Earlier tonight someone posted something on my Facebook page which I took very seriously. For anyone who knows me, they will tell you that I am one of the sweetest and kindest people that they know. I have over 300 signatures and comments in my high school yearbook that will back me up when I tell you this, plus I have many friends from high school that will further attest to knowing me for years and that I am a solid individual who hasn't changed a bit since high school.
But there are several things that I will not tolerate and one of them is hate in any form. If you have problem with my sexual orientation or my being gay/homosexual then you need to keep that information to yourself because after living with this for 50 years I have found peace with it. Whatever your personal opinion is, mine is that being gay/homosexual is not a preference, it is not an illness, and isn't a decision that any sane person would make for their lifestyle.
If anyone has a difference of opinion they are ignorant and full of intolerance and bigotry and they are not welcome in my world or sphere of influence. Your opinion is not something that needs to be shared to me or to any of my readers, we have been through too much to hear your rhetoric, and we do not care what your opinion is because as far as I am concerned there is something terribly wrong with you.
Now this person didn't just go on to say that being gay was my personal choice, they brought my mother into the conversation and stated that I made a conscious choice to ignore her advice and that I went on to do just what felt good to me. I am sorry, this person knows me and my medical history. She used to work for my doctor's office and for her to state a blatant lie like that offended me to the core.
Not only does this woman not know my mother or my father, she put her own personal bias on my page unsolicited because she disagreed with me and my desire to bring my extended family together and to create an environment of love and laughter. To me this is highly problematic because Mommas House for Wayward Homosexuals is a dream that me and hundreds of my friends have talked about for years. For her to state something negative about a place that is being developed out of love, without expectations and recriminations of the past is shameful at best.
My followers and readers know that I have had extensive bowel issues, cancer that has destroyed my large and small intestines, which alone has caused me great deal of personal issues and anxiety in regards to my standing in the gay and straight community, and had me feeling isolated, lost, alone, alienated and unlovable.
You dare to come on my page JoAnn Duran and spout your nonsense hurts me to the core and has left me with very little regard for you and your ignorance. I lashed out at you because your own son is one of my closest friends and has spent hours and hours around me and has no personal problem with my sexual orientation or my identification as being gay, even though I don't have sex in that manner and haven't since 2008.
Whether you consider me gay, straight, neuter or otherwise is your personal opinion and I recommend that you keep it to yourself. You and I have talked on numerous occasions in the past and you have never brought any of your contempt or hate up to me verbally, for you to do so on Facebook is cowardice and shameful. I am embarrassed for you and I hope that you understand that Intolerance and Bigotry and Hatred are not welcome here! I have fought my entire life against society and people like you who have a warped opinion of reality, who refuse to see the truth of the situation and cling to the belief that Gay is a Choice.
Let me be the first to enlighten you! It is not a choice, it is not a lifestyle that is accepted or easy to live, and unless you have tried it you wouldn't understand the prejudice, hatred and pressure we get from everyone around us that want us to be just like them. No matter how hard I have struggled, endured and come through, I still wouldn't want to be someone like you a bitter lonely woman whose own son has used and abused, for the sake of his drug addiction.
Your words struck a chord in me and caused me to lash out towards you, to fall back from them and re-assess who I thought you were. I once thought you were a friend, someone who understood me and accepted me as a person. I never knew that you harbored such feelings against me as I saw glaring off Facebook this evening. I am overwhelmed with pity for you and feel sorry that you have missed out on love and companionship of people like me. Because there is definitely something broken inside of you to make you think less of a person because of their personal identity.
I do mean personal identity, because no other term fits my description. I have not participated in Gay Sex or Straight Sex in years, yet I have a boyfriend whom I love with all my heart, I have been by his side for 5 years and I had another boyfriend before him whom I was with for 10 years and just one more before him that I was with for 12 1/2 years. I am not promiscuous or prone to having multiple sexual partners. I find someone who similar tastes and beliefs as myself and who enjoys being in my company and I in his.
