Yesterday, I listened to a story on NPR's All Things Considered about a public meeting in Tennessee that broke my heart. The trouble in Tennessee over the building of a mosque has bothered me for a while. But listening to the cheers of supposed Christians when the burning of another mosque was mentioned made me ashamed to call myself a Christian.
My Christ isn't the same person as the Christ those people seem to worship. My Christianity isn't ruled by mob or tribal mentality. It isn't "us against them" but "we are all beloved children of God who should love one another as Jesus loved us." Jesus calls Christians to go forth and share the love of God with the world.
Share God's love.
Please, God. Share Your love with all of us.
We live--Praise God from whom all blessings flow!--in a country whose founders established freedom of religion as a basic right. People should be able to practice their faith without fear of harassment or harm. I want that right. I won't deny that right to others.
That's my stand.
Where do you stand?
I stand with you. These people are letting themselves being ruled by fear and hatred (both of which are human feelings and completely understandable) rather than accessing the power available that will allow us to rise above fear and hatred. This is why one of my questions has always been "How can there be no sadness in Heaven?" I believe that God must be sad to see people acting like this, especially in His name.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Ardyth. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteStories like this make me so very sad. They are happening too often in our country. People are not thinking or even READING their Bibles. It's a mob mentality: follow, don't think. I stand with you, Susan.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Susan! So called Christians, filled with arrogance and cruelty, devoid of humilty, kindness, or peace seeking heart, serve only their own egos and insecurities. Worse still, they slander the name of Christ, using the Holy One as a front man in the perpetuation of human hatred and all manner of unholy agendas.
ReplyDeleteI stand in the same place as you on religious freedom without persecution. It is one of the principles our country was founded upon. My religious beliefs have changed over the years, I could never wrap my heart and mind around what I perceived as the exclusivity of Christianity. I have a strong Buddhist leaning these days. I love the focus on compassion for all living beings. The concept of a bodhisattva , a person who continues to be reborn into this world of suffering until the suffering of all beings has been eliminated as they attain enlightenment, resonates very strongly with me.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for speaking out!
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