Though I’m a devout Catholic, I sometimes shake my head in disgust over how some of my Christian brothers and sisters behave.
I’ve mentioned before how some in my church community are quick to judge other people and how others seem to think you have to be a member of a specific political party to be entitled to Christ’s love. Democrats are often labeled as abortionists. A friend shared this cartoon this morning and I think it speaks a lot of truth:
There does indeed seem to be a lot of anger among so-called right wingers when you try to offer a more moderate position.
That last frame in the comic, where the woman screams about being persecuted, rings especially true. When a person’s beliefs are questioned, they instantly become victims.
To be fair, Christians have not cornered the market on hypocrisy and intolerance. I’ve had many a conversation with people who think anyone who believes in God is a sheep or an idiot.
I’m a Christan. I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins. But that doesn’t mean I think everyone has to believe the exact same thing. I really don’t care if you’re a Wiccan, Buddhist, Jewish or Atheist. A good person is a good person. A bad person is a bad person.
When you label someone a bad person because their beliefs aren’t perfectly aligned with yours, that makes you an asshole.
Here’s the element people seem to be most consistently daft about across the board: The idea that a person can be figured out and branded for life based on what their current belief system is.
Today’s right-wing nut job isn’t necessarily tomorrow’s right-wing nut job. Today’s satanist isn’t necessarily tomorrow’s satanist. We are constantly evolving.
We should really stop haggling over this stuff and focus instead on being the type of people we want others to be. Not Christian or Agnostic or Islamic, but kind, open-minded and willing to admit along the way that our belief systems need fine-tuning.
People do have the right to choose and figure out what they believe and have since the beginning, that’s part of the Free-Will package. I don’t believe any one person has it all together weather or not the are right on a given topic or situation for, All have fallen short of the Glory of God.
Even though He permits us to choose, The Truth is not relative.
I too strive to be a godly Christian based upon what I see of Jesus Christ in the Holy Bible. I love Jesus and His teachings but I hate religion and it seems that Jesus did too. His rants and accusations were not aimed at the general populace, no matter their race, creed, or faith. His attacks were on the religious and political leaders who ended up crucifying Him for His teachings that were counter to their way of doing things. History is ever repeating… after all this time, it still sucks.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that stated: “Lord, protect me from your followers.” How sad, but how true…
As Paul said, be all things to all people and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. And, Jesus said that only those who are attracted to Him will come. Those who aren’t won’t. And as you have said in your post… we are ever changing, ever evolving within ourselves our thoughts and beliefs. Those who are opposed to Christ may end up being martyred for Him someday and those who profess Him may deny Him someday.
Be true to your own heart and enjoy this gift of life as you seek your God, and your eternity your own way.