Faith

As public policy I believe it’s wrong to discriminate against a person based on race, religion, sexual orientation etc yet as a person of faith I must accept that not all behaviors are equal, or even acceptable in the eyes of G-D/Hash-m.  I am a person who has sinned and continues to sin seeking to come closer to G-D’s vision for me every day but falling short. So who am I to cast the first stone? I am unwilling to lift up that stone but will defend my faith from those who are attacking it.
I am just a man who continues to read and understand G-D’s words as spoken through the holy book Bible/Torah and tries his best to follow those teachings and help my friends who seek guidance. I believe it’s not enough to share G-D’s words in my heart but to share them with friends and family who are open to listening to them.  I ask those that might disagree with those teachings to respect my faith as I respect their faith.

It appears that life goes in different flows. When things are going right you feel like nothing can stop you until the water turns cold and everything seems frozen in your path. I believe it’s important that when the flow is going in the right direction you stop and think who is creating that flow and thank them including of course the flow maker. It also is important to try to try to bring others into this positive force. Yet when things turn cold it’s important to recognize how things were moving in the right direction and how you might have cut off the hose. Could it be an attitude of arrogance that was ebbing through, did you forget those who helped in your success, or could it be that you didn’t take a moment to get on your knees and thank G-D the creator and true engineer? Life turns hot and cold and sometimes it appears when the cold is occurring that no jacket will keep you warm but with a positive attitude and prayers to above you can start a new flow that could be even brighter then the last one.

Many of my “secular friends” will claim that it’s nothing more then faith but the truth is it’s reality.  To believe that we randomly here today takes more faith then that of the most observant Jew or Christian have.  Think about this for you to be where you are means that your parents had to meet at that exact spot and that their parents had to do so the same all the way back to Adam and Eve. If for some reason our great, great, great grandmother decided she wasn’t in the mood at the moment well you might be Irene instead of Steve.  It’s amazing that everyday we are dependent on this invisible substance to keep us alive if for some reason that substance changes just a bit all of live as a whole would stop.  Therefore you can have faith that everything is here by chance  or you can have faith that Hash-m/G-D had a purpose for what is here. Either way it takes faith.  I choose to believe that G-D has brought us here and has a special role for us as long as we are willing to open our hearts, minds and souls to that path.  Faith is reality it’s a choice of which path you want to take.

When one group ignores the celebration of another group it creates resentment and suspicion. I understand that there are strong differences between various people based on our cultural and religious views but I also belief that we can celebrate the “common parts” of a holiday without feeling that we have converted to another’s faith.  We also can understand each other better when we fully understand the beauty of their special occasions.  Here are a few ways we can all enjoy each others holidays.

(1) Christmas- My Christian brothers celebrate the birth of Jesus as the Messiah yet we who aren’t Christian see it a bit different. I believe though we  all can celebrate the birth of a child. A child who’s life has brought much hope and happiness to billions.

(2) Passover- We belief that G-D truly freed our people from bondage in Egypt. Yet those of various faith can join in the happiness that a people are set free to practice their faith the way they deem correct

(3) New Years Eve- Many traditional people of the Jewish faith may not observe this holiday because our “New Year” is celebrated during  Rosh Hashanah season. I believe though that  we can all  still celebrate another day of living whether it’s the official day or not.  It’s great that we got here and G-D willing are healthy and happy for another day.

(4) Ramadan- Is a month where individuals from the Muslim faith will fast from morning to evening to show their commitment to the faith.  We who aren’t affiliated with the faith may not understand the sacrifice but should respect it and not eat in front of those observing. We should also join in the celebration of Eid al-Fitr where our friends end their fast.

Today there are many people who do almost anything to avoid the discussion of faith or even those that show public gratitude to G-D. Why is this occurring?  Where does this begin and how can it end? I believe a few F words( that you can speak in front of your children) will help to explain what is occurring.

FUN: They fear that those who have faith live without the fun of the secular community. I can’t speak for all faith communities but know that my community truly knows how to party without bringing home someone else’s  wife.  In other words we have great fun times without the consequences many in the secular community would have.

FORBID: Many fear that if you join a faith community you will be forbidden to do many activities you currently enjoy (ex bacon). I understand that fear  but sometimes when you give up something voluntary you find something better to replace it (turkey bacon). You also can replace time spent running around with time spent being with your loved ones.

FEAR:  It can be intimidating to see those who observe those who traditional observe faith. They appear so strange and out of the “ordinary”.  Yet just because they follow that tract doesn’t mean if you have faith that you must follow that tract to the key. There are major factors of every faith and most don’t deal with clothes or music but the values and principals that keep a community together.