I didn't wake up one day and just decide that I wanted to be gay, that it was cool or fun. It certainly wasn't for the pleasure because let me explain, it had nothing to do with sexual gratification it has been more about who I felt more comfortable being around, and who I could express myself around totally. I many not be your run of the mill gay person, and I may not have a conventional relationship because it is based on something other than sex because me and my partner haven't had the luxury of participating in that event since my colon cancer and loss of my anus and large intestines.
I define myself by a sense of belonging to a community of individuals who are like minded who are attracted to members of the same sex, and I love as hard and as deeply as those with sexual relations. Unfortunately, I am unable to participate in the activity in the way or manner that I like so I tend to avoid it now. I have come through some dark times, battled depression and I have come to terms with my limitations and yet I still identify myself as being gay.
Whatever your opinion is of my lifestyle I am telling you to keep it out of your mouth and off of my page. I have dealt with people like you my entire life and I will fight you and I will tell the world your sad little story if you want me too and you know I know it. I don't want to make this a war, because I am sure you don't want your personal business spread out for the world to judge and see. But that is the major difference between you and me. See I have been in the Gay Community and a leader in it since 1986 here in Orlando, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas, I organized the first gay pride march in downtown Orlando, was instrumental in starting Gay Days at Disney and instead of hiding myself I have been out there on the front line, I know what hatred is, and I have battled against intolerance. I am and advocate for equality, and gay unions, and I am a public speaker. I am an award winning author who wrote the play "The Changing Face of AIDS" and I am a member of the Positive Champions Speaker's Bureau who teaches and battles the myths and misconceptions the public has against HIV/AIDS. I am not some quiet person who doesn't have a voice.
I have published many articles, stories and poems, have even penned some science fiction in my time. My blog Uncle B's Corner has over 2 million visitors and read in every country in the world. I have a platform and a forum. I also am attuned to my writers voice and I know that you are hurting inside yourself and don't like you own life, but you have no right to place your burdens on me or my readers.
As I have said before and I mean it. Your Intolerance and Hate is not welcome here and if you don't have something positive and constructive to say I invite you to stop reading my blog, and my Facebook post because they are intended for my friends, and people who care about what is going on with me and what is happening in my life. Middle aged old bitter women with hidden agenda's personal bias and bigotry are not welcome here!!!
My name is Bryan Zepp, I am known as Uncle B and I write about my own personal life and experiences. I talk about issues that impact my life and I try to help people avoid the mistakes that I have made and try to soften the hurt that they might feel if they screw up. I am here to make people feel good about themselves and who they are. I preach love, happiness and light. I eschew negativity, hatred and idle prattle that means nothing. No one has the right to invade my space with their own bias, let alone their own rhetoric of intolerance. If I wanted that I would listen to mainstream media and espouse the national solidarity which I find utterly laughable. The Moral Majority with the anti-gay marriage stance is archaic and belongs in the middle ages. We are no longer saved by the law. We are cleansed and saved by Grace. Spoken by the apostles all over the new testament. The old covenant between God and Abraham was done away when the temple veil was torn in two and Christ died on the cross. If you are a true Christian and believe in the resurrection of Christ then I advise you to pull your head out of your ass and read the new testament of the Bible where you will learn that We are now saved by Grace and washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb. We no longer need intercessors we have a direct link to Heaven through Jesus Christ the Son of God.
He who hath ears let them hear, He who hath eyes let them see. God is giving us a chance to change our fate and save our world. We have it in our power to change the course that we are on. Jesus only preached love, compassion, understanding and tolerance. The world would be such a greater, safer and happier place if we all just learned that simple lesson and accepted one another for who and what we are and embraced each other in love and kindness.
As always my hopes and dreams are with you,
Uncle B
Showing posts with label intolerance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intolerance. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Friday, May 11, 2012
If we are such an enlightened society, why is there so much hatred and intolerance today?
This topic is an easy one! You see I have seen first hand and have experienced the hatred, bigotry and intolerance that society and religion have towards individuals that are different. People who don't fit into the accepted social norm constantly find themselves the subject of ridicule, persecution, and hated. It starts early and is promoted and fostered in the United States through the public school systems. Some of us try to hide through-out our school years, we long to get to college where things will be different, we yearn to go up and be an adult so we don't have to feel ashamed, lonely, ridiculed and other ridiculous notions. Some of us persevere through this and somehow pull through, others conform and fall into sync with the pressure of their peers. Then again if you are me you make the best out of the situation and you reach out of your personal shell and start making friends and changing perceptions.
