Saturday, September 11, 2010

Here's my 13 cents

I will never understand how burning a book solves anything, no matter what book it is. My students are often under the misguided impression that our founding fathers came to this country to establish Christianity as its main religion with no room for other religions or beliefs. I've always understood that they came here to flee religious persecution, therefore establishing freedom of religion, freedom of believing what we want to believe. We are just as bad as England when we want to burn things and people and ideas.
I understand that the current "book burning incident" is a lot more complicated that this. But from observation, it seems to come down to the core idea that Christianity is entitled to whatever it wants because it is what's right.
Now, as a Christian I have a problem with this, especially seeing as how I am not the breed of Christian that damns anyone else for what they believe. I am not the one telling anyone else that they are going to hell for anything. I do not cast gay people away who want to worship at my church. I do not believe in "Jesusing" people to death as soon as they walk through my door. I will not ask you what your testimony is unless it happens to come up in conversation.
I believe in loving you as you are.
I believe anyone can get to heaven, yes even if you are black, gay, tatooed, and pierced.
I believe God loves me BECAUSE I'm imperfect, not IN SPITE of my imperfections.
I believe in freedom of believing and am in support of the mosque that will be built in NY.
I yearn for conversations with those who attend a mosque.
I yearn to be an example of what I know is right, not to shove words or ideas or beliefs in your face.
I yearn to love you like Jesus loves me, without condition or reason.

4 comments:

  1. Accckkk I love you. (Hope it's okay that I found this...through Jo of course.)

    Agreed one MEEEEELLION percent.

    Jesus is love. We are supposed to emulate him in our daily lives. Therefore we are supposed to love.

    End of story. Right? So simple, but that's the bottom line. And politics need not get involved.

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  2. I will never forget how Steph one time said about a church smothering themselves in the "law"...they're so busy picking out the details, they're missing the overall theme of the book! (Meaning, of course, the Bible.)

    There is one way to heaven, through Jesus...nothing else matters. Not works, not skin, not past, not sins. How are people supposed to get to Jesus if "we're" scaring them away?

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  3. OH! The overall theme is LOVE!!!

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  4. Stephanie! So glad you are reading my blog! And I imagined Dr. Evil when you wrote "one Meeeellion percent." HAHA! :-)

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