Having been raised without religion for most of my life, maybe I’m not the 
one who should be writing about religious zealots. But, as a victim of both, I must speak out!I recently received an email from someone who filled out the request form on my website. This was copied from the email (personal information was omitted).”Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ revelation 20:15 says, if you are not found written in the lamb’s book of life, you will be cast into the lake of fire.Jesus is love; he loves all of us sinners, that’s why we need to repent- turn from sin, and trust in him completely.numerology,psychic readings, etc is witchcraft and wrong, repent!!!”
In my early developmental stages I tried, many times, to justify my beliefs when the topic came up. I will not do so any longer. I don’t owe anyone an explanation for my words and/or actions, nor do I feel that I should have to justify my spiritual relationship with Jesus and God. I believe that my morals and integrity speak for themselves. We each have our own pathway to follow, and freedom of religion is our right.
I will not attack anyone about his or her beliefs, therefore, I didn’t justify the sender with a retort. But, it’s apparent he hasn’t read the entire bible!
1 Corinthians 12:
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man as help to him. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another the means to distinguish the true Spirit; to another different languages; to another the interpretation of languages. 11 But all of these gifts are wrought by that one and the same Spirit, dividing to every one severally as he will. 12 For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, even though many, are one body, so also is Christ.
There are many verses in the bible that talk of healing, prophecy, trance, materialization, and many more metaphysical topics. Therefore, do you truly believe that what the bible talks about only concerned the people of those times? Many continue to do these good works to this day, and do it in the name of Jesus. They are serving God in their own way. If this were not to be so, would you then question God? For God put you here, to honor him – and I believe that God doesn’t make mistakes.
I pray that the next time someone is disrespectful of my beliefs and choices, that they instead use that time for a higher purpose. I hope they pray for tolerance, understanding, and God’s love for all – appreciating the fact that God grants us all free will. For that I am ever grateful.
Blessings ~ Lisa
Karen W says
Different from you, Lisa, I was raised with religion practically shoved down my throat – and I saw so much hypocrisy beneath the veil of “religion” that I now do not practice any particular form of religion. I do, however, have faith and belief in God.
I believe that with ignorance comes blindness. Sometimes we choose to be ignorant and blind ~ other times we are ignorant and blind because we have not yet learned ~ still other times we are ignorant and blind under the guise of “religion”. This blindness causes us to be intolerant of others.
Each religion believes itself to be THE religion and attempts to impose itself into the hearts and lives of those of other faiths and/or beliefs. Religions teach us to be of closed mind. Yet without open minds, our eyes cannot be opened and we remain blind.
We must have open minds in order to have tolerance. Without open minds and open eyes, we do not have tolerance. Is it any wonder there is so much hate and violence in this world?
Rev. Lisa Bousson says
Thank you, Karen, for your words of wisdom. It’s unfortunate that we all can’t act in a loving, accepting, and tolerant manner. But, the views of others serve to solidify our own beliefs, and help us to use those same qualities of love, acceptance, and tolerance.