I have never been a blogger, but recently I find myself having so many thoughts when I look at Facebook that I don't think they necessarily fit in a status or response. In general, I think politics and religion are poor bedfellows for social interaction. If I wouldn't discuss it at a dinner party with casual acquaintances, I probably should not post it on Facebook. Most importantly, I have declared my Facebook page a positive place and I don't like to post any negativity whatsoever. With that being said, I created this blog as a place to express my ideas and opinions, so be warned, that is exactly what this is.
Lately a few things have been bothering me. This division among people is disheartening. I am both a Christian and a proud American. That means I follow the teachings of Christ and love my country. But what that means seems to be lost on most people in a fog of self-service. I will explain my position here.
As a Christian, I care what God thinks of me, not people. I will not sit back and allow people to be mistreated because "other people in my church may not agree". God's opinion is important, not other people. I don't remember reading anywhere in the Bible "if the deacons say", "if the bishops say", "if the congregation approves". None of that. What I have read is that Jesus promoted loving all. No judging. We aren't allowed to judge other people, we are allowed to love them. Blindly following what a church tells you is ridiculous. God gaves us brains, we should use them. He gave us free will, we should exercise it. We can read. We should study, research, and pray. Figure it out for ourselves. Blindly following what other humans say leads to trouble. If you don't believe me, refer to The Crusades, The Inquisition, Nazi Germany. Look at Jonestown, Heaven's Gate, David Koresh, Warren Jeffs. As far as I am concerned, to sit back and not speak up for what is right is a sin. It is allowing harm to come to others.
Second, there is this whole political thing. The last time I checked, in the National Archives there is a Constitution, not a Bible. That Constitution gives us all the right of religious freedom. That means I am free to attend church every Sunday and no one can legally stop me. That also means you are free to NOT attend church if you so choose, or you are free to attend Temple, Mass, anything that fits with your beliefs. I do not have the right to force my religion on you. That makes this country a beautiful place to be. We can all be ourselves. It is disturbing to me that people think laws should be based on religion. That is a direct violation of religious freedom. I do not have the right to say what you can and can't do based on my religion.
Some people believe that I cannot be a good Christian if I believe this. I disagree. The Bible and the Constitution are two different things. One is the basis of my personal religious beliefs. The other creates a government that allows people with many different views to live together and all be represented. Many of our founding fathers were free thinkers. That means they were very open when it came to religion. They did not necessarily want anyone legislating their morality. If you don't believe that, researching Thomas Jefferson will show you that he fathered children with a slave. Yes, he had slaves, and he had extramarital relations. Benjamin Franklin spent a large part of his married life living with another woman in England, away from his family. I don't think they necessarily wanted anyone enacting laws that dictated what was right and what was wrong morally.
I think it is irresponsible to pull things out of context. It is done with the Bible and with the Constitution. For example, if you want to define marriage based on the book of Leviticus in the Bible, take it in historical context. Polygamy was the norm. So, do we accept multiple wives and concubines in our marriages? If marriage is so sacred, why is the divorce rate so high? Why is having a mistress morally superior to loving someone of the same sex (ONE someone)? Do we stone people who work on Sunday? Are people put to death for what they eat? People like to say "The Bible is never wrong". Are they reading the entire Bible? Because there are more than likely a lot of things in there they do on a regular basis, and if the Bible is never wrong, they should probably be immediately executed. Let us remember that the Bible has been translated many times, but many different....HUMANS. Humans, who all had motives of their own, thoughts of their own, beliefs of their own. Everything has a historical and social context. Study the time and place these passages were written, and take that into consideration. It can't be done lightly. It requires a lot of work, study, and prayer. Times have changed, and the same social norms do not apply. The same goes for the Constitution. Take it IN context. It was written a long time ago. Things were different. Much different. What may have been 100% applicable then is not necessarily so now. That is why it has to be interpreted. Don't take one single line out of the entire document and use that as your basis for an argument. Read the whole entire thing.
I am sure I have lost you by now. I am ranting quite a bit. The bottom line is this. I am heartbroken by the violence and hatred I see in this world. People are more concerned with "my rights my rights I believe" and not "what is right, what is good, what is best for everyone". Giving someone else the same rights you enjoy is NOT taking away your rights. Allowing someone else freedom of or freedom from religion is NOT taking away your religious rights. Let's all learn to love each other, and take things in context. Let's look at the big picture, not just parts of it. And if we want to base things on religion, let's worry more about what CHRIST taught, not other people.
