Raised Confused

To me, as whatever I am — I was raised by a fundamentalist Pentacostal mother and an agnostic father, so if asked what faith I was raised in, I just say “confused” — COEXIST is exactly what I believe in.

To me, if you believe in a higher power, whom I call God, if you strive to follow his tenets (or doctrines, although to me, that has a negative tone), if you believe in and try to act as Christ did (or Buddha or Mohammad or whomever), if you discard the stuff that man put into HIS words (women are to submit and not lead in the church for our bible, and kill the infidels if they don’t convert in the Koran), all of whom say, at their basic level — love one another and spread the good news by your actions and love, then who am I to say that your faith is wrong?

It is my basic problem with fundamentalists in both Christianity and Muslim faith. Why is it all or nothing? Even Christ said to follow the prophets’ teachings, even when he said to follow him, that he was the truth and the light.

Sometimes I feel cursed by my upbringing. Sometimes I wish I could just blindly follow the protestant faith, but I get hung up on that this is the only way to go, and that all others are doomed to the alternative to heaven.

My God is an awesome, loving God. That I know. I believe that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior, he is the son of God, and that he was crucified for my sins, and raised from the dead. I try mightily to follow his teachings, to do what Jesus would do. This I know in my heart to be the truth and the light, the path I am to follow.

But do I disagree with some of the Buddhist tenets? No, in fact, I find the Dalai Lama to be a wise man, and although I disagree with his pacifist view, I find his teachings to be enlightened… but I am not a Buddhist.

I know a lot of Muslims who do not believe that I’m an infidel and that I need to be beheaded. I have had interesting (although at times tense) conversations with them about world affairs. Once they realize I’m not going to turn them in as a Muslim radical or try to convert them to Christianity, we have very interesting conversations about our faith… but I’m not interested in converting to Islam.

I also have friends who are Hindu, and we have interesting discussions, too, although I get confused about all the different gods, customs, and tenets they have. But then again, I get confused with all the saints and customs of the Catholic, too — especially when they start talking about the stations of the rosary… wha?!?

The only ones I have disagreements with are atheists, but maybe it's because the ones I've met seem so angry that others have faith. But maybe that is only the people I know, maybe others are okay with OPF (other people's faith - LOL). In my darkest times, when I thought God had abandoned me, I flirted with atheism, but luckily, I was covered by God's grace, and came to understand that while I was searching in the wilderness, he was there, watching my back. He never left me, I just was looking in the wrong places.

But I digress… look, if Billy Graham met with the leaders of the world’s religions, then I think we should. If Jesus Christ, at a tender age, went among the Jewish rabbis to discuss the Bible, and he diverted from that to build Christianity, then why should we dismiss others’ prophets and beliefs that diverted from ours (specifically Islam, which diverted AT ABRAHAM!!!)?

But do I believe all these people, these friends, are going to hell if they do not convert to Christianity? No, I do not. This is where I divert and everyone wants to label me as a Universalist or Humanist… but I’m not that either.

What I believe is that my God, who I worship and adore, in his grace, looks at people of faith in this fashion: do you believe in me, no matter what my name is? Do you live your life as I have taught you, no matter what name you give my son(s)? Does your love shine through to people you meet everyday? Do you do the good works I tell you to do?

Then I love you, no matter what your religion is, and I have a place for you in my kingdom.

So, yes, I want the COEXIST sticker on my bumper (actually, I hate bumper stickers, but I keep searching for the COEXIST cling for my window... sorry, digressing again). I love them all, I will do my good works to whomever without whether they belong to my faith or not, and I hope, by God’s love shining through me, that they become interested in my faith. But if not, then it is in God’s hands — not mine. Coexist. I will not wreck a crusade upon you to convert you to my faith. I will not harm you or your family by disparaging YOUR faith to convert you forcefully to MY faith.

Coexist, and may God bless you and keep you.