Seperation or Adaptation

Today we are facing a very perplexing dilemma when the gap between the separation of church and state is actually becoming the separation of God from other Gods. Mike Huckabee's recent comments ring of a constitution as only the Christian right sees fit.

I was born into a family that was separated by church in my own home. My father being a devout Catholic and a mother whom was a Protestant. At a early age I had no relationship with God as I could not understand him. Speaking Latin was not on my priority list as a child so the message always seemed lost in translation. At my mothers church the Minister often would be side tracked so we would open our Bibles for the days lesson and some how we never got there. As I have grown I have studied many religions Buddhism Islam different denominations of Christianity I have come to appreciate the spiritual principals that I have found in all religions. It was around 1990 I had joined a Church of All Faiths and found my self choosing to worship as a Christian. I thank God for my Pastor as he said God wanted volunteers not prisoners. He made it clear to me that your relationship with God was a personal one and it should be a based on belief and yearning to establish a connection with spirit of God

As a child the Sunday dinner conversation always found it self in politics and religion. I am grateful through all the spirited debates I was able to hear different choices and was actually encouraged to make up my own mind.

The men from My Church had attended a men’s empowerment workshop with people from many religions. At this conference a Pastor from another church made a very derogatory remark about Muslims. I do not remember the exact reference but it was referring to the selling of bean pies. Reverend Beatey became incensed. He always told us that the value of attracting people to God not dividing them. I often heard him state that the building of a Church should be one of attraction and never based on destruction of another’s faith. His foundation at New Life was not to take people from other churches but find people who had no faith and feed them clothe then and nurture them. As a missionary he never put his faith on the people he helped it was contingent on his assistance. The mere fact was people became attracted to his faith and adopted it for their own.

My lack of faith in my adolescence was directly related to being violated as a child. As my relationship with God has grown I harbor no bitterness to the Catholic Church or its parishioners. What happened to me was a result of a man not following his faith and in my processes of forgiveness I can no longer make claim to hatred and intolerance. My family is still Catholic and I admire their faith. I find the most satisfying form of reconciliation was based on being delivered from my anger and new found forgiveness. The people in the catholic church never harmed me it was some clergy who choice was to disregard the faith and use innocence as a means for their perversions

Were the people whom fell victim to the Crusades of the Catholic church volunteers or prisoners of faith. In Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated similar views to Mike Huckabee the news media almost lost its collected minds. There have been examples of combining Church and State as early as mans first formation of religion. Was the Roman Emperor Constantine really interested in bring Rome to his new found faith in Christianity or was he a Emperor afraid of loosing a country? Ultimately combining the pagan rituals around Christianity. The world has struggled with its understanding and manifestations of God since the beginning of time.

Our founding fathers in their absolute brilliance or unknowing arrogance left the basic pennants of the separation of Church and State Thank God how ever you call his name.