IMAGINE THERE IS NO RELIGION

Man has always and will always kill each other over differences in religion. There is no escaping that fact. No matter how hard we pray for peace or victory over those that oppose us, we will always mistrust and hate others for their beliefs.

I do not discuss differences in religion anymore, looking instead inside for the basic faith, not caring what the differences are. It makes no sense to argue the fine points when we all love and worship the same God. With the exception of Hindus and Buddhist (at least as far as I can tell), the Christian, the Jew, and the Islamist worship the same God.

Who are we to interpret God’s mind – it is impossible. Therefore, since we will not know the truth until we are in His presence, why do we insist on thinking we are the only ones with the right interpretation.

I remember as a young boy asking a playmate about him being a Catholic. He could not tell me much, not really knowing the ideals of his parent’s church. However, I knew that during the week he cussed like a sailor on shore leave, but after Saturday or Sunday Mass he seemed somewhat reserved until mid-week. Confessional seemed to bring the importance of being “Christ like” back in his demeanor for a few days.

He also called everyone he did not like a “FARMER,” which must have meant something really bad to him, but since my grandparents were “farmers” the phrase did not seem very demeaning to me.

My mother is Catholic, having married a Scot-Irish immigrant after my father died. Through this marriage I have a stepbrother who is a priest. I have learned quite a lot about their particular faith since then.

I also remember spending long evenings and early morning hours, sitting in my friend’s ’49 Chevy pickup, smoking cigarettes and discussing the finer points between the Baptist and Church of Christ faiths. He argued his church was the proper church since it was named for Christ, while mine was named for an area of our town! He also thought his was better because they did not use musical instruments in their services.

I suppose there were times when in frustration, had I been a half-bubble off, I would have wanted to smash both of those guys! However, I did not and would not. I have grown very tolerant of people and their faiths. I simply do not care about your faith – no – that is not true! I do like to hear different viewpoints, finding them very entertaining and enlightening. I just do not care that you have a different opinion. If it is the one god, then all is fine. We will find out the truth, standing side-by-side one day, and we will feel ashamed we tormented and killed each other over something so trivial.

I suppose Lennon had it right about the world being better off if there were no religions or borders, but it is a pipe dream. Only the second coming could ever make that happen, but it is nice to imagine sometimes.