In light of recent events, such as the Republican Primaries, Proposition 8, etc. (does anyone besides me feel like we're actually going BACK in-time, instead of progressing/evolving forward? No? Well anyways,) I thought I'd post a few of my own thoughts.*
Nothing at all against people who don't believe so, to each their own, but not many people I know argue that there isn't some kind of 'higher power.' Some people experience the feeling of a higher power through their religion, others from simply being in nature, and others don't experience it at all. Growing up in a Methodist church, completing confirmation, and attending church camp for many summers, I obviously grew up surrounded by certain religious beliefs. It wasn't until I got to college and experienced a different culture that I realized some of these beliefs didn't exactly coincide with what I actually felt. I know this is a super sensitive topic, a topic that I could probably write about 129348085098 pages on, but I'll try not to.
I've been criticized multiple times for participating in typical college behavior, while still posting Bible verses on my social media sites. (Really? Realllly?) I've also been criticized by people who say I can't be both a Christian AND have some of the beliefs that I have. I won't come out and specifically state all of my beliefs, but I will say this (in my opinion, mind you); Religion and/or your relationship with whatever higher power you believe in (in my case, God) is between yourself and that higher power (and possibly others who share your beliefs in that higher power, if both parties wish).
Religion and Politics are two different things. For yourself personally, the Bible might be a guide for how you should live your life. What the Bible is not, however, is a blueprint/guide on how to run a country. I completely understand people wanting to share their happiness that comes along with their beliefs with other people. However, people are forgetting to focus on their religious teachings as a whole, and instead are solely focusing on certain issues. In other words, people are only focusing on issues where they can highlight the differences between themselves and those who they disagree with, instead of focusing on being a righteous and good person. Everyone knows at least one person who looks at others and pretty much in a round-about-way, will say, "Well you're not a Christian, you don't live your life the way I think you should, so I don't like you." In reality, if they were completely in-touch with their religion (for lack of better wording) they would understand that what they're saying goes completely against what the core ideas/values of Christianity are based on. As a Christian one should know, IT IS NOT YOUR DUTY TO JUDGE WHO IS WORTHY OF GOD'S GRACE. As much as you believe in your Religion and/or your beliefs, you can not force them on to other people. You also can not get angry when others don't live the way that you feel they should live their lives. (Unless their actions specifically affect you.) Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion. For example; if you don't like what I'm saying, you can stop reading now.
I believe in equality, honesty, and humanitarianism. I struggled for a long time with whether or not I could still consider myself a Christian while still holding onto some of my beliefs. I felt like I had to choose between one side or the other. The answer, which I discovered after a long and emotional battle within myself, is YES. The Bible might say something that one person interprets one way, while another person interprets it in a completely different way. Like I said previously, religion to me is so intimate; an intimate relationship with yourself and the higher power that you believe in. I also feel that religion especially, is based off of your own interpretation. So YES; I can believe Jesus died for my sins, I can believe in the Father and the Holy Spirit, all while holding onto my other personal beliefs. Beliefs that others might INTERPRET as going against the Bible. Again, it is not our job to judge and/or discriminate. If you want to have a discussion about your religion/beliefs with someone, that's fine. If they want to listen and engage in the discussion, yay! But if they don't, then let it go. You don't believe in something for other people; you do it for yourself. If someone does not want to listen to you, or lives in a way that you don't agree with, it is still not your right to belittle them. What I'm seeing happen today is the exact opposite of what I feel made Christianity good to begin with. It's about being a good person, caring for others, and allowing people to have the rights that you yourself wish to have. People who claim to be Christian should be the last people being judgemental and bigoted* towards others. Some of the people who I know that demonstrate these core values best, are people who have shied away from organized religion completely.
Based off of my beliefs, we are all created in His eyes. We are all His creations. If I believe God creates us all in his eyes, then I also legitimately refuse to believe that God would create anyone, all characteristics included, that he would want us to shun and/or treat unequally. Some argue that God might create someone one way, and then they choose to go against him and "live in sin." While I'm sure this can be true in some cases, people are still bringing religious opinions into political issues, even though some studies have proven conclusively that some characteristics are beyond our control; people can be BORN a certain way. If someone can be/is born with a certain characteristic, that means God gave them that characteristic, no? Then that person is created in His eyes; thus no characteristic that that person is born with should be considered wrong by Gods people. Political views, religion, favorite color, sexual orientation; all of these are things that shouldn't matter to anyone except for the person that they affect and belong to. While some people continue to focus on issues that highlight their differences between themselves and the people they disagree with, they continue to coincide religion and politics. And again, religion and politics are two separate things, which are meant to remain separate! <-Separation of Church and State!!*
I still have a little gold ruler that I got one year at Vacation Bible School. On one side the ruler reads; "Treat Others The Way You Wish To Be Treated." It also has "The Golden Rule" in large print on the other side. If this is the Golden Rule, given to me in the House of God, that's what we should be doing, right? Treating others the way we wish to be treated. Are we as friends, as neighbors, as a nation, as a species, treating others the way we ourselves wish to be treated? Do we allow and practice equality, or do we discriminate?
Accept people for who they are.
-xoxo, ARP
*Disclaimer: Do not leave Ali Renee- Nonsense offended. I am neither trying to attack nor demean anyone; rather I'm just posting my own small thoughts for entertainment/venting purposes.
