Freedom of Religion

We were all taught in school that our forefathers left England to escape religious dictatorships. Okay, there was a lot more to it then that, but it was a big enough deal that they made sure it got honorable mention in our rulebook. They clearly made the point that we were to have freedom of religion here in America. They also used the word "God" in some of their formal paperwork and even on our money. I dont want to argue politics here, but rather semantics. They didnt say "freedom of Christianity," they said "freedom of religion." The boys who wrote up all of our formal paperwork were wordsmiths and they debated long and hard to find the perfect set of words to govern ourselves by. It wasnt decided that we had the freedom to choose whichever form of Christianity that we liked, but whichever form of religion. Religion is in and of itself a much broader concept then Christianity. "God" can mean a lot more then just the Christian definition too.

No, I dont agree with all the bickering and arguing over whether or not there should be prayers in school or if the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional. You cant stop someone from praying whenever or wherever they choose. Nor can you force a prayer out of someone either. Its a dumb thing to argue about and not worth being offended over either way. I think its important to teach out children what our countrys Pledge of Allegiance is, but I dont know that its right to force anyone to state a pledge, especially children. Seems a bit dictator like and kind of like brainwashing. Teach them what it means. Teach them what prayer means. Teach them what making a pledge of any kind means whether its a pledge of ones allegiance to their countrys flag, a pledge of fidelity to a spouse, or a pledge of loyalty to a boss. But also teach them that in this country we have the freedom to make pledges or not. Teach them that in this country we have the freedom to pray to whoever or whatever we like and the freedom not to pray. Teach them just how important that freedom is.

Im saddened when I hear of Pagans being persecuted for their spiritual beliefs in this country. Did the Sunday school teachers forget to mention that using the colors green and red for Christmas is Pagan Did they mention that Christmas lights, yule logs, and wreaths are all Pagan Did they mention that almost every single Christian holiday is celebrated ironically on top of a Pagan festival Why do you think we have bunnies, baby chicks, and pretty flowers as part of our Easter celebration Because it coincides with the Pagans celebrations of Springs renewal. From what I can see, Pagans arent all evil ugly witches anymore than all Christians are white supremacists.

I dont have a deep knowledge of all of the different religions of the world, but I can tell you that it doesnt take much research to see that theyre all very much the same. Get past which church uses which secret handshake and which rule book you should follow, and you find that theyre all teaching us to respect each other, to love each other, to conduct yourself with honor, and to be good to the planet and animals that were blessed with. The rest is all dogma and debatable. Nobody has any real concrete proof that their particular form of God is the only one. Whos to say that God or Jesus isnt wise enough to visit more than once using different names and different forms Wouldnt it make sense given the size of the planet that the rest of the world would need to be given a fair chance at knowing about God too Is Buddha so very different from Jesus Their teachings are incredibly similar. Why limit God to a concept that only fits what your particular culture or region of the world knows about

Another thing that always puzzled me is why prophets and seers are allowed to channel holy books and tell of the Messiahs coming, but then were told by the churches that being psychic is demonic It seems a bit contradictory to me. Every psychic Ive ever met lost power over their visions if they werent acting in the highest good. Most of the psychics Ive met believe very deeply in a form of God or some sort of a higher magical loving guidance over us. Theyre visions into the other side created that belief. Theres nothing quite like chatting with the All-Mighty to make a believer out of you. Isnt prayer in and of itself a form of telepathic psychic connection with the other side

It just seems to me that if we quit arguing over what words, labels, and names we give these concepts and quit arguing over methods of prayer and such that wed see that were all so much more alike then we are different. Ive known three different Catholic men who fell in love with the Buddhist faith because it so beautifully highlights the teachings of Christ. I really believe that is what were meant to do. All of the holy books tell us to love one another. You cant truly love someone if you dont take the time to really get to know them and what they stand for. Shouldnt we learn about each other from a place of love rather than from a place of judgement Nobody can prove that anyone elses religion is wrong and nobody can prove that theirs is right. Too many translators over the course of history to be able to be 100% sure about anything any more. We cant really assume that the others are completely wrong and we cant assume that our own religion is completely right. Religion and God is so much more than we can fully understand at this time.

Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrows Edge