I was fortunate when I moved to Florida, my parents moved to a small town near Orlando, called Winter Park which is a small town about 5 miles outside of downtown Orlando, it is a place that is well known for old money, big houses, huge golf courses and country clubs. Just, to give you a little more background and some insight to who I am and where I came from I will give you a brief history of myself and then go into how I made it through and where these nasty society norms came from and how they are perpetuated in today's society. I was born in a small town outside of Philadelphia, my father came from a nominal background where his mother raised him and 8 other siblings on a widows pension. My mother on the other hand came from a more privileged background whose parents saved, invested and had money. Mom came from a smaller family where her and her sister were 15 years older than their little brother who is actually only 7 years older than myself. Okay now that you know these simple facts, my father got a job in the electronics field selling different types of computerized equipment and when I was 7 years old we left this small town and moved to Beaumont Texas. Now back then Beaumont wasn't the town that it is today, it was a very small town 45 minutes away from Houston and seemed so far removed from society it was just like living in Pennsylvania, however today it is a huge developed community that is now considered part of Houston. We were only there for 2 years when my father was transferred to Baton Rouge Louisiana, being the capital of Louisiana this was the first major city I lived in. Again we were only there for 2 years before we were moved once again by my fathers work to Orlando Florida where we settled. But, one of the reasons I was able to adapt and fit in with my changing environments was that I was used to moving around and I was an avid reader and music listener. In other words I had built myself a shell and was firmly entrenched inside it so when we moved no matter where I was I had my music and my books. When we bought the house in Winter Park I had met 2 of the kids in the neighborhood that lived really close to me, one lived on the other side of my next door neighbor and the other lived 2 doors down from him. So by the time school started 3 weeks later, I at least knew 2 people.
Again, as I stated before I was fortunate, and for another reason other than having experience from moving around. The first day of school the bus driver assigned us seats, she thought this would keep down trouble and instill order on the bus. In theory, I guess it worked a bit like that, however, it put me sharing a seat with a person who would become my best friend and the most influential person in my life. His name was John Hope, and he broke me out of my shell turned me from an introvert to an extrovert, I went from being invisible to being one of the most visible and memorable people in both middle school and high school. John went on to be a stand up comedian and shared his warmth and laughter with the world. I went on to join the Navy and then on to become a scholar and teacher and specialist in technology and many other things. My mother once told me that I was the highest educated most unemployable person she knew. At the time I found this funny, now I realize that maybe she was right in some ways. But let me just tell you this and then we will move further into what I have to say. I came from a very large high school, I was considered one of the smart kids, I was labelled a teachers pet, but I also overcame all of this to be one of the most memorable members of the graduating class. I had big chunky glasses and hair that had a mind of its own and strange. Yet, I knew everyone and everyone knew me. I had friends that were popular both and accepted but I also had friends in every other circle and click in the school. I had become a social butterfly and that would remain part of my nature my entire life. I was part of every group, accepted by the jocks, the cheerleaders, the nerds, the socially unacceptable and the punkers, the bad boys and every other group. Believe it or not I was liked and remembered by each and everyone and believe it or not you will find almost everyone in my graduating class in my friends list on Facebook.
But, what has all of this to do with hatred and intolerance in today's society? Well, I wanted to give you my background and show you that anyone can get past these things and survive peer pressure. That anyone can make it through the name calling, ridicule and prejudices of peers and society and can use those same things that once made them an outsider and make them an insider accepted and remembered by those they interacted with growing up and through the rest of their lives. Along my journey I have had the opportunity to study first hand many of the world's religions and experience first hand societies views on these views and sort through them, change perspectives and undo some of the damage they have done to people around me. You see the problem with our society comes from what I term as Organized Religion. This is any denomination that boasts and claims to practice Christianity. Now, do not get me wrong I was raised in the Church and I understand and believe the tenants that were instilled in me from childhood, but I have seen firsthand the flaws, and by having the experience while I was in the Navy to learn and view other religions of the world I was able to sort out and piece together my own eclectic view of Spirituality and embark on my own path toward enlightenment.
