h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am no one to attack anyone's Faith. Faith is a very personal thing.
While it is true that the words in 1 Corinthians 13 can be simple words to live by, whether Christian or not, I have found many Christians to be the most intolerant, judgemental, condemning, loveless people on earth. My experience with some Christians has been rather unsavory. At the same time, I have also known some very wonderful Christians.
When asked by the local Pastor of a "Born Again denominal church" in our small town what Faith I was, I told him I was "ALL OF THEM". (He instantly became an overt adversary to me.) He has proven to be very chauvanistic and predjudiced against women in our community. His wife publicly yells at people she believes to be "un-Godly". He unconditionally supported my ex-husband's behaviors toward me, (when my husband was actively drinking, doing drugs, and physically abusing me) by saying that if I was more of a "Good Christian wife, he wouldn't be doing those things".
That is not love at all. That is dysfunction and hatred.
It is not only him that holds attitudes like that in our community. Many people have been overtly angry at me in public, because I do not attend "the church" anymore. They have called me a failure to my face, for having "lost" my husband, and for having "done something to deserve having my children wrongly apprehended by Social Services".
Love? I think not!
Confusion? Definitely! Those people are not thinking like Christ, as they so loudly preach about doing.
I have fortunately found a wonderful man who loves me, supports me unconditionally, loves my children, sees my good and not so good attributes and still wants to be with me, respects me, listens to me without beating the crap out of me, and holds a steady job. The people at "the church" have degraded both of us for dating. Who are they to judge, and what kind of love are they exhibiting? 1 Corinthians 13? Or their own made-up judgemental kind of "love" that goes according to what and who they think are acceptable people?
WWJD?
I thank God that I do not have to rely on other people's ideas of what Faith "should" be. I have a relationship with my Higher Power that no one will ever be able to interfere with.
I would never tell anyone else not to believe what they feel is right. I would suggest to others that they keep their Faith close to their hearts and guard it carefully, rather than trying to make others believe the way they do. (Yes I understand the concept of evangelism.) That kind of respect is a big part of love.
Christ became "every man", so to speak. He lived like us, and loved all people. He was not made King on earth simply for the reason that everyone wouldn't accept another 'ruler' telling them how to live. He wouldn't have been able to really know what the ordinary man's life was like.
But, as scripture says, He lived the love He was teaching. He loved Mary Magdalene the same way He loved Paul.
I am grateful to be experiencing the love of a good man. I love him dearly, too. I thank my Higher Power for that opportunity. One that I certainly will never take for granted. And no person on earth has the right to judge whether it is right or not for us to be in love. That is up to us to decide.

Anyway, after all that rambling, I wanted to say that I find your enthusiasm and clarity very uplifting. I feel good when I see teens acting in a way that is respectful of themselves and others.
Keep up the good work!
I hope to talk to you sometime.
Karen

Thank you very much, Karen. Congratulations on finding the right man for you. I'm sorry that the people at your ex-church were so horrible. (I know that horrible falls short of what they actually were, but still... words will only go so far.) I, too, am actually on not-so-great terms with the church I grew up with. But that's another story (one I would be glad to tell in a different forum...)

Anyway, thanks for the compliment as well as the testament! You're absolutely correct: when a faith transforms into a bureaucracy, all hell proverbially breaks loose.

I'd be glad to strike up a conversation with you! You seem like a fascinating human bean! Simply "page" me at my personal space! However, be forewarned... I'm in high school and I'm holding down an almost full time job so God knows when I'll be on!

Good luck in all you do... especially in love!

-Lucrecia

Lucrecia-
I LOVE your name by the way!
For a high school student, you seem very busy as well as responsible. I wish there were more youth like you.
Unfortunately, we all know where the world is headed, and chaos is the "catch-phrase" for the times.
I guess that my rant about love might have been a little harsh. I have had many rotten experiences over the past year and a half, and I sometimes get too impatient with "people" as a whole. Hurt has a way of doing that.
Luck only plays a small part in anything a human bean does. But THANK YOU for the wishes. I believe we all need more positives repeated to us in our lives, so I accept the wishes gladly.
I hope to talk to you again soon.
Take care of yourself!
Karen