Tag: forbidden fruit

There’ve been heated debates lately on our small rural Georgia county’s discussion page. People are bashing others who went to support the monks in their march through Georgia for peace. Some said there were maybe 6 or 8 monks and a dog on this trek. I saw the places advertised about where they were going to be and when, but I was busy and did not go. I cannot agree with anyone who would bash a monk or anyone who supports anyone else who adheres to a belief system that is their own or different from their own; that’s our fundamental freedom – to choose our religion and to make our choices.

Now if monks were tearing down towns and setting fire in the streets, rioting and smashing windows and shooting people or blowing up buildings, then that might be a different story. But I have never known a monk to misbehave or cause harm to others. For me? I choose the Bible. I believe it is the only way to Heaven. I will still break bread at a table with others who believe differently from me and celebrate that we are human beings here on this earth for a very short time to experience life. That’s enough. It’s not my calling to spit on my brothers who believe differently – – Jesus didn’t do that. He said to love them.

I’ll go a step further: I’ll love their dog, too. And if I had been there, I would have cheered them on for their fortitude. Whether I believe what they believe in or not, I believe in those who protest peacefully and find ways of making statements that do not harm others. Our country was founded on religious freedom, and we are on a slippery slope when we take aim at the religious beliefs of others. Christianity itself has its own denominations, and we respectfully agree to disagree on scriptural interpretation by attending different churches. In my day, the Methodists and the Baptists would get together for an evening game of softball and shake hands at the end of the game. We didn’t throw down over whether Baptism should be sprinkling or dunking. It just didn’t happen.

And it shouldn’t today. I believe in my maker, knowing the freedom is mine. I’m grateful to live in a country that still gives us all the freedom to do that, and I hope I never forget to consider what could happen if that freedom changes. I reflect on my father’s words today: be confident enough in your God that you are not threatened by anyone else’s.

what gives?!?