My God is Better Than Your’s

I have always felt a bit uneasy when people say, “My God.” I was raised in a faith where God is one. Every faith calls this god by a different name, but we are all talking about the same being, the same creator. In elementary school, I remember a classmate began to ask me questions about “My God...” All these years later I do not remember what the question was, but I remember being utterly confused about the phrase, “Your God” or “My God.” Aren’t we all the children of God no matter what religion you practice? Granted there are many faiths that make it their mission to spread the word of whomever they follow, but at the end of the day no matter what religion you identify yourself with we are all coexisting on this planet (no aliens were hurt in the process).

A few weeks back one of my friends on facebook decided to post a video that was centered around the power of God, however, this video also put down another religion in the process. This video caught my attention because it was an open attack on another’s faith, but it was masked under the guise of “God.” The video was about a Middle Eastern woman who was dealing with the declining health of her mother among suicidal thoughts and depression. In many religions and cultures around the world the act of suicide is considered the worst possible sin and is greatly frowned upon. The woman in the video was contemplating suicide if her life did not turn around. She then saw one of these religious television programs, and decide to give another religion a try for a week and see if her life changed in any way. I am sure you know where this story is going now … it worked, this “different” religion seemed to work out better for her than the other did. Her mother was cured of her illness, and things began to look up in her life. The video then ended on a note of ending prosecution of members of the “better” religion, and if it was not clear before… the purpose of this video became very apparent. This was a very powerful story and I can see how people can be effected by the story. However, I have always been taught to think about things critically. From the moment I read the title, I was looking to figure out what their objective was. They were promoting a religion but playing the victim, they want the support of their viewers so they painted a pleasant picture of this religion. They hit you with how people of this faith are being discriminated against. Emotions are a powerful thing!

If this woman’s story is true, I am not trying to put down it at all, she clearly had a positive ending and was happy with how things turned out. It is not my place to question the value of her personal experience. However, the way in which this video was made shows a side of religion that people are very uncomfortable to talk about. That’s the notion that one faith is better than the other, and many religions make it their mission to convert people. On the weekends I have had countless conversations with people of various faiths, sent to “save my soul.” As a child this always confused me and made me feel uncomfortable. I could not understand why my soul was the one that needed saving and what gave these people the power to do “the saving”? As an adult, I realize that they are only doing what is expected of them or rather they are fulfilling their duty to their religion. The question then became, why was I singled out? Was it because my skin color was different? 9 times out of 10 these people never know anything about my religious background, and from what I could tell they never put the effort to learn.

In the year 2017 it saddens me that we are STILL dealing with hate and racism. In the United States, we have the freedom of speech and the freedom of choice, however, when there are huge rallies of people gathering to spread hate, I begin to question humanity. For those of you who do not know, there was a rally of white supremacist and neo-nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump’s entire time in politics, he has given off hate towards one group or another group. These gatherings would not have happened if Trump did not give his silent permission through his actions. All of these white supremacist and neo-nazis, gathered because it is safe for them to do so at this time. When Obama was our Commander in Chief, a gathering of this magnitude would have been unthinkable! I cannot say that I was shocked about this news, there have always been hate crimes, but when people gather for the main purpose TO hurt others it raises more questions than answers. I would be lying if I said these events did not affect me, I've had to deal with racism before and it was always shocking, however, I am almost expecting something to happen when I leave the house. In a previous post we talked about basic principles that EVERY philosophical teaching covers. Be sure to check that post out here. Human kindness, and to onto others as you would have done to you, in other words the golden rule. Where was the golden rule during this gathering? These people have forgotten at a very basic level of what it means to be human, perhaps their definition of human is a bit construed.

Digging into history a little, there have been countless groups of people who have been pitted against one another for the main purpose of keeping power. In the 1940, the British Empire found itself broke and unable to afford all of the lands they occupied. India was among the many countries that were affected by this change. However, for the hundreds of years prior to the British departure, they were using the oldest tactic in the book of “Divide and Conquer.” Every country they “visited,” they left it fragmented. In India, they put the Hindus and the Muslims against one another. These ideas are still going on today, if you ask people why they dislike one another you will never get a straight answer. Prior to the British arrival everyone lived in harmony and they even married one another (don’t take my word for it, look at how people would name their children with hybrid names … Ram Kahn or Mohammad Babu). The Hindus and Muslims were busy fighting one another, they didn’t even stop to think about how the British were benefiting. As a result the British took and took from India’s wealth for a comfortable 200 years! Ask yourself, who really benefited from the White Supremacist gathering in Charlottesville… we are so busy being outraged, that the bigger picture is too blurry that we cannot make sense of it.

At the end of the day we all have to remember that we are all made up of stardust from the exact same star. The only way to combat hate is to show kindness and compassion to one another. We cannot change the minds of others and we should not spend our focus there, because wherever our focus is that's where our energy goes. Spend your energy on people who need it and deserve your attention. If others are spreading hate, combat it with love!