Personal Faith

My faith is a very personal thing. It is my personal relationship with a Higher Power, whom I choose to accept as God. I don't expect people to have the same beliefs I do, and I try not to judge the faith of others. Sometimes this is a hard task when those 'others' are using their faith as an excuse to condemn. If people want to believe that God created earth, then put a man and woman on the planet and followed them around testing them every chance He got, that is fine with me. Just please extend me the same courtesy - don't judge my faith, and don't tell me that I don't have the right answers. God speaks to each of us individually and what God thinks is good for you might not be good for me. I was born with an inquisitive mind - after much prayer and thoughtful study it has led me to accept that while the bible may have been inspired by God, it is not infallible - man put some stories in there to teach lessons, or to try and make sense out of things that had happened in the past. Much of the bible is not based on fact -it's allegory. This thinking has not damaged my relationship with God - in fact, it has made my faith stronger. God does not change...our understanding of God changes, and, with understanding, our relationship with God - you know, that PERSONAL one - grows. Imagine all the good we can do if we were truly witnesses for God - allowing our very lives to be the TRUE testement of God's unconditional love? Imagine if we focused on what God intended for OUR LIVES instead of focusing on what we think God condemns in others. Imagine what could happen if we were truly focused on compassion, love and justice for those who are denied equality.

I think we'd really be doing what Jesus would do.