[font="times new roman"]“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” –John F. Kennedy[/font]
[font="times new roman"] Kennedy’s remark is undoubtedly an understatement. He gives the impression that fear can be measured in the amount of courage, or lack thereof. He only implies the inclusion of fear counterparts, such as jealousy, hatred, suspicion, and hysteria. Kennedy, regrettably, in what is one of the wisest statements made in the history of our country, does not touch upon intolerance or ignorance.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] One of the greatest causes of fear and intolerance comes from extremities in religion. Rather than viewing religious texts as instructional paths, many take these superb scrolls and their contents as reason to condemn. This is not to say all religion is bad. It is to say that I can understand why religion is held in contempt.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] I am a Christian, and proud to be one. My faith is an infinite part of my strength and structure, but my beliefs hold me accountable even to my own kin, who are also Christians. The rift is not merely Christian vs. the World. It is, more respectably, Christian vs. Christian. It is a battle between the “evils” and the Evils, the “truth” and the Truth, the perceived and the imagined. My parents, unfortunately, are on a different side than I am.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] I was raised an “old-fashioned” Baptist, a clan famous for their brimstone and hellfire sermons. This is the same brand renowned for being “Seventh Day Appeasing” Christians, meaning that Sunday is a sufficient dose of God for personal reasons, and the rest of the week you will only use the Lord for darning purposes. These churches, especially the small, back-water ones like I belong to, comprise of the same recycled service: hymns, a shouting preacher, more hymns, and then a rush for the door and the nearest restaurant. The word that comes to my mind, when I think of those who follow so rigorously this lifestyle, is hypocrite.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] This is the spiritual world I was raised in, but not the one I was happy in. The evils and sins that I had been taught about the world, too, did not ring true with me. Was interracial marriage really evil? Was it wrong to talk to people of other religions? Should I really stay away from druggies, outcasts, and people who led a life that was controversial? Why was it that some people in my family were never to be spoken of, shoved into a closet?[/font]
[font="times new roman"] I grew up with two different philosophies hissing in my ear: the art of darnation, and the literature of redemption. I listened curiously to the sermons that told me all the ways I might go to hell, and then I went home and read verses that said that people only went to hell for one specific reason, which was that they did not ask for forgiveness from their sins. I pursued other books that gave me insight to the human spirit, into different cultures, into different situations. I cried for Anne Frank, I struggled along with John Galt, and I watched Edmund Dantes fight with vengeance.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] And my parents watched on, as I went farther and farther away from the values they had taught me and discovered my own. I spent some time being angry at God, for personal reasons, and then found a way back to religion through my closest friend. She showed me that Christianity was not all hellfire and brimstone, and that God is much more accepting of the people He’s made than we ourselves are. That some people are going to be afraid, not because they can sense a lack of holiness in you, but because they can sense it in themselves. Such people do not want you to discover the right path either, or at least, not before they do, so they can boast of it.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] Regardless, I am still stuck in the routine of suspicion, intolerance, and ignorance that my parents and the values that have been hammered into them have made. Now that I am almost of a legal age, I hear repetitious hints that I am heading straight for the lake of fire, whether it be for my mostly black wardrobe, for my views on politics, or for the books and television programs I choose to watch. I know that I will be one of the closeted family members once I leave home. To be honest, I’m okay with that.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] Atheists have a point when they criticize religion, especially Christianity. Though we aspire to be sacred and holy, we are still human, and we have our failings, the worst of which is hypocrisy. Spiritual cannibalism follows as a close second. We are not only under close inspection by opposing faiths, but by ourselves: it’s not enough to be Christian, and therefore, part of a larger whole. No, you must be part of the “true” whole – and if not, you are not Christian, but a sinner darned for impersonating one. So it goes in the ever raging battle of opposing faith. [/font]
[font="times new roman"] I would like to submit that faith seems to be the leading cause for fear, and therefore, according to Kennedy, we should fear it most. Religion has caused some of the worst wars, most of the world’s prejudices, and endless massacres. I do not speak of just the past. If you watch the news even for a few minutes, you realize that faith casualties are a common day occurrence, and any protest fades into obscurity. Some take it too far, and force their beliefs on another in order to save the forced from hellfire. But, it’s blasphemous to point out these things, I’m sure. [/font]
[font="times new roman"]It’s a balancing act between virtue and demise that most of us choose not to take sides in. Think carefully about your personal values before aligning yourself. No matter what your decisions, you inevitably risk running with the devil.[/font]