See, it is my firm believe that religion is man's attempt to reach God and to explain those things that they do not understand and cannot quantify by science. They label it divine or attribute aspect of it toward a religious significance. However, true Christianity or Spiritualism is God's attempt to reach man. However, Christianity and organized religion somehow got off the path as preached and specified by Jesus himself. Jesus preached acceptance and love, to honor and obey and to be fishers of men. However, the church itself maintains and tries to enforce the 10 commandments, they cling to the old testament and miss the entire message of what Jesus was trying to tell the world. Now, there is a reason why the churches and those of what I call organize religion cling and stick with the past and the old testament and it is plain to anyone who dares to remove their blinders and look with an open mind at the hierarchy and structure of the church today. The old testament tells us about the casting out from the garden of eden, the subsequent enslavement of the people of Isreal and Moses dramatic leading of his people out of bondage from Egypt and delivering them to the gates of the promised land. It also tells us where the 10 commandments came from and where they were delivered to Moses. But for those of us who opened our eyes and see what had come about we begin to see why the commandments were necessary and how they molded and continue to influence and shape society at large today. You see Moses had 12 tribes that were following him as they fled the pharoah and his armies, they were fractious groups and tended toward squabbling and when Moses's back was turned easily reverted to idol worship and turning away from God. Therefore, the 10 Commandments were given to Moses to govern and rule the people, the early chapters of the Bible such as Exodus and Leviticus and Lamentations talks about the penalties and consequences of breaking these commandments and other religious views as dictated by the Levi's or the High Priests of the time.
So by telling you all of this what am I trying to tell you, every war that has been fought has been fought over the desire for an object, place, thing or difference, and cloaked under the guise of religion. But the truth of the matter, is that religion was developed and perfected as a means to control the masses, to accumulate wealth and essentially to force society into a habit for living under the commandments and the fear of what happened to society if these commandment were broken. This is known as salvation through the Law. But, in the New Testament it was foretold that the covenant of the law or the covenant of Moses would be broken and salvation would be granted to us by Grace through the belief in Jesus. Jesus like I said had a much more basic and humanistic message that spoke of love and acceptance. Preaching to the common man and reaching out to the lost and disheartened. So why has the church not clung to that teaching, why do they cling to the old testament and the rigid structure of the past? Why are there denominations, why do Preachers and evangelist today speak out against those that don't believe as they do? Why do they preach and teach that if you think and believe different from their views and that of their doctrine that you are going to perish and not make it to Heaven? It is because if they let go of the old testament and embrace the tenants and teachings of Jesus, then they loose control of the masses, their coffers and collection plates would be less and they couldn't force and influence the tides of change and societal whims. So what is all of this saying? It is pointing out that today organized religion has become as corrupt and damaged as it once was in Jesus time, remember that Jesus spoke out against the Church leaders of the times the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He cast out the money lenders in the temple and markets. He dared to change the tenants of the day and speak out against the establishment. He called each of us to do the same. He demanded and we go out and show love, acceptance, tolerance, obedience and compassion to one another and our fellow man.
Yet, here we are 2000 years later, and wars are still being fought, hatred, bigotry and intolerance are still prevalent in a society that is supposed to embrace and accept difference. Our nation was founded on the belief that each individual should have the right to choose and the freedom of choice to believe and follow the religion of their choice. Our forefathers, had the foresight and vision to actually inscribe these things in our founding document the Constitution but look at where we are at. Have we come any further in the 2000 years since Christ to where we are today? Not really! Honestly, if you view organized religion with an open mind you will see what I am saying and can understand that change needs to take place or we are doomed to continue in the same vein as we have for centuries, there will still be greed, war, hatred intolerance and bigotry, there will always be outcasts and societal norms that are influenced and dictated by the church upon the populace, Unfortunately, our forefathers saw that this trend was happening and had the vision to see that inherent danger and tried to ensure that the church wouldn't dictate politics and influence the government. Unfortunately, the separation of church and state which is supposed to be guaranteed and society protected by its inscription in the Constitution has successfully been circumvented and subsequently rendered effective by the advent of lobbying in our government. Ultra-conservatives and right-wing political group and fundamentalist church spend millions of dollars to influence and dictate legislature in our government today. These laws, that are passed, the teachings that the church espouses all play into what becomes know as societal norms and dictates what is acceptable and what is not.
