Religious Intolerance

There is not doubt that we live in a very complicated world.   It is a world in which ideals, and points of view are constantly shared among each other.  Social media provides a continual forum for endless discussions about politics, sports, religion etc.

It is very concerning to see radical positions and conflicts between us – Christians. Sometimes, We become so radical about our opinion regarding a specific passage but forget that we all believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Think about this, we, all agree in the most difficult thing to believe – coming back to life after being dead for three days.

In a previous blog I discussed the atheist agenda. By the way, their strategy is very efficient. They present us as intellectually inferior compared to the non-believer. So while the atheist have a unified front, we, the Christians, are fragmented.

Since, the release of my book, I have had the opportunity to visit different denominations. I must say that I have enjoyed and appreciated the different dynamics and approaches to worship. It has been a unique experience. One thing is for sure, I have felt very comfortable in the different churches I have visited. 

The fact that I have felt so comfortable in each church I visit, made me think deeply about this again. I asked myself why is it that I can feel comfortable when I visit other churches. The answer that came to my mind was this: we believe in the resurrection.

While I was preparing for this blog a Biblical passage came to my mind, a passage that I remember from my childhood. I still remember the sermon based on this segment:

"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." 39 "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us." - Mark 9: 38-40

I have always been curious about the identity of that man.  The stranger was doing miracles in the name of Jesus and that is powerful! One thing is clear in this passage; he was not part of the group.  In this passage, it is important to notice that the disciples were showing signs of intolerance against the stranger that was driving out demons. Actually, I can even imagine them saying, "Who does he think he is?"

I would like to conclude saying; we should be as tolerant as Jesus and remember that: “whoever is not against us is for us”