Saturday, February 3, 2007
Would YOU be silent?
I realize that many people have different morals and values than I do although I can't accept that. If you love someone as a family member or a friend you want the best for them right? Of course, so I want to share my beliefs and morals with other people. Not because they are necessarily my beliefs but because they are what God wants. If someone doesn’t love and ask God into their heart even if they do good works on earth how can they go to heaven? They can't. So, for example, if one of my friends is gay or of a different faith how can I stay silent about it? If I feel that they are not going to go to heaven and experience the same joy that I do, why not talk to them? It is difficult to watch my friends and family suffer from a cold or other illness, so how can I watch as my friends live "worldly lives" and have not accepted Christ as their lord and savior when I know in my heart that they are going to suffer forever? I can't accept that and I want to tell more and more people how great God's love is for them. If you had the greatest truth in the world that could change so many lives what would you do with it? ...I can't be quiet when I know the truth... How do I know it's the truth? Look out the window. You see trees, flowers, grass, birds, and so many other creatures. How do you explain them or you? Where did you come from? Could unicellular bacteria develop into such a complex creature as you? - It takes more faith to believe in evolution than a God who designed and created the universe. "With Christ all things are possible." He will never leave you. He's there as a father and a friend... he wants you to love and to accept him into your heart. Whether you believe what I said above or not, if you had a best friend and you knew that he was going to suffer forever would you be quiet and watch him do the things that he does when you knew in your heart that he could be happy and filled with love? Would YOU be silent if you knew the truth?
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11 comments:
Autumn, I haven't read this post yet, but I felt I needed to comment on the comment that you left me, so here goes:
It isn't offending Christians if I say happy holidays rather than Merry Christmas because I am telling them that, whatever holiday they celebrate, I wish them to be happy. Last time I checked, happiness was not offensive. When you say Merry Christmas to those who are not Christian, you are not including their beliefs and that is offensive.
Second, like it or not, American is not equal to Christian. Values do not equal Christianity. They are two different things. To be an American is to choose your religion, and America shouldn't ever favor one religion. By slipping Christianity into everything we call American (the currency, the pledge, marriage laws), it is highly unfair to those of us who want to worship another god, set of gods, or no god at all.
As to marriage and divorce, it would be fair to say that cheating always took place at a comparitive rate, including Priests and other Clergy memebers, but it is just more socially acceptable to be more honest about it. I think this has less to do with religion and more to do with society (Christians included) itself. There is a song that says "God Hates the Fags" written by a Christian rock band. Maybe I am not Christian, but I know that it is wrong for anyone to say something that could hurt a person, no matter what religion they belong to. Hatred isn't okay even if it comes from a religious standpoint.
And, by the way, I think divorce was illegal for a long time. I also think (a small amount) of divorced people are gay, have tried to fix it by marrying someone of the opposite sex, and gotten divorced afterward.
Time changes people, and it isn't because of a lack of Christianity. As of right now, I am not a Christian. I would still call myself an okay person.
♥, Angela
P.S. Sorry if this is a little less "professional" than my other posts, but so many things you brought up have to do with my character as a person and I feel the need to give my side of the story. I appreciate and consider everything you have to say. :)
Now, about the post I am commenting on:
I agree. There isn't much else I can say. I have thought about it in great detail with quite a few people and I don't know what to do in this situation. I don't think I believe in Hell, so I can't worry about people suffering in that way. But I can see where you're coming from. It's like, you can see someone walking towards something that you know will hurt them but you can't do anything about it. I realize how you feel, but you can't make someone believe something that they just don't believe. I have tried to believe in Christianity, as well as many other myth sets, but I don't. I don't believe, and I want to. I just don't. I can't make myself or I would. I know you can't stay silent about. I wouldn't be. The only problem is that I think most people have made up their mind. Even of people are open minded, you can't make people believe, I can't make people believe. Heck, I can't make myself believe.
I just want you to know, I know where you're coming from.
♥, Angela
How is it offensive to include EVERYONE when saying happy holidays. Chiristmas IS included. I think everyone should be included. Why are you offended if I told you to have a happy holiday? Just because I didn't mention your religion. Happiness isn't always about religion. I find happiness in a lot of things.
This country was actually founded by stoming the the prevalent religion (The Native American Religion) and replacing it with their own. Either way, the the country was founded FOR the right to practice any religion you wish.
The first amendment of the constitution says:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".
If everything around my is Christian, including something in which I am pledging love for my country, I am beig forced into a religion I don't want to have. I don't want to pledge alligence to God when I am pledging alligence to my country. I don't want to pledge alligence to God every time I buy a soda. If you were, more or less, forced (or at least strongly encouraged) to stand up and say that you love this country and Allah, wouldn't you be, at the very least, uncomfortable. Removing God from the pleade and money wouldn't be promoting Atheism; it wouldn't be promoting anything. This would allow people to make their own decisions, uninfluenced by our government, just as the first amendment intended.
