Happy New Year!

I never make resolutions. I call them lies dressed in fancy clothes. But I would like to do a lot of things better next year.

I want to: pray more, go to church more, be kinder, love more, write more, travel more, sleep more, enjoy life more, be more compassionate.

Would those be resolutions? No. I don’t promise I will do any of those things. I just want to.

This comes as I have been pondering my Christianity lately. Several people have said some things in the last few months that really irked me. No, actually, I think they offended me. They also made me realize that I am not loud enough. So add, I want to be a louder Christian. Today, I am ranting and you don't have to like it or agree! Much of this was written as the new year came in so beware. If you are not a Christian, you might want to leave now.

No, I did not tell these people they offended me. They wouldn’t believe me nor would they care. They don’t want to hear what I think or what I have to say about my beliefs. My views, as a Christian, have no merit.

That is why I have a blog!

Here’s the thing that bugs me. Have you ever noticed how non-religious people love to rant about how wrong you are and how right they are and how they know exactly what is wrong with you and the world? How, if you would just listen to them, all your problems could be solved. And all your problems are religious.

Yet, when it is your turn to respond to their claims to try to explain how and why you think and believe the way you do they don’t want to listen to your response or your opinion. Because nothing you say could possibly be important, factual, good or right. You, the religious person, don’t know yourself because religion has blinded you to the real world and therefore, you must be told how to fix your life.

You, a religious person, could not possibly have the wisdom, the insight or the intelligence of non-religious people. Nothing you think or believe could be right because you are tainted . . . with religion. You, the religious person, must keep your mouth shut and listen to the elitist intellectuals. You, the religious person are an idiot and the non-religious is the only person with divine knowledge!

Check the barnyard because it is overflowing with that stuff.

Let me see now. Intolerance. They keep saying religious people (read Christians) are intolerant. I wonder now… my thesaurus and dictionary… wait, here it is:

Dictionary: Intolerant: Unwilling to tolerate differences in opinions or beliefs, especially religious beliefs. Unable or unwilling to endure or support[1]

Thesaurus: intolerant, close-minded, mean, narrow, narrow-minded, small, small-minded, unfair.[2]

Really?

It crosses all genders, races, religions, nationalities, national and international borders and, educational levels. But wait!

Does the above described behavior sound like tolerance, the thing all non-religious people say they possess in vats?

Tolerance: 1. The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others. [3]

Not agreement with or acceptance of, but recognizing and respecting the beliefs and practices. Wouldn’t you have to listen with courtesy and allow a difference of opinion to be called tolerant?

All right, now, let me clarify something else, for me if no one else. I was told not too long ago (by an imbecile of gargantuan proportions that I only know slightly) that Christians are responsible for all the wars. I did not respond because, well, how can you respond to such an idiot? That is just so strange.
Anyone read Foxx’s Book of Martyrs? I can’t relate the butchery the book relates nor the time span it covers. But the let me give you a clue, Christians are the ones being killed.

Wasn’t it the Christians who were fed to the lions in Rome just because they WERE Christians?

Then, there were the Protestant Christians who were burned at the stake, beheaded, drawn and quartered, boiled in oil, hacked to pieces, flayed alive, generally killed in the Inquisition in Spain and France, Britain and various other countries all over the known world have had similar purges. Why? For the European continent it frequently resulted when Protestants would not comply with the Roman Catholic Church, which during those times had become a political entity run by emperors and kings of those countries.

(Note: This is NOT a reflection on the current Catholic Church, which still has even more serious problems with its clergy than with the masses. They are not the only ones, all religions have similar problems because humans inhabit the churches and the pulpits. We are all trying to get to the same place but it is not easy for some of us. Gee, would that be a tolerant response?)

Russian Christians disappeared because they were religious and worshiped something besides the communist party! They were a threat to domination by a political machine. Even the Russians knew you couldn’t battle God so they just got rid of his agents. Happens all the time.

Hitler and his cronies killed more people in captivity than anyone in history! Six million Jews (a vast number of them believe in and worship One God but some were just Jews of no religious persuasion) and half as many Christians killed in the gas chambers of the Third Reich. He said it was because they were all intellectually inferior!

And please, let’s not forget the unholy war Islam has instigated against all Christians and Jews in the 21st century in an effort to exterminate them. They say so openly! No Christian group I can recall has ever done anything remotely like that.

However, this is not the first time Islam has done this. Byzantine ruler, Leo III, stopped the Muslim advance at Constantinople around 740 B.C. In France, Charles Martel led the battle and stopped them. Yes, it took a war of global proportions. Surprise! By the way, they were seeking world domination then, too. Yes, I heard about the Crusuades and it was the same war.

There have been a few “Christian” fringe groups out there with an insane leader wanting to take over the world, or his part of it. I think Waco comes to mind, and Jonestown. Does anyone who is a Christian really believe those people were practicing Christianity? Jones was drugged out of his mind and was certifiably psychotic. He had brainwashed hundreds of unfortunate dysfunctional followers. Some of his inner circle did actually get away. They didn’t like Kool-aide and had no brain to wash but they knew when to run.

As for Waco, the Federal Government came in and put a stop to that “Christian” group. Whether or not he was insane, Uncle Sam made an assault against a self-styled “Christian” group who had not made any serious threat against anyone outside the group. Still Uncle Sam had a duty to tell them what they believed and how they should behave because, well, a Christian group of any ilk couldn't actually know.

It was true that they had re-written the Book and set up their on version of Christianity. It didn’t match much of anything in THE BOOK. Of course, it wasn’t about that, because Uncle Sam was telling them that they were not thinking what they were thinking. They were thinking something else, and Uncle Sam knew what it was and it was wrong!

But the non-religious won’t let you say any of that, because they can read minds. They know what you are thinking. You aren’t thinking what you think you are thinking. You are thinking something else, and they know what it is and it is WRONG!

They have the answer to all of life’s problems. Since mostly un-Godly people have been in charge for most of civilized time, I’d say they have not gotten their message out very well. Of course, if you try to say differently, they will resort to belligerence or out-right violence. It's ok when non-religious people resort to violence. Because they have a good reason.

Give me a break.

Oh yes, I did not say non-Christian, I said un-Godly. You can call yourself a Christian and have absolutely NO Christ-like behavior or ideals whatsoever. I could name a roster full but that would just bore us all.

Now, I don't care if you agree or not. Your opinion has no bearing on my views and as such can have no valid point and so would be a waste of time for you to share it. I know exactly what you are thinking and you are wrong. No response is necessary.

You see, I am practicing my intolerance level. And I feel pretty good about it.

Seriously, have a Happy New Year!

Source for Definations:

[1]Excerpted from American Heritage Talking Dictionary. Copyright © 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
[2]Excerpted from American Heritage Talking Dictionary. Copyright © 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
[3]Excerpted from American Heritage Talking Dictionary. Copyright © 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.