god help us, everyone.
i remember the look of horror on my religion teacher's face when i said i didn't believe one had to be Catholic, or even a Christian, in order to get to heaven, and that it was a sign of extreme egoism to believe so.
i didn't take it back then, i'm not taking it back now. it just doesn't make sense to me to assume that Christianity's the only way to go and that we, on the sole basis that we are Christians, have exclusive rights to a blissful afterlife. it's like saying in a universe of probably billions of them, ours is the lone planet inhabited by living creatures.
but i'm sure we're not in the mood to talk about ET and his reese's pieces so let me get back to my point.
just because you believe in God a certain way doesn't mean that you can dismiss how others prefer to believe in Him. i actually think God chooses to manifest Himself to each one of us in the way that we would best understand and accept, be it as Allah or Yahweh or a burning bush or sometimes, not even as, well, a god. there are people who do not necessarily believe in a supreme being but whose lives seem to be an advertisement for the ten commandments and the beatitudes combined.
that being said, whatever i'm going to say next should not be taken as Christian propaganda. nor should it be considered a pro-Bush, racist statement because i abhor inequality and injustice as much as every sensible person does.
you don't believe in Jesus? fine. you don't believe in Mary and the Immaculate Conception? fine. you don't believe the pope is really the representative of God on this earth? fine. you don't trust the Catholic church because of its cruel and bigoted past? fine. so fine that i'll even apologize for all the wrongdoings my church has done throughout the course of history.
all i ask in return is that you extend others the same courtesy.
because you don't hear me saying anything about how you pray to souls of dead relatives, do you? or how i think the concept of holy wars is monumentally stupid (and because i'm fair, i'll admit that remembering the crusades brings me great shame too)? or how i don't believe in reincarnation? or how i think campaigning for christmas cards to be called holiday cards instead might be taking being PC a little bit too far?
so, please, let me not hear you griping about all the Christmas songs you hear, or about how the postal system should be condemned for putting the nativity scene in its stamps for the season, or how unfair it is that everybody's being forced to recognize a Christian holiday when nobody gets days off during other faiths' holy days, or how come there isn't a special day for those who do not practice a religion.
i don't need to hear any of it, no. not when you chose to live in a country that's predominantly Christian but still respects your need to practice your faith or lack thereof. not when i still see you being able to freely build and go to your places of worship. not when people are still being imprisoned for merely making the sign of the cross in a lot of places in this world.
i hope you think about that while you're enjoying yourself sipping on Christmas eggnog, eating Christmas cookies, enjoying Christmas break (because you refused to exchange shifts with that mother who wanted the day off so she could hear mass with her family), and opening the Christmas presents you have been gladly receiving.
i didn't take it back then, i'm not taking it back now. it just doesn't make sense to me to assume that Christianity's the only way to go and that we, on the sole basis that we are Christians, have exclusive rights to a blissful afterlife. it's like saying in a universe of probably billions of them, ours is the lone planet inhabited by living creatures.
but i'm sure we're not in the mood to talk about ET and his reese's pieces so let me get back to my point.
just because you believe in God a certain way doesn't mean that you can dismiss how others prefer to believe in Him. i actually think God chooses to manifest Himself to each one of us in the way that we would best understand and accept, be it as Allah or Yahweh or a burning bush or sometimes, not even as, well, a god. there are people who do not necessarily believe in a supreme being but whose lives seem to be an advertisement for the ten commandments and the beatitudes combined.
that being said, whatever i'm going to say next should not be taken as Christian propaganda. nor should it be considered a pro-Bush, racist statement because i abhor inequality and injustice as much as every sensible person does.
you don't believe in Jesus? fine. you don't believe in Mary and the Immaculate Conception? fine. you don't believe the pope is really the representative of God on this earth? fine. you don't trust the Catholic church because of its cruel and bigoted past? fine. so fine that i'll even apologize for all the wrongdoings my church has done throughout the course of history.
all i ask in return is that you extend others the same courtesy.
because you don't hear me saying anything about how you pray to souls of dead relatives, do you? or how i think the concept of holy wars is monumentally stupid (and because i'm fair, i'll admit that remembering the crusades brings me great shame too)? or how i don't believe in reincarnation? or how i think campaigning for christmas cards to be called holiday cards instead might be taking being PC a little bit too far?
so, please, let me not hear you griping about all the Christmas songs you hear, or about how the postal system should be condemned for putting the nativity scene in its stamps for the season, or how unfair it is that everybody's being forced to recognize a Christian holiday when nobody gets days off during other faiths' holy days, or how come there isn't a special day for those who do not practice a religion.
i don't need to hear any of it, no. not when you chose to live in a country that's predominantly Christian but still respects your need to practice your faith or lack thereof. not when i still see you being able to freely build and go to your places of worship. not when people are still being imprisoned for merely making the sign of the cross in a lot of places in this world.
i hope you think about that while you're enjoying yourself sipping on Christmas eggnog, eating Christmas cookies, enjoying Christmas break (because you refused to exchange shifts with that mother who wanted the day off so she could hear mass with her family), and opening the Christmas presents you have been gladly receiving.