Personally, I can't accept a religion that tells me my friends and I are going to Hell for reasons that are out of our control. I think it's wrong to have to repent for being gay or divorced. It's not wrong to be gay or divorced to me, so I don't think anyone should have to apologize for something like that. You don't apologize for whom you love or don't love. Why should anyone else?
I don't know what my personal religion is because I haven't found one that I accept. I'm still looking, though. Christianity evolves all the time. Unless you are catholic, you are living under a religion that has been changed to what your ancestors needed from it or believed about it. I am searching for one that I believe in.
I'm really not sure what else to say.
♥, Angela
I know what you mean by religion. Last year I didn't go to church, but my friends and their parents talked to me about how important it was and I thank God that they did. Now we have the same beliefs.
You want to know what defines Americans.
Freedom.
The freedom to choose religion without any influence from the government. The freedom to speak whatever language I want. The freedom to say what I want. In what other country can you do that?
None. That's what defines us.
As far as the evolution of Christianity, unless you are catholic, you are not part of original Christianity. You are part of an evolved form. God hasn't changed; the way he's worshipped has.
I still don't understand why Happy Holidays is offensive. Just because it doesn't cater only to you, you're upset. I just don't understand that. No one should be favored. You say that "we should['t] change the way we talk traditionally because some people don't like it".
Yes we should.
People traditionally had slaves. People traditionally didn't allow women to vote. People traditionally brought guns to town to protect against Native American invasion.
What's traditional is not always correct.
♥, Angela
Autumn, maybe their beliefs are just as strong as yours. In their minds, what they believe is correct. You need to realize that your beliefs are no more important than mine or Andrew's or anyone else's. We are all equal. In your mind they are more important which is fine, but you need to see that to someone else, their beliefs are just as important to them as yours are to you and when you try to tell them that they are wrong, that hurts just as much as when people tell you that you are wrong.
Autumn, I have a few comments as well. I realize that you are extremely religious. However, maybe you should at least TOLERATE if not ACCEPT people's beliefs- if they are not your belief, you expect they are wrong. Seriously, everyone has different beliefs. what if I told you I were an atheist? Would you look at me differently or condemn me? Also, if "Jesus loves everyone" then how is it so that he does not love those who do not love him? I didn't see that when I went to Awana.
Autumn don't get me wrong- I used to be somewhat religious and I see your standpoint. However, have you read the quote above Mr. Hanish's door? It says: "The mind is like a parachute: It only works while it is open." Perhaps you should take this into consideration while saying that people of certain beliefs or sexualities cannot go to heaven- but God loves everyone?
Apparently Christianity still has a few kinks it needs to work out- or else accept themselves as hypocrites.
Please understand I am not trying to offend you, but I also have a gay cousin whom I love, and I believe maybe he will go to a better place after life. Whether that be the Christian heaven, who knows, but maybe he'll find a religion that loves him back instead of tells him who he can and cannot love.
I agree with the things in the Bible about loving God, being a good person, helping people, etc. I don't agree with the things that say being Gay is wrong and I don't believe in Sin. I believe God created everything and if he didn't want us to sin he wouldn't have created the opportunity for us to. I believe that God loves everyone, he loves the fact that Andrew is gay and that he could come out and be himself, I believe that is what God wants. I also don't believe in Hell. If God loves all of us so much he would not want anyone to go to such a horrible place no mater what they did. I completely 100% accept other people's beliefs even if I don't agree with them. I realize that none of us is neither right nor wrong. No one knows the real truth we just have to follow what we believe and accept the beliefs of others.
I don't believe someone should go to "Hell" and be damned for eternity just because they like the same sex.
With Native American religion, I believe in "the circle of life" aspect; there is no end. We all live together and need to accept one another. Ah, my battery is dying, we can talk about this more later
Autumn-
I totally understand and appreciate what you're saying. However, to support or perhaps reiterate myself:
Kinks such as sin. I understand that there are wrongs that your religion see as condemnable, but stereotypically, your religion is very judgemental. I'm not at all saying that you personally are, but being excommunicated or other such actions seem to be ways to judge others when Christians claim to let God do the final judgement. Why not let him do all the judgement and allow people to believe what they want? That's what I've never understood; I used to be a regular church attendee but eventually found myself bored with the judgements and went to a Universalist Church and liked that much better, though I no longer attend. It seems that accepting people is much more "Godly" than judging them or saying that their life is sinful. These are just my opinions, please don't take them wrong.
♥
Katelyn
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