Why I have written all of this and what I want you to walk away from reading this with is the concept and the seed that individualism is good, acceptance is key, leadership is needed and it okay to march to the beat of your own drum. I want you to live your life as you feel inclined too. I want you to live outside of what society decides is the norm. If you can achieve this you will be free from the guilt and remorse that is inflicted by society, church and our own inner beliefs. You will no longer be concerned with how others see you and what they think about you. You will become a leader, you will be a positive influence on others around you and will continue to touch and bless those lives that you come in contact with. Even, if you don't believe in the Bible or the teaching of Christ, if you believe in another religion or creed. If you embrace love, kindness, acceptance, tolerance, understanding, you will find that compassion for your fellow man, and society and the world will become a much better place.
So in summary, why is there so much hatred and intolerance in our enlightened society? Is simply this Religion...man's attempt to reach God and the institution that it built up and created, Where is the solution in the true belief in the essential teachings of what I will call Spirituality or true Christianity...which is God's attempt to reach man and bridge the gap created by Original Sin as written in the old testament. Jesus's teaching of love, acceptance and so forth are the true answer to enduring peace, freedom, and world where differences are celebrated and embraced instead of ridiculed and discriminated against. If only we all could learn the simplest of these things you would see greater advancement in all things because the things which make us different are also the things that when brought together lead to development, creation, and invention. Please release your belief on the old and embrace the new and celebrate living through the joy of love and compassion. Add a sprinkle of laughter into the mix and you will see that pain, illness, will quickly dissolve and your consciousness and mind will be free from constraints and the world will become your oyster and the blessings of the Spirit will be bestowed upon you. Or better yet they will become more evident in your daily life and walk. Each of us are blessed continually and when we open our eyes and take the blinders of prejudice off we cannot see them or properly receive them.
As always I look for your comments and your thoughts on this and any other subject. I want to hear from you and hope that you will join my blog as a follower. It is easy to do, just click on the +1 button on the right hand side just under my profile to join and be a follower. You can also write to me at bryanzepp@gmail.com and visit me on Facebook www.facebook.com/bryan_zepp2
All my hopes and dreams,
Uncle B
I was fortunate when I moved to Florida, my parents moved to a small town near Orlando, called Winter Park which is a small town about 5 miles outside of downtown Orlando, it is a place that is well known for old money, big houses, huge golf courses and country clubs. Just, to give you a little more background and some insight to who I am and where I came from I will give you a brief history of myself and then go into how I made it through and where these nasty society norms came from and how they are perpetuated in today's society. I was born in a small town outside of Philadelphia, my father came from a nominal background where his mother raised him and 8 other siblings on a widows pension. My mother on the other hand came from a more privileged background whose parents saved, invested and had money. Mom came from a smaller family where her and her sister were 15 years older than their little brother who is actually only 7 years older than myself. Okay now that you know these simple facts, my father got a job in the electronics field selling different types of computerized equipment and when I was 7 years old we left this small town and moved to Beaumont Texas. Now back then Beaumont wasn't the town that it is today, it was a very small town 45 minutes away from Houston and seemed so far removed from society it was just like living in Pennsylvania, however today it is a huge developed community that is now considered part of Houston. We were only there for 2 years when my father was transferred to Baton Rouge Louisiana, being the capital of Louisiana this was the first major city I lived in. Again we were only there for 2 years before we were moved once again by my fathers work to Orlando Florida where we settled. But, one of the reasons I was able to adapt and fit in with my changing environments was that I was used to moving around and I was an avid reader and music listener. In other words I had built myself a shell and was firmly entrenched inside it so when we moved no matter where I was I had my music and my books. When we bought the house in Winter Park I had met 2 of the kids in the neighborhood that lived really close to me, one lived on the other side of my next door neighbor and the other lived 2 doors down from him. So by the time school started 3 weeks later, I at least knew 2 people.
