I seriously thought I read somewhere in the Bible about a commandment dealing with love thy neighbor. I don't recall there being any stipulations on that commandment. I don't recall the Bible telling Christians that we could only associate with other Christians...we could only accept other Christians...we could tolerate other Christians...we could only learn about Christianity.
I am a Christian woman who is tired of the closed-mindedness that seems to come along with being a Christian.
I am so glad that early Christians were smart enough to learn about other cultures and religions instead of just locking themselves away from others. Why do you think we celebrate the Savior's birth in December when he was born in August? Why do you think we celebrate his death in spring? Christian holidays coincide with pagan holidays. It was easier to convert people when you were already celebrating things they were familiar with.
However, Christians aren't the heroes of the story either. Just ask people in Africa how tolerant Christians are...Just ask the Native Americans how tolerant Christians are...Christians have been very intolerant when others have been in possession of what Christians want. As time has passed, Christians became less willing to learn about others and become more about "be as I am or else." Christians have been judgmental instead of loving. They have forgotten that God is the only judge and that no sin is greater than the other. So what if someone doesn't live exactly as I do...what do I care? Are they doing anything worse than I have done....not according God.
It seems now that Christians are up-in-arms against the homosexuals because that is a sin...again...that is for God to judge. God said to love not to rally in arms against because something is different.
Christians are rallying against Islam because that is a different religion. Instead of trying to learn about the differences and rallying around the similarities, most Christians are spreading hate. They are even getting upset when schools teach about Islam in schools as part of the curriculum...which as been in place for years. Yet now this curriculum is part of the communist take over!! Do we really not want our children to know about different cultures and religions? Do we really want sheltered children who know nothing about the world around them? And what is the answer to this new dilemma....to home school, of course!!! So now there will be an entire generation of children who were taught not by professionals but by Mommy and Daddy....so ready to enter the 21st workforce.
And just so everyone knows....public schools can and do teach Christianity in an historic context. Students can bring Bibles to schools. Students can pray in school. God has not been removed from our schools. However, our teachers can not teach (preach) that Christianity is the only choice.
Christians are making it hard for those on the outside looking in to see what all the fuse is about. Those looking in are just seeing a bunch of hypocrites who say God fixes the broken yet won't let the broken into the clubhouses....who say to love thy neighbor except if the neighbor is different than you don't have to love them.
It's time that Christians remember the path that Christ blazed for us and for us to return to that path.
It's time Christians got off their high horses and learned to accept the differences of the world...to accept that we are all broken and can only be fixed by God...to accept that knowledge is understanding...to accept that our earthly duty to love all put here by God because they are also his children. Only by living as Christ lived will we truly show to others what Christianity is about...
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