Wow, I seem to have inadvertently stirred up a bit of a hornets nest this past few days. Through out my blog I have often referred to my faith and how it has helped me so much. I have written of worshiping and loving God. Of having Jesus Christ, our Saviour in my heart and of knowing he is at my side, always ready and willing to help me through any challenges. I also believe He is preparing my place in Heaven for when I arrive. I am comfortable with and firm in my personal beliefs, but I am always open to consider the thoughts of others. When presented with a different point of view, I will consider it, give it thought and then decide if it is right for me.
I have to question the faith of many. Those that I can only presume are insecure in the strength of their own faith. Those that will not even consider a point of view that may differ in any way from their own. Afraid to read any book or even watch certain movies, afraid their opinion may be swayed even by hearing a different thought. If hearing or reading a different thought can sway your faith, it couldn’t have been very strong to begin with.
There is no doubt in my mind the Bible is the greatest book ever written. I see the overall message of the Bible to be one of love, forgiveness, sharing….. all things wonderful. Here again I have to question some Christians who seem to feel they have the ability to pick and choose individual passages to justify their own beliefs. I am sure if I sat down and really tried I could get the Bible to deliver any message I wanted, by picking one line here and one line there. Yes, each individual verse is important in its own right, but should be seen within the context of the entire message. I wonder why if every single verse of the Bible is to be taken literally, that I seen no one with “plucked out eyes”. But each is entitled to his own opinion and I respect that.
Quite frankly, I did not set this blog up as a Christian site, I am a Christian and as such share my beliefs. I am not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking. I am stating my thoughts, my opinions and what comforts me on this my final earthly voyage. My blog is titled Dying Man’s Daily Journal for a reason. I have been told I am dying. Many times I have stated I am not a member of the clergy, a doctor or anyone with any kind of training to deal with these issues, I can only relate my personal feelings and experiences on the last journey. My hope is that by sharing my journey it may give others a better understanding of how to deal with death and dying, be it that of a loved one or even their own, based on my experience. In sharing my experiences on this journey, my faith often comes up as it is important to me. Christian are not the only ones that die. Dying is not exclusively Christians and I would welcome comments and thoughts from everyone irregardless of beliefs or faith. I share my personal thoughts, BUT I am not prepared to debate, argue or defend my beliefs to anyone. If you agree with what I say good, if you disagree that is fine also.
Every moment of this life is precious, to precious to waste. I am not going to waste even one of them by getting upset if anyone at anytime should disagree with anything I say. I encourage all others to do the same
I do appreciate ALL comments I receive as I know, at the heart of the message is a genuine caring for my well being. I am thankful and grateful for that. Everyone has their own opinion and is welcome to share that if they chose. Personal opinions are exactly that personal. In every part of life we encounter many who’s opinions will differ from our own. This is with everything in life from, which is the best make and model of car to buy even to what is the “right” way to be a good Christian. I respect everyones opinion as being their opinion, I don’t always have to agree with it, but they are entitled to it.
There is a saying separate “the deed from the doer”. I wonder if some how that could be translated over to separate the beliefs from the believer or the thoughts from the thinker. That sounds confusing so what do I mean by it. Lets look at someone from one of the other great Faiths. OK, I don’t agree with their opinion or beliefs, but who am I to say they are wrong in choosing what they feel is best for them. Should I respect or value them less as people because they have chosen a different path than I have? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I have chosen my path to Heaven through the teachings of Jesus Christ, in my opinion and based on my beliefs that is the right path for me. I believe and worship a loving God that wants nothing but the best for his children, being every person on this earth. In this life we are all on a journey, with the destination being Heaven. I have chosen my path, can I ever be sure it is the only path.
Can I be sure it is the only path, now I know that will set some to howling. But, I wonder, consider a small child being raised in a family of a different faith. Pick any faith it doesn’t really matter. Here you have a child that has had no exposure to Christianity. I can’t see my loving Heavenly Father ever rejecting such a child. In fact when I get to Heaven I would not be at all surprised to see good people from all the Faiths.
Dying mans daily journal 
I don’t remember the exact quote, but it is one that tends to float around via e-mail periodically so you’ve probably seen it before. I will paraphrase… No one will remember exactly what you said and no one will remember exactly what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel. I feel good and uplifted when I read your blog. It makes me sad when someone quotes the bible in a way that makes someone else sad, angry or afraid. I am sure that this is not what God or Christ intended. Good for you (and yours) for taking the high road.
Bravo Karrie.
great post Bill and very well put. Me feels the same as Karrie in this..
Hope you are both well at the mo? Strength and Love Bill! 🙂
Well, if you’re soliciting opinions….LOL…..I have a bazillion of those.
But I’m still a believer in that greatness of a loving G-d, no matter which way you turn it.
I won’t buy that He’s up there saying ‘do THIS, believe THIS, act like THIS…. or I won’t love ya’.
And I won’t endorse that.
I lived in that, set myself apart from Him, had multiple awakenings and came to believe.
I know what it took for me to get ‘here’.
And I know that whatever it takes to bring people to where they’re ‘suppose’ to be–is what it takes.
That ‘opinion’ wasn’t offensive to me.
LOL And I’m Jewish by birth.
It wasn’t the messenger.
I’m not even certain it was the message.
I was sad for the feeling of ‘violation’ that came with, what read like, an indictment.
I also realize it was, in part, my unrealistic expectation that set me up to feel as I felt/think as I thought.
‘Here’ has been such a special, peace filled place–a place where people could lay themselves open and learn through love…..and somewhere in there, I convinced myself that no human being would dare violate the peacefilled place.
I don’t believe that to be the intent of the messenger…but I’m also clear that regardless of my intention, I DO have a part in how other’s are affected. I’m still responsible.
And G-d knows I can become ineffective in carrying the message when it becomes muddled with the garbledy goop that my enthusiasm can create.
Like this message is becoming garbled. LOL
It wasn’t the ‘religious debate’ for me, Bill.
I can hear the message anywhere, anytime, from all sorts of messengers.
Dunno if that’s what sparked it for some–but for me, it wasn’t about that.
It felt shaming.
But feelings aren’t fact, eh?
And I’m glad for those He puts in my path who remind me that the relationship between me and Him is ultimately between me and Him.
Now THAT’S cool!!
Cuz after all He IS G-d, eh?
*sending warm thoughts all the way around*
Leave it to you to be causing trouble 🙂 Im still waiting for you to email me back 😦 Faith is an issue like politics it tends to make people uncomfortable. I just say we may not all be religous but we all have faith. Faith is the belief in the element of the unseen. Cut and dry, no middle words and windows inbetween 🙂 take care and have a great weekend.
A very well written post! I enjoy learning about people’s faith and spirituality.
Always thinking of you.
A great post, I’ve been reading a book about what moderate Muslims think of the Taliban so I’m right with you about different paths. Three of the world’s major religions worship the same god, after all.
And… I would add that christianity is a FAITH and I reckon you can’t have a faith, unless you have doubts.
When I was at university a lot of people, on discovering I was an Anglican, tried to convert me to their idea of what a Christian should be and how a Christian should worship. The trouble is, I like my way! Their church elders usually instructed them to shun me in the end.
To me, a Christian who can’t accept a different approach to God isn’t a member of a church, they’re a member of a cult.
I think you might like this quote. Thank you Modestmoe.
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” – Galileo Galilei