Conference Hotel, Amsterdam

Engineers and evangelicals…

Convention centers are large places, and the best have hotels nearby or even in them. The hotel at the Amsterdam Convention Center is exceptionally good. These hotels and convention center combinations often have multiple events taking place at once. This week it was a trade show on electric marine technology and another convention about “the next evolution in evangelicalism”. We had people who make a living on the seas next to people who believe that one man can split the seas. This was going to be fun.

Most engineers tend to want proof of things and don’t like things they can’t understand. If there is something that we don’t have an answer to, the scientific method is used to find it. Religion is about the things that go beyond our conventional understanding, and where our beliefs take over. I’ve found that evangelicalism often takes this a bit further, into the realm of the uncertain being certain through sheer will. This is clearly my take and is not reflective of the complexities of Christian evangelicals and their beliefs. In any event, I find the contrast with engineers to be fascinating.

I’m not used to being around people who are very religious. When I travel, I see a lot of different people and cultures. I respect religion, the cultural and historical significance and how it impacts peoples’ lives. But it isn’t really my thing. When I was lifting weights at the gym this morning, I was speaking with someone from California. He wasn’t there for my conference. We were having a great conversation and joking a bit. As I stepped off the elevator, he yelled out to me “have a blessed day”. Wait. I didn’t sneeze.

View from the nHow Hotel, Amsterdam RAI