God don’t like ugly
They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up. Pastor Martin Niemoller
No one can point to when the detour happened for it was gradual but steady. Before we knew it, Common Sense was no longer at the wheel and we had been steered to a dim lit place where conversations have been replaced with arguments. We stopped learning about each other and helping each other. Our empathy and kindness are reserved for those who look like us, sound like us and worship the same God as we do.
Religion which is supposed to unify the multitudes, has become the destructive force used to crucify Christians, burn Jews, kill Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and everything in between. This is a sad evolution of a world that is supposed to have the most intelligent of all living things. We have advanced but not grown. We may have developed but we are not evolved. We can create cutting edge technology which produces Global Positioning System (GPS), yet we cannot find the heart to respect each other. There has to be a new call for we who walk with faith to challenge ourselves to learn about another person's faith. Correction. There HAS to be a new call for we who walk with faith to reject the adulterated, diluted, politically motivated version of our faith and read the Truth in the teachings. It is when we do this that we teach others about the Truth of what we believe in.
In a recent conversation with 3 muslim friends, I exposed my ignorance about Islam but i was rewarded with an invaluable education about the true teachings of their scriptures. I learnt so much that I vowed to stop being informed by apathy, pundits and zealots; for first they burn flags, then they burn scrolls, then we burn candles in memory of yet another genocide.
"There HAS to be a new call for we who walk with faith to reject the adulterated, diluted, politically motivated version of our faith and read the Truth in the teachings. It is when we do this that we teach others about the Truth of what we believe in."
i LOVE this amma, and it couldnt be more true…especially in these times….for so long, people of all faiths have been led like blind sheep, without a real understanding of their faith but going about based on others' interpretation of what faith and religion is and should be…if we really understood and knew what it meant on a personal level, we would be much more tolerant and respectufl of others!
Oni, Thank you for sharing. The word ’sheep’ that you used is very appropriate because we are always looking for ’sheperds’ show us the way. We have to take the initiative and read ourselves. When we come across difficult portions of our faith, we should seek answers from varied sources.
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I won't comment much because this is still a very touchy topic for me. The level of hatred that so many so-called religious leaders show towards anyone who isn't in their congregation has left me dissapointed with organized religion.
David unfortunately the loud and ignorant get more attention. But the truth of LOVE resonates in the core of all spiritual beliefs