I have been alarmed and disturbed over and over again on reports of such intolerance and judgement from the very people who claim to be a peaceful people, of tolerance, and who preach that judgement will come from no one but their god, and that he judges with mercy. How can these people be so delusional as to think that their religion, and their god would approve of any violent act? As a person raised in a christian faith, I know for a fact that such acts cannot be justified as a christian. I am not attacking Christians at all, but People who claim to be followers of any Christan gospel, and use religion to justify violent acts. Whether it's bullying someone because of their sexual preference, and making them feel so worthless that it drives them to suicide, or attacking doctors or nurses who perform abortions, and the women who need them. Christian preach against all evils, even small things like gossiping and slandering, yet I hear some of the most outrageous comments from people who claim to be Christians. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, and notices these things. In fact i think it is what drives people aways from the christian church. What those people don't understand is that it isn't the gospel itself, or the teachings of it, but the interpretation of individual people that creates these problems.
Gandhi said,"
I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ"
What a shame that in so many instances Gandhi has been right.
July 29, 1994: Dr. John Britton and James Barrett, a clinic escort, were both shot to death outside another facility in Pensacola.
Rev. Paul Jennings Hill was charged with the killings. Hill received a death sentence and was executed on September 3, 2003.
September 30, 2000: John Earl, a
Catholic priest, drove his car into the Northern Illinois Health Clinic after learning that the FDA had approved the drug RU-486. He pulled out an ax before being forced to the ground by the owner of the building who fired two warning shots from a shotgun
These are just two instances out of Many Murders, attempted murders, bombings, and bio-chemical threats on abortion clinics, not only by christians, but christian leaders! I don't even know what to say. Speechless.
I recently did some research on a man named Roy Moore, who many people remember because of the ten commandments monument that he refused to remove from his courthouse as the judge. In result he was removed from office. he believed homosexuality to be so evil that he ruled in a custody battle that the children be awarded to a very abusive father, instead of the lesbian mother, who obviously cared for and loved her children and wished to protect them. I remember a specific instance when a friend of mine who is a lesbian said to me, Lesbians still have a maternal instinct. So true. Don't worry, his ruling was overruled, and the children awarded to the mother.
and what about Reverend Terry Jones, recently preaching hate and intolerance of another religion, and planning to burn the Quran? That is certainly not a christian act.
Now in the last month I know everyone else has heard so much about bullying, and specifically against homosexuals. There have been numerous suicides, far too many, of young kids, who have been teased and taunted so much that they felt that life wasn't worth living. There hasn't been anything said about who did the bullying and whether or not they claim to be Christians, but that isn't the issue here. The issue is that our society, which is largely based on christian sentiments and values, is teaching our young people not only that homosexuality is wrong, but that it is to be persecuted against, that homosexuals are not aas human as everyone else, and they don't deserve the respect that all human beings do. Instead shouldn't we be teaching our young people to accept the people around them, whether or not we accept their beliefs? To embrace our differences as a diverse society? That this kind of intolerance is unacceptable in any form? People are dying!
These are people's rights that are being attacked. Their right to privacy, their right to choose, their right to be. It is protected, the same way that freedom of religion is protected. How can members of a group that was once the victim of violent persecution take the same vengeance on any other group of human beings?
the question here is not whether abortion, or homosexuality is right or wrong, but whether the actions people take against them are worse? I certainly do think they are, and I think that no christian can honestly justify such an unchristian act.
The basic belief of Christianity is love. Love your neighbor, love your enemy, show compassion, show mercy, show understanding, show patience, show kindness, show humility, show tolerance. All christian sentiments.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you, and persecute you;the truth is, that according to christian faith, our sins have already been taken care of by our savior Jesus Christ. If there is to be a punishment, it will be in the afterlife. It is not our job as fellow human beings, or as fellow Christians to punish people for there sins here on earth. Not our job to accuse them, not our job to inform them, and not our job to convert them if they do not want to be. It is our job to respect them, their rights, and their choices, whether or not we agree with them. It is our job to let god be the judge.
These people who judge so harshly, who persecute so freely, are the very people that Jesus warned us about in the sermon on the mount:
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. I don't know what specific religion I believe in. They are all so skewed by their believers. I do know that if I claim to believe it I will do my very best to follow it. I Believe in Love, I believe in my rights as a human being, and an american. I believe that violence is never the answer, and I believe that there are a lot of insane people out there that give the religion they claim a very bad name. I believe that if i wanted to marry a woman, i should be allowed, and if i feel the need to abort a fetus that is in
my body, it is my right to do so. That is not to say whether I think either of those are ethically right or wrong, but, I believe they are my rights.
I believe that unless you can put yourslelf in someone else's shoes, 100%, can understand who they are, where they came from, what they know, what they believe and the situation that they are in, that there is no way that you can judge their actions, no matter what they are. We can only judge ourselves, and fix our own faults, and flaws. The girl in that abortion clinic might have a heart defect making childbirth too risky, or she may have no support system, nowhere else to turn, no money, and an abusive boyfriend who would force her into having this baby if he knew, forcing the rest of her life to be spent with him in it. Maybe adoption or birth really isn't an option for her.
That homosexual kid might be at home every night worrying, trying so hard to fit in, pretending to be something he is not, and praying to the same god that you do that no one ever finds out. I hope when someone does find out they let him know it is ok, and he is not worthless and he is not evil and that life is still very much worth living.
Phil & Teds Portable Highchair
