Notice #2: Post starts off rant-y but then I must have gotten it all out of my system because it got all lovey-dovey 'What the World Needs Now' at the end. ;)
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This is a topic that has been on my mind all day. It stemmed from someone telling me that when Obamacare tries to make employers pay health insurance, they are interfering with religion freedom because insurance covers abortion now.
FALSE.
(1)It's none of your business what medical procedure someone else chooses;
(2) your premiums have possibly always been paying for others' procedures you don't want for yourself; and
(3) you are not being demanded to HAVE an abortion, so you can continue business as usual with your freedom of religion untouched.
What gets me is that Christians (and I focus on Christians because I was raised Catholic--- and then escaped) are quick to say 'Abortion is Murder and Thou Shall Not Kill!' yet somehow justify
(1) paying their taxes which go towards our over-the-top military that is killing people and
(2) joining the military, knowing they will be involved in killing, whether directly or indirectly.
Granted, not EVERY person in the military will kill someone, just as not EVERY police officer kills someone. And we are told, SOMEBODY has to step up to the threats.
But HOW did Christianity get from "Thou Shall Not Kill" and "Turn the Other Cheek" to "It's Okay to join an Organization that will train me to Kill"? By the very Commandment above, all Christians should be Conscientious Objectors who refuse to join the military because they are NOT supposed to kill. There is no asterisk on the stone tablet that says 'unless you or your family or your country is being threatened.'
Nope, it's pretty cut and dry... but then again... are we not supposed to kill animals or plants for food either? A bit confusing, that Bible of oh-so-many authors.
I understand, I have the freedom to say this because supposedly it was won for me by people with guns. People who by definition, are braver than I, because they got put in some terrible situations. But I'm not sure war accomplishes what we think it does. War doesn't tell you who is right or wrong... It tells you who is dead or alive. It tells you who has more weapons or better tactics. Ask veterans if they felt happy after killing. Ask them how they slept after they pulled the trigger. War is Hell.
And yes, letting terrorists or Hitlers run wild is Hell too. And sticking a daisy in someone's gun may make for a nice photo but it isn't going to bring about peace, right? But the only peace that happens when two guns are pointed at each other is the silence that ensues AFTER one or both opponents are dead.
Human beings are the ones who drew the lines in the sand and decided that this country stands for this and that country stands for that, and we're so different, we'll probably have to fight. But we aren't different.
What I love about social media and the quick dispersal of technology, is that in an instant, we can see proof that people elsewhere are just like us. We all need food, shelter, water, education, health care and LOVE.
That last part is a big challenge. Humans ARE bellicose and that's what religions were created for... to calm the beast, to hold us to a higher standard. It's not supposed to be easy to follow a religion. And it seems too easy for Christians to join the military despite the killing involved.
I feel like somewhere along the way, someone decided in order to make Christianity more accessible... they decided to make a caveat to this Commandment. Wikipedia says
- The imperative is against unlawful killing resulting in bloodguilt.[56] The Hebrew Bible contains numerous prohibitions against unlawful killing, but also allows for justified killing in the context of warfare (1Kings 2:5–6), capital punishment (Leviticus 20:9–16) and self-defence (Exodus 22:2–3). The New Testament is in agreement that murder is a grave moral evil,[57] and maintains the Old Testament view of bloodguilt.[58]
Some of it makes sense because it's meant to utilize the teachings of the Church for use in the real world. As the first link says: "The Church has no illusions that true justice and peace can be attained before the Coming of the Lord. It is the duty of men of good will to work towards it, nonetheless. In the words of the spiritual dictum, we should work as if everything depended upon our efforts, and pray as if everything depended upon God."
It's just... frustrating. Somehow 'Thou Shall Not Kill' became 'Thou Shall Not Kill Or At Least Try to Avoid It Because It's Pretty Much Impossible Because Humans Suck, Yo'.
GOD said 'No Killing'. Humans draw lines in the sand and continue to find any reason to kill: Gold, God, Glory, Ego, Judgement, etc. Even though GOD was clear about it, humans made exceptions to keep the religion feasible.
I think it's the easy way out. And if they can make exceptions for killing in war, why can't they make exceptions for abortions in cases of rape or incest? Because the Christian Churches aren't really as black and white as they pretend they are. Because Religious Institutions ARE out to make a buck. They don't pay taxes and get to keep the profit and build nice Churches and schools. Religions are run by fallible human beings who bend God's rules supposedly handed down to Moses.
Whatever good religions and militaries CAN do... they can undo with their inconsistencies and injustice. Why does the rule about 'not killing' suddenly become null and void during times of war? Isn't that when the faithful should be challenged the most to be the peacekeepers? We keep saying it's impossible, but maybe it's that way because religions give us a free pass....
Tell me. HOW many of the world's religions are opposed to killing? If ALL those who followed this shared-commandment put down their weapons... wouldn't THAT be an act of LOVE? Wouldn't THAT be an admission of being created equally by a Creator who wants us to thrive and cherish each other? If even our religions don't think we'll find peace... how else are we supposed to get there? Because these drone strikes, these unholy wars, they aren't getting us there either.
So again, I wonder. How can ANY person of ANY religion that is told 'THOU SHALL NOT KILL' take up arms against another and risk committing that act? Humans are cyclical. Violence begets violence. Cooler heads don't always prevail. There ARE Hitlers and bin Ladens and Abubakar Shekaus in this world. But did they get that way because someone LOVED them too much? Or did they get that way because we're taught 'sometimes it's permissible to kill'?
I may be naïve and overly hopeful, and do I really think logic and reason will get the Nigerian school girls back? Or do I think there IS a need for trained military personnel who are willing to go stop people who use their religion to justify kidnapping and hatred of 'Western education'?
This is a rant that really has no answers. You can be damn sure that if I was kidnapped for wanting an education, I would be praying every moment to be safely rescued by anybody smart enough or strong enough or anybody in the right place at the right time. Would I kill to get away? Maybe... Life is easier in the hypothetical, isn't it?
At the beginning, I said this rant wouldn't be as action-needed as the previous posts. But I guess we DO need action. We need to love each other more. We need to donate more time and money to organizations that provide food, education, attention, resources. We need to get out from behind the things we let divide us, like religion, nationality, sexuality, and focus on the human.
If you've gotten this far, please, in the comments below, share your stories of how and where you donate your time and money to make the world better. Share any small habits you have to improve someone's day. Share anything that makes us better. Share your thoughts, prayers, blessings, hopes for the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls that may be safely found.
I know this rant started off as 'hey religions are inconsistent and it's a problem!' and turned all lovey-dovey-need-a-better-world, but what else could I do? I spent a day obsessing about something that seemed amiss, and then remembered... nothing is easy. There are really scary people out there who want to do harm to others and we have to deal with it SOMEHOW, but we HAVE to spread more love to prevent hatred and terror from growing. And that's gonna take every single last one of us....
