American
conservatives have done their best to try to monopolize the Christian faith,
and to marginalize the Christian left, by depicting liberals as a monolithic
Godless movement that is hostile to Christianity. Fundamentalist Christians are
on a witch hunt for those that believe differently than they.
The
hate and vitriol from the Christian Right against certain members of the human
race defy and rebuke many of the beliefs held by Christ.
Pope
Francis was quite eloquent in his recent speech to congress”
“All of us
are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing social and political
situation of the world today. Our world is increasingly a place of violent
conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and
of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual
delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially
attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind.”
Pope Francis, speech to US Congress
“Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you” (Mt 7:12).
This Rule points us in a clear
direction. Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which
we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we
seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped
ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want
life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities.
The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for
us.”
If you truly
believe in the Ten Commandments and follow then, then they are in your heart.
Do they need to be everywhere? Can you not share them by your behavior, leading
by example as Jesus did? Did Jesus rant,
rave and preach fire and brimstone? No.
He was gentle, loving, forgiving and supportive.
The problem with the Ten Commandments being displayed on
government property is, as someone stated in an article in Church and State in
2012:
It creates the impression that
government has a preferred religion and that U.S. law is based on some type of
sectarian code. This is not the case.
But there's another reason why these
displays are troubling: They breed intolerance and divisiveness.
One of the first duties of government
is to treat people with fairness and equality. We should all be the same in the
eyes of the state. When it comes to religion, government must treat everyone
equally by refraining from adopting one faith over others.
Americans hold many different views
about religion. Our Constitution was designed to make it possible for us to
live in peace, side by side, under a government that respects all of those
perspectives but endorses none.
Our country was founded by pilgrims and others who came here for
religious freedoms. They wanted to
worship as they pleased or not. The
founding fathers were not, I repeat, NOT Christians. If they did believe in a
higher being, they were Deists. If you
don’t know, Deists believe in a higher power without any reliance on religion,
authority or holy text.
We used to be tolerant of religious differences and freedoms. Quakers, Mennonites, and Amish are legally
allowed to be contentious objectors. No
one would think of contaminating kosher foods. Asking people their faith or
religious beliefs when hiring is unthinkable! People were not discriminated
against because of their religion.
We were appalled by the holocaust, not just because of the massive
deaths, but because of the religious genocide.
People shouldn’t die because they believe in a certain way. We are disgusted by the bigotry and hatred of
the KKK. We can’t believe that we once sought to keep blacks from having the
same rights as whites. We believe that men and women are created equally and
should be paid the same for the same job.
We are shocked by what ISIS is doing with regard to women and
children. We are angered by the
Taliban’s behavior towards those they consider not worthy and women. We cry out at Boko Haram for stealing
women. We don’t understand how Muslims
force women to wear burkas and stay in homes unless attended by men or face
stoning or worse. We don’t understand the mentality of suicide bombers and
terrorists. They do this all in the name
of religion. They are extremists, but
devoutly believe this is what their god wants them to do.
Yet, are we much better? Must we keep the Ten Commandments everywhere? Must we refuse to allow gay marriages because
it’s against our Christian beliefs? Must
we reinstate prayer in schools which would mandate that children should be
forced to pray in schools, no matter what their family’s beliefs? Must we denigrate
those who do not believe as some think they should?
Does a Christian belief mean that only the Christians are right and
everyone else should be condemned, looked down upon and trashed?
Is that what Jesus stood for?
I think not.
Neither Jesus nor our founding fathers envisioned this for us. They all expected the American people to be open, loving,
caring, and accepting of others.
So, let’s be nicer to each other and remember, we all deserve religious
freedom even if someone’s chosen religion isn’t the same as ours.
