I am not one to throw my religious beliefs on others. In fact, I am highly personal about my beliefs. I am a Methodist. Methodists are rather stodgy, reserved, and quiet. You will not see them shouting hallelujahs at the minister or dancing in the aisles. It's hard enough to get them to clap after a rousing gospel from the choir, or to shake hands with someone seated next to them in the pew.
No. We are not the type of Christian who pushes their beliefs down your throat, although I know our leaders would like us to be more outgoing about inviting people to church.
One thing I really like about being a Methodist is, they don't judge. They allow you to have your view. They don't condemn anything. In fact, it's been brought up in bible study that perhaps all religions have one God, and when the day comes, we will all be part of God's new world. I have to admit, though, that's not my belief, but I could be wrong.
Methodists are also tolerant. They don't denounce people because of their downfalls. In fact, our minister's daughter had a child out of wedlock. Our minister handled it with grace and wisdom, much like Gov. Palin. The congregation didn't throw them out into the street. We all have our crosses to bear, right? And, our previous minister admitted to having an affair, and was accepted by the church anyway. Like it says in the bible, judge not lest ye be judged. And, love thy neighbor as you love yourself. If only all Christians would follow Christ's words, his instructions to us.
But, that's not why I'm writing tonight. I'm writing because there's a disturbing trend in this country to write off people with Christian beliefs. More and more the media treats Christians as crazy loons, as clowns. Since Gov. Palin has come to the forefront, we have seen some nasty things said about her relating to her beliefs. The funny thing is, these people don't know what she believes, they just assume.
Matt Damon, whom I will now forever boycott, said, "I need to know if she really thinks dinosaurs were here 4000 years ago, that's an important...I want to know that. I really do. Because she's going to have the nuclear codes. I want to know if she thinks dinosaurs were here 4000 years ago. Or if she banned books or tried to ban books. We can't have that."
And, then there is ABC's Charles Gibson's interview with Palin as he misquotes and misinterprets her as she speaks to fellow members of her old church.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5782924&page=1
The current hatred towards Christians is scary, and also irritating. This country was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs. It is the moral compass with which we have led this great nation. And, now, it is become something to mock and denounce.
Funny, I would never think to denounce Shirley McClain, or Oprah Winfrey, or Tom Cruise, or Madonna, or the other myriad "stars" for their beliefs. Or, to spew hatred for their preferred candidate into their ear. There are an estimated 224 million Christians in the United States. I wonder how many are offended as me at the media's disrepect for our right to our religious beliefs.
I hope they will show it at the polls...
I
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