Tolerance

Looked up the word tolerance today.  Here it is per Dictionary.com:

a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whoseopinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differfrom one's own; freedom from bigotry.

a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions andpractices that differ from one's own.

interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc.,foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.

Now I have been reading the blogs back and forth in the Circle of Moms site with all of the stuff being said against the "non-christian" blogs, and that has really hit a chord deep within me.  

I remember being in my early 20's and living in Virginia with my first husband (Oh NO!  Yes, I have let the cat out of the bag, I have been married more than once, and by grannies, I am in my third one, so let it go!) and we were members of a church that was very much pentecostal holiness...rolling on the floor, praying in tongues, falling out in the spirit kinda church.  The preacher decided he wanted to do an educational type of class that consisted of several weeks of Wednesday nights that would include the religions of Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and I can't remember the other ones.  I do remember, however, the indignation I felt as I learned (and I really can't remember the details I was 'taught' so I won't go into them) about those different religions, and how I kept feeling as though I was on the  high ground at least.  At least I knew I was going to heaven, and if I ever ran into anyone of these other religions I would do my best to try to save them.

Well,  here I am, over 25 years later and I no longer feel the attachment I used to feel as a christian.  I am not saying I don't believe there is a God, or saying I don't believe there was someone by the name of Jesus (I prefer to call  him Yeshua Ben Yosef (Jesus son of Joseph),  but I prefer not to 'practice' the way christians do.  I don't think there is any benefit at all going to a big huge building that has high maintenance bills just to worship.  Fellowship and worship of whatever kind should be done where people feel the most comfortable, in their homes or outside in nature.  I would think anyone that believes in a loving God would think he might be a little uncomfortable in a situation where everyone looks at others within the 'church' and comment on what they wore on a Sunday, and how bad so-and-so sang that hymn, and why doesn't that lady take her screaming child outside or in the 'crying room'?  I don't know, sometimes I feel as though maybe I have become jaded, or more of a skeptic in my old age, but damn it!  I don't care who you are, what color you are, what sexual orientation you are.  If you believe in something or someone, you should be free to believe it and worship with all your heart without others telling you that you are wrong!  How many of those christians would dare say out loud that they have at least once in their 'saved' lives that they didn't at least wonder if the Bible was entirely true?  Or is there really a Heaven like everyone says?  Or is there really a Hell?  Why can't heaven be what you need for it to be?  How many of them have really wondered if there really is a hell?  Where is it?  If they have asked themselves these questions, you can bet (uh oh, are they supposed to bet?) they never let those questions be heard, and they probably prayed for forgiveness because the question actually came into their mind.  

I really feel, I believe, and I have come to the conclusion that the Creator, (sorry, don't want to put a name to the personification just yet, haven't really decided) created us however we were created, but we weren't put here to just live our lives and eat, drink, fart and belch, sleep, make love and  have babies and live every day in and day out following blindly the sheep/cow/pig/human in front of us.  Just because the one in front of me is on this path, does that mean it is right for me?

I really feel, I believe, and I have come to the conclusion that we were meant to explore, discover, research, learn, ask questions, come to a knowledge/gnosis of who we are, why we are here, how we got here, what we are supposed to do, what happens when we die, leave a legacy for our future as ancestors of old.  

Guess that is what I am trying to do now.  

Leave intolerance to those that are too stupid to know, or not intelligent enough to know, that a closed mind, is a closed heart.  A closed heart cannot fully give or receive love.  A closed mind cannot ascend to a  higher plain of existence, which would be heaven, wouldn't it?