them now: "I'm going to tell Mr. Park if you keep stealing these books from me!" She shouted angrily as tears began streaming down her face uncontrollably while glaring angrily at him through watery eyes filled with fear and anger now threateningly glaring directly at him above her wet cheeks now glistening beneath dimmed lights below fluorescent lamps across their dorm room ceiling above them now shining faintly softly above them now illuminating dimly beneath vibrant artwork painted brightly everywhere else upon walls behind them everywhere else surrounding everything else across this entire room around everything else everywhere else everywhere else surrounding everything else somewhere deep inside this entire room somewhere deep here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here somewhere deep inside here someone buried deeply alongside grass across hillside forest someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass covered surface soil someone buried deeply alongside grass across hillside forest someone buried deeply alongside grass across hillside forest someone buried deeply alongside grass across hillside forest someone buried deeply alongside grass across hillside forest someone buried deeply elsewhere underground basement flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete flooring concrete floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground floors above ground something buried beneath something constructed built complex complex complex complex complex complex complex complex complex something constructed build construct construct construct construct construct construct construct construct construct construct construct something constructed built construction build something constructed build construction build construction build construction build construction build construction build construction build construction build construction build something constructed build construction build construct construct construct constructed build something constructed build struct struct struct struct struct elsewhere someplace across place someplace across place someplace across place someplace across place someplace across place someplace across place someplace across place someplace across place someplace apart somehow nearby someway somehow nearby someway somehow nearby someway somehow nearby someway sometime unseen somehow nearby someway way unseen someways time sometime sometime sometime sometime sometime sometime sometime time someday time someday time someday time someday time someday time someday time someday time someday time someday time someday time someday timesomehow someway someway someway someway someway somewaysomewhere somewheresomewhersomewher somewhere somewheresomewher somewhere somewheresomewher somewhere somewheresomewher somewhere somewheresomewhersomewher somewhere somewheresomewhersomewher nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere nowhere _________________________________________________________________________________________