I have been told that, "If you don't change your ways, you're going to hell." Comments like that never affected me as a young man, I was certain I was immortal. I preferred the one preacher who told me, "son, you are on a highway to Hell. But, I lay odds you will be the first selling lemonade there." I was thinking the beer tent was more my style.
Some religious leaders are quick to condemn you, if your beliefs are different. This has lead to more strife and death than any other reason in history. Even today, people hurt each other in the name of religion. The major religions seem to be the worst offenders. Christians, Muslims, and Jews are all locked together in a cycle filled with hate and distrust. Sure there are historic reasons that support the fear and distrust. The Crusades and The Spanish Inquisition are things that are ingrained in the psyche of the people.
I do not claim to be a follower of any of these faiths. I have read the holy books of each. It is interesting that they all worship the same God. Many of their ideas and beliefs are intermingled. All three paths begin at the same doorstep. Slowly the paths diverge and twist along separate routes, only to return to the same home in the end. It is like three young men going out to make their fortunes in life. One chooses the life of a soldier, the other a career as a lawyer, and the third becomes teacher. All have different lives, but eventually return home in the end.
I know this is an over simplification of religion. But, I believe in the KISS method. That stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid." We have complicated so much in life. Why should we make things more difficult? There is no need for me to hate a man because he seeks a different path to enlightenment than I do. I prefer to hate that person because they are a jerk, or just plain mean. That is why I cant understand the hatred of someone I never met. To me, it is the same as hating Billy Bob because he wore a red shirt when the rest of us wore a blue one. "How dare he be different?"
My military career has taken me all around the world. I have worked with people of all these different beliefs. They have stood across the field from me at other times. Despite this, I never hated one of them because of how he believed in God. So what if he worshipped a tree and I whispered to the wind, it doesnt change the type of people we are on the inside.
Some religious leaders are quick to condemn you, if your beliefs are different. This has lead to more strife and death than any other reason in history. Even today, people hurt each other in the name of religion. The major religions seem to be the worst offenders. Christians, Muslims, and Jews are all locked together in a cycle filled with hate and distrust. Sure there are historic reasons that support the fear and distrust. The Crusades and The Spanish Inquisition are things that are ingrained in the psyche of the people.
I do not claim to be a follower of any of these faiths. I have read the holy books of each. It is interesting that they all worship the same God. Many of their ideas and beliefs are intermingled. All three paths begin at the same doorstep. Slowly the paths diverge and twist along separate routes, only to return to the same home in the end. It is like three young men going out to make their fortunes in life. One chooses the life of a soldier, the other a career as a lawyer, and the third becomes teacher. All have different lives, but eventually return home in the end.
I know this is an over simplification of religion. But, I believe in the KISS method. That stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid." We have complicated so much in life. Why should we make things more difficult? There is no need for me to hate a man because he seeks a different path to enlightenment than I do. I prefer to hate that person because they are a jerk, or just plain mean. That is why I cant understand the hatred of someone I never met. To me, it is the same as hating Billy Bob because he wore a red shirt when the rest of us wore a blue one. "How dare he be different?"
My military career has taken me all around the world. I have worked with people of all these different beliefs. They have stood across the field from me at other times. Despite this, I never hated one of them because of how he believed in God. So what if he worshipped a tree and I whispered to the wind, it doesnt change the type of people we are on the inside.
I wonder what God thinks sitting there watching this mess. Does he weep at the idiocy of it all, brother destroying brother in his name? Maybe he laughs because we have jacked it all up. We have twisted things so badly that none of us have a chance at going to heaven. If that is the case, remember me. Ill be the bald guy trying to set up a beer tent. Someone else bring the ice.
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