Thursday, January 15, 2015

Proud to be a Christ follower AND a Duke fan

This morning I became so overwhelmed with anger and disgust with the responses I was seeing to Duke University choosing to allow a Muslim call to prayer on Friday afternoons. Students are NOT required to participate but the opportunity is now there. If you are unfamiliar with this news you can search it or view this link which even though it is a news website gives what I found the best explanation and various responses to which I am referring to. http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/15/us/duke-call-to-prayer/  My hope is that this rant will make sense to everyone and maybe even spark some intelligent conversation. 
  So let me get this straight, Christians get all bent out of shape when our rights to worship how we choose are taken away(which should make us upset) but when a university is trying to make it safe for all religions to have the opportunity to worship God in the way they choose we are suppose to condemn them? Hmm not following the logic there. I might add that the ignorance that some "Christian leaders" are demonstrating is appalling to me. And we wonder why people hate Christians and want nothing to do with our religion. If you know anything about "religions" then you know that the Islamic religion worships the same God we as Christians do, Allah is the Arabic word for God just as Dios is the Spanish word for God. Now they believe differently than Christians as far as customs and rules and the afterlife, etc. but it is the same God they worship. Also newsflash every religion has extremist that do terrible things in the name of God, I know it is a shocker to most of you but yes even Christians have an extremist group. They would be the ones that protest funerals of fallen soldiers, hold up burn in hell signs at gay rights rallies, and tell people they are going to hell for having an alcoholic beverage. In actuality the Islamic religions are very peaceful, loving and accepting. Just as with everything, the media will never show that side of things because it doesn't make for good TV and the majority of people are too set in their ways and are perfectly content with living in ignorance to do research of their own. I am so fed up with the hypocrisy of people who call themselves Christians it literally makes me sick! My God is LOVE, Jesus taught love when he walked this Earth. He hung out with those who were out casted for their lifestyles, He built relationships with them and showed them love to bring them to know His Father. He reached out to those who were broken hearted and suffering instead of telling them it was their fault for not believing hard enough. Honestly at what point are we going to follow in the example that Jesus set for us? There is no way that we will ever reach people for Christ if we keep representing Him in this way. There is a way to stand up for what we believe in without being hateful, disrespectful, and shaming people. If you were a struggling non-believer would you honestly want to be a part of a religion that does nothing but tell you how wrong you are and points out every flaw before accepting you or pitches a hissy fit every time something doesn't cater to their wants? I know I wouldn't. I am a Christian that shocker, is a sinner and struggles on a daily basis with real life things such as anxiety, anger, oh and here is a kicker I struggle with getting my quiet time done every day, because you know what sometimes life gets in the way. And you know what else? My God LOVES ME ANYWAY! In spite of my screw ups and imperfections He loves me, provides for me, and still  wants the best for me. And as a Christian I still get condemned for the things I struggle with because somewhere, someone decided that Christians are suppose to be perfect. Last time I checked the only perfect person to walk the Earth was Jesus and we are called to be FORGIVEN not perfect! I also get looked at funny for not hating people who, drink, smoke, do drugs, have premarital sex, choose to be a part of another religion or no religion, or live a homosexual lifestyle. I don't know if people know this but you can love someone and even hang out with them and not agree with their lifestyle!  It wasn't until I started becoming the outcast that I realized how backwards my view of Christianity was becoming and I made changes and continue to be intentional about how I treat others and making sure everything I do is out of love and not judgment or hate. I guess my point to this is if you are going to claim to be a part of something then you should care enough to educate yourself about it so that you can represent it properly so you aren't the bad apple that is spoiling the bunch! And I won't apologize for this post because honestly I hope some people get their toes stepped on by it.
I have been a Duke fan for many years and the fact that they are striving for religious equality frankly makes me even more proud to be a Duke fan! Kudos Duke for being accepting of all people!

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