Judging Others

Posted on 04 August, 2010 | No Comments

I have been an avid church-goer my whole life… I was baptized Catholic, and in spite of  being brought up in a non-spiritual household, I remember going to church every Sunday from the time I was a wee girl.

I recall having lemonade stands on Saturdays so I would have money for my tithe every Sunday – and the rest of my family just accepted that I was different.

Later on, I had questions about God and Jesus, and I couldn’t get the answers I sought from my priest, so I began to search elsewhere. I was amazed by the differences in other religions, and even more surprised by their similarities.

I love to learn… and I was enthusiastic about God and wanted to know it all. I spent years in all different types of churches – Catholic, Protestant,  Anglican, Baptist, Apostolic… I even worked for two summers at an orthodox Jewish camp for kids and learned many of their religious customs.

When I was a young lady, I met and married a Lebanese man – he was a Muslim. I again dived into the learning, and absorbed many fascinating things about Islam.

As fate would have it, our marriage didn’t last (no, it was NOT religion that caused the end of this relationship) but I came away with a deep respect and understanding of this and many other faiths.

As is usually the case, in times of despair we turn to our church, our comfort. And when I returned to my home I did exactly that.

I was completely ASTONISHED when people I considered family distanced themselves and censored me, judged me, because I had married a non-Christian. (I never changed my own personal beliefs – I simply think that knowledge, not ignorance of others, is what will one day bring peace in the world.)

The church I belonged to (or always felt I did) is non-denominational… and the “family” there insisted that the only way to keep faith strong was to stay away from others who don’t walk the same path. To them, you must not “live in the world”.

Personally I think that’s a load of crap.

If I had not obtained the knowledge I have about all the different faiths, I don’t think that my own faith would be nearly as strong as it is. In learning about others, living “in the world”, I strengthen my own faith watching God work through me and others.

I believe there is only one God. And I believe that Jesus is the Messiah. I am not really bound by the trappings of any specific religion, but see the value in the rituals for many.

Funny thing is, that which makes me a Christian is the same thing that makes other people strong in their faith – Muslim, Jewish and Christian – all believe there is but one God, and that Jesus is his Messiah who will return one day to deliver us to heaven.

Yes, there are many little differences in ritual and the trappings of formal religion, but the fundamentals are the same.

I’d love to know what you think.

Would you judge someone – disapprove or shun them – if they weren’t of the same religion, in spite of the same fundamental beliefs?

Before answering, I’d love you to first read Matthew 7 : 1-5 and then decide.

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