Gratitude

I just watched part of a beautiful video about living for each day that you are given. Think about it. Today, I talked with my best friend, had fun plotting cruises which will never happen, drew a fairy, cursed McDonalds, smiled, and ate espresso chocolate. Life is good. Look, I want to point out something. Not everything is about God. Faith in God is important, but sometimes it's even more important to have faith in humanity because that is who we live with. We need to strive to build relationships with people from every walk of life because we all have a little piece of them within us. We need each other and that is why acceptance is one of the most important gifts we can give. Lastly, do not love because the Bible tells you to and because Jesus preached it. Love because you want to, love because it is the right thing, and love because you are a human and I am a human and we are all here on this earth. And be thankful that you have the opportunity to be here.

Watch this video from 4:45

                                                                                                                                  

Acceptance

I've been getting bad vibes from people recently. I am friends with a wide group of people, some gay, some latino, some others, and I've been noticing how unaccepting people are! I don't think there is anything wrong with being gay personally, and its absolutely ok if you don't feel comfortable with the concept, but don't treat them differently because of who they love! Same goes for latinos and others. My really good friend just told me today about an incident that happened during high school where she was trying to write a video script. Some guys were also doing the same project and they said, "Hey! Let's do ours about how all Mexicans are stupid and thieves and should be put in jail!" She said, "You know I'm Mexican right?" And the fools said, "Hey, want to be in our video?" Not ok people. Seriously. Sometimes things you say have a bigger impact than you think. And as for acceptance, well, the Bible says........................................................

Aren't Boyfriends Wonderful?

I realize that from the title, this post may seem a little diverted from my actual blog topic. However, my wonderful, wonderful boyfriend and I have had many debates over our Christian (and otherwise) views, which leads me to say that he is entirely relevant to this blog post.
Over the past couple of months, he and I have had wonderful discussions about our beliefs and both of us have had tremendous growth in the process. Recently however, we hit a wall. It seems that we know each other's opinions to such an extent that it has turned into a me trying to prove him wrong debate. This is because most of his beliefs make me want to bang my head against a wall, but that really is no excuse for me to rag on him. Sorry dear.
In any case, the point I'm trying to make is that not everyone agrees with everyone's beliefs and sometimes venting is necessary. Just think before you speak and don't put your foot in your mouth :D

HELL...Dun Dun Dun...

Every conversation I've had with people since I got here seems to come down to what happens in the afterlife. My boyfriend and I have had countless conversations about it, and the main questions are: What is sin? Can't Jesus just forgive us? Who goes to hell?

The traditional version of hell is a fiery pit of doom where people shriek in agony. Thank you Dante. What really seems to be hell is simply separation from God. Now, who goes to hell? From a Christian view, it is people who don't accept Jesus as their savior. According to my Jewish friend Itay, those who practice Judaism do not believe in hell. From a Muslim point of view, well, I really had no clue, so I googled it! (Forgive me if I'm wrong about this) I copy/pasted this from a random website.

What is the meaning of heavenly bliss, the tortures of the fire of hell? In answer to this question, the Promised Messiah (as) has illustrated the issue in the following terms: If a man is almost dying of thirst, and is otherwise healthy, cool water can provide him such deeply satisfying pleasure as cannot be derived from the ordinary experience of drinking water, or even the most delicious drink of his choice. If a man is thirsty and hungry as well, and he needs an immediate source of energy, a chilled bunch of grapes can provide him with such deep satisfaction as is not experienced by the same in ordinary circumstances. But the pre-requisite for these pleasures is good health. Now visualise a very sick man, who is nauseating and trying to vomit whatever liquid is left in him, and is at the verge of death through dehydration. Offer him a glass of cool water, or a chilled bunch of grapes, then not to mention his accepting them, a mere glance of them would create a state of revulsion and absolute abhorrence in him. In illustrations like these, the Promised Messiah (as) made it clear that hell and heaven are only issues of relativity.

I'm so glad copy/paste exists, because I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain that. 

Ok, so those are just the general concepts for each religion. There are definitely varying opinions for different people. I'm not entirely sure that I believe in hell because I figure that if Jesus loves us, then he won't let us go there. If we're talking about the fiery pit version, then I absolutely believe that doesn't exist because no one would condemn someone to that for all eternity. If punishment must occur, I'd be more inclined to believe in purgatory even though that was a medieval human (Dante?) creation. I'm not even sure that I believe in sin. Sure, people do bad things but that isn't necessarily a reason to send them down there.

From a Christian standpoint, only Christians go to heaven. Ouch, those poor, poor other faiths. So. What if someone who had never heard of Jesus in their life dies. What happens? Automatic enlightenment? Hmm...

As anyone can tell, I am a major, major skeptic of anything that makes an ultimatum that affects other people's lives. Can't everyone just go to heaven? 

Central Baptist Church

This video is a protest of a bill that would cause major problems for immigrants. Welcome to my church, a community of faith that focuses on doing justice. Through my church, I have gone to El Salvador on three separate occasions in order to build relationships with the people in our sister church there, Iglesia Bautista Shekina. Our vision is justice rooted in spirituality and I think we do a pretty good job of fulfilling that. Something that I really appreciate about CBC is that they are accepting to everyone who walks through the door, and I know that not every church can say that. We have people from different races, political parties and sexual orientations, and all are warmly welcomed. :D

Bible Problems? Faith Problems? Christian Problems?

I've recently been having a lot of problems with my faith to the point where I don't even know who I am anymore. The other day in Windows on the World, I discovered what my life verse is. It can be found in Micah 6:8 and includes the phrase, "And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." If I do this, I feel as though I am fulfilling what Jesus taught and that I really can't go wrong. I hope this helps. :D

Are Catholics Christians?

One of my best friends and I recently had an argument on whether or not Catholics are Christians. The main argument that he had was that Catholics worship the saints. This is not true. Catholics (according to something I read...I don't claim to be all-knowing) ask the saints to pray for them, just like we may ask family and friends to pray for us. Another thing is that Catholics have a Pope. Now, according to what Jesus said in the book of Luke (?) (upon this rock I shall build my church...), Peter was the first Pope. The etymology for the word "pope" means "papa" or "father". The Pope is sort of like the pastor of thousands of different churches and is also sort of the president of the Vatican.  As a Protestant, I don't really care about the Pope one way or the other, but if the guy is that important to Catholics, then let them have him.

In conclusion, even though there are probably many other points that I could address, little tiny details such as saints and the Pope are insignificant. As far as I know, if you accept Jesus as your savior, which Catholics do, then you are a Christian. Enough said.