Judge and Be Judged

A few things stuck me as I thought about the arguments that are floating about this political season that have to do with social issues, especially those which are promulgated by the religious right. The same sex marriage issue is hot. Birth control has gotten into the discussion. Not so surprisingly even the size of the family has been injected not so blatantly rather insidiously.   And of course abortion has raised it's ugly head. The feeding and caring for the poor came up for some discussion when the Catholic Bishops pointed out that Paul Ryan's budget was harsh on the poor and vulnerable in our society. But that discussion was short lived. I wonder why? This is not a posting which wants to discuss the merits of the arguments rather it is a posting that wants to point out that many of the religious right that is against many of these things quote the Bible which clearly lists many of these things as "sin" and it follows that those who follow such practices are doomed to hell. Thinking about this got me to ponder the fact that many of the people I know, including me are doomed to hell if we believe these naysayers.

Who among us don't know gay people? They may be members of our very own family. You mean they are condemned to hell? This isn't the God I have grown to know. How many people do we know who are divorced and remarry? Roman Catholics might have to look upon their brethren as doomed to hell for eternity unless they change everything that may be good about their lives at this moment. Who doesn't know someone who is practicing birth control within or without the bonds of marriage? Well unless they don't change their ways they too are doomed to hell. No matter how you slice it, looking at the past, looking at the present and what we know the future is going to bring there seem to be many more don'ts than dos. This means that the Religious Right can quote, "Many are called but few are chosen.", and seem to be right. They can live with the fact that many more are doomed to hell than those who are destined for glory. And they seem smugly OK with that.

The God I know, and many may argue both on the right and the left that my God does not exist, is a God who does not create to put his creation in a losing position. He does not create to cause confusion and blurry ideas that can only be explained by a few who the masses follow. He does not create to fail. The God I know, and like I said previously, some on the right and left may say does not exist, loves His creation so much He will find a way to make sure his creation is a success. He will make sure that instead of most going to hell they will go to heaven. I don't quote scripture to prove points anymore because one can find conflicting thoughts throughout scripture of many religions And knowledge of the scriptures doesn't necessarily mean the one quoting is  inspired by God for it is said by theologians that no one knows the scriptures better than the Devil.

So rather than put my trust in those men who are always telling us what God wants for us I shall look for guidance from those that seem to speak with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I shall chew on it, pray over it and then accept or reject it depending on where the Spirit leads me. But I refuse to accept anyone who says the ones I love are destined for hell just because they have different ideas or life styles those who wear robes say they must have. And most of all I will not judge anyone but myself and I will try and be lenient in my judgement.