*Bigoted - big·ot·ed - adjective
Nothing at all against people who don't believe so, to each their own, but not many people I know argue that there isn't some kind of 'higher power.' Some people experience the feeling of a higher power through their religion, others from simply being in nature, and others don't experience it at all. Growing up in a Methodist church, completing confirmation, and attending church camp for many summers, I obviously grew up surrounded by certain religious beliefs. It wasn't until I got to college and experienced a different culture that I realized some of these beliefs didn't exactly coincide with what I actually felt. I know this is a super sensitive topic, a topic that I could probably write about 129348085098 pages on, but I'll try not to.
I've been criticized multiple times for participating in typical college behavior, while still posting Bible verses on my social media sites. (Really? Realllly?) I've also been criticized by people who say I can't be both a Christian AND have some of the beliefs that I have. I won't come out and specifically state all of my beliefs, but I will say this (in my opinion, mind you); Religion and/or your relationship with whatever higher power you believe in (in my case, God) is between yourself and that higher power (and possibly others who share your beliefs in that higher power, if both parties wish).
Religion and Politics are two different things. For yourself personally, the Bible might be a guide for how you should live your life. What the Bible is not, however, is a blueprint/guide on how to run a country. I completely understand people wanting to share their happiness that comes along with their beliefs with other people. However, people are forgetting to focus on their religious teachings as a whole, and instead are solely focusing on certain issues. In other words, people are only focusing on issues where they can highlight the differences between themselves and those who they disagree with, instead of focusing on being a righteous and good person. Everyone knows at least one person who looks at others and pretty much in a round-about-way, will say, "Well you're not a Christian, you don't live your life the way I think you should, so I don't like you." In reality, if they were completely in-touch with their religion (for lack of better wording) they would understand that what they're saying goes completely against what the core ideas/values of Christianity are based on. As a Christian one should know, IT IS NOT YOUR DUTY TO JUDGE WHO IS WORTHY OF GOD'S GRACE. As much as you believe in your Religion and/or your beliefs, you can not force them on to other people. You also can not get angry when others don't live the way that you feel they should live their lives. (Unless their actions specifically affect you.) Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion. For example; if you don't like what I'm saying, you can stop reading now.
I believe in equality, honesty, and humanitarianism. I struggled for a long time with whether or not I could still consider myself a Christian while still holding onto some of my beliefs. I felt like I had to choose between one side or the other. The answer, which I discovered after a long and emotional battle within myself, is YES. The Bible might say something that one person interprets one way, while another person interprets it in a completely different way. Like I said previously, religion to me is so intimate; an intimate relationship with yourself and the higher power that you believe in. I also feel that religion especially, is based off of your own interpretation. So YES; I can believe Jesus died for my sins, I can believe in the Father and the Holy Spirit, all while holding onto my other personal beliefs. Beliefs that others might INTERPRET as going against the Bible. Again, it is not our job to judge and/or discriminate. If you want to have a discussion about your religion/beliefs with someone, that's fine. If they want to listen and engage in the discussion, yay! But if they don't, then let it go. You don't believe in something for other people; you do it for yourself. If someone does not want to listen to you, or lives in a way that you don't agree with, it is still not your right to belittle them. What I'm seeing happen today is the exact opposite of what I feel made Christianity good to begin with. It's about being a good person, caring for others, and allowing people to have the rights that you yourself wish to have. People who claim to be Christian should be the last people being judgemental and bigoted* towards others. Some of the people who I know that demonstrate these core values best, are people who have shied away from organized religion completely.
Based off of my beliefs, we are all created in His eyes. We are all His creations. If I believe God creates us all in his eyes, then I also legitimately refuse to believe that God would create anyone, all characteristics included, that he would want us to shun and/or treat unequally. Some argue that God might create someone one way, and then they choose to go against him and "live in sin." While I'm sure this can be true in some cases, people are still bringing religious opinions into political issues, even though some studies have proven conclusively that some characteristics are beyond our control; people can be BORN a certain way. If someone can be/is born with a certain characteristic, that means God gave them that characteristic, no? Then that person is created in His eyes; thus no characteristic that that person is born with should be considered wrong by Gods people. Political views, religion, favorite color, sexual orientation; all of these are things that shouldn't matter to anyone except for the person that they affect and belong to. While some people continue to focus on issues that highlight their differences between themselves and the people they disagree with, they continue to coincide religion and politics. And again, religion and politics are two separate things, which are meant to remain separate! <-Separation of Church and State!!*
I still have a little gold ruler that I got one year at Vacation Bible School. On one side the ruler reads; "Treat Others The Way You Wish To Be Treated." It also has "The Golden Rule" in large print on the other side. If this is the Golden Rule, given to me in the House of God, that's what we should be doing, right? Treating others the way we wish to be treated. Are we as friends, as neighbors, as a nation, as a species, treating others the way we ourselves wish to be treated? Do we allow and practice equality, or do we discriminate?
Accept people for who they are.
-xoxo, ARP
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*Disclaimer: Do not leave Ali Renee- Nonsense offended. I am neither trying to attack nor demean anyone; rather I'm just posting my own small thoughts for entertainment/venting purposes.
*Bigoted - big·ot·ed - adjective
1. Obstinately convinced of the superiority or correctness of one's own opinions and prejudiced against those who hold different opinions
2. Expressing or characterized by prejudice and intolerance
*Separation of Church and State- through the 14th Amendment, prohibits laws dealing with the establishment of religion. Neither the state or federal government may enact laws which aid one or all religions, or give a preference to one religion over another.
*Separation of Church and State- through the 14th Amendment, prohibits laws dealing with the establishment of religion. Neither the state or federal government may enact laws which aid one or all religions, or give a preference to one religion over another.