Again, as I stated before I was fortunate, and for another reason other than having experience from moving around. The first day of school the bus driver assigned us seats, she thought this would keep down trouble and instill order on the bus. In theory, I guess it worked a bit like that, however, it put me sharing a seat with a person who would become my best friend and the most influential person in my life. His name was John Hope, and he broke me out of my shell turned me from an introvert to an extrovert, I went from being invisible to being one of the most visible and memorable people in both middle school and high school. John went on to be a stand up comedian and shared his warmth and laughter with the world. I went on to join the Navy and then on to become a scholar and teacher and specialist in technology and many other things. My mother once told me that I was the highest educated most unemployable person she knew. At the time I found this funny, now I realize that maybe she was right in some ways. But let me just tell you this and then we will move further into what I have to say. I came from a very large high school, I was considered one of the smart kids, I was labelled a teachers pet, but I also overcame all of this to be one of the most memorable members of the graduating class. I had big chunky glasses and hair that had a mind of its own and strange. Yet, I knew everyone and everyone knew me. I had friends that were popular both and accepted but I also had friends in every other circle and click in the school. I had become a social butterfly and that would remain part of my nature my entire life. I was part of every group, accepted by the jocks, the cheerleaders, the nerds, the socially unacceptable and the punkers, the bad boys and every other group. Believe it or not I was liked and remembered by each and everyone and believe it or not you will find almost everyone in my graduating class in my friends list on Facebook.
But, what has all of this to do with hatred and intolerance in today's society? Well, I wanted to give you my background and show you that anyone can get past these things and survive peer pressure. That anyone can make it through the name calling, ridicule and prejudices of peers and society and can use those same things that once made them an outsider and make them an insider accepted and remembered by those they interacted with growing up and through the rest of their lives. Along my journey I have had the opportunity to study first hand many of the world's religions and experience first hand societies views on these views and sort through them, change perspectives and undo some of the damage they have done to people around me. You see the problem with our society comes from what I term as Organized Religion. This is any denomination that boasts and claims to practice Christianity. Now, do not get me wrong I was raised in the Church and I understand and believe the tenants that were instilled in me from childhood, but I have seen firsthand the flaws, and by having the experience while I was in the Navy to learn and view other religions of the world I was able to sort out and piece together my own eclectic view of Spirituality and embark on my own path toward enlightenment.
See, it is my firm believe that religion is man's attempt to reach God and to explain those things that they do not understand and cannot quantify by science. They label it divine or attribute aspect of it toward a religious significance. However, true Christianity or Spiritualism is God's attempt to reach man. However, Christianity and organized religion somehow got off the path as preached and specified by Jesus himself. Jesus preached acceptance and love, to honor and obey and to be fishers of men. However, the church itself maintains and tries to enforce the 10 commandments, they cling to the old testament and miss the entire message of what Jesus was trying to tell the world. Now, there is a reason why the churches and those of what I call organize religion cling and stick with the past and the old testament and it is plain to anyone who dares to remove their blinders and look with an open mind at the hierarchy and structure of the church today. The old testament tells us about the casting out from the garden of eden, the subsequent enslavement of the people of Isreal and Moses dramatic leading of his people out of bondage from Egypt and delivering them to the gates of the promised land. It also tells us where the 10 commandments came from and where they were delivered to Moses. But for those of us who opened our eyes and see what had come about we begin to see why the commandments were necessary and how they molded and continue to influence and shape society at large today. You see Moses had 12 tribes that were following him as they fled the pharoah and his armies, they were fractious groups and tended toward squabbling and when Moses's back was turned easily reverted to idol worship and turning away from God. Therefore, the 10 Commandments were given to Moses to govern and rule the people, the early chapters of the Bible such as Exodus and Leviticus and Lamentations talks about the penalties and consequences of breaking these commandments and other religious views as dictated by the Levi's or the High Priests of the time.
So by telling you all of this what am I trying to tell you, every war that has been fought has been fought over the desire for an object, place, thing or difference, and cloaked under the guise of religion. But the truth of the matter, is that religion was developed and perfected as a means to control the masses, to accumulate wealth and essentially to force society into a habit for living under the commandments and the fear of what happened to society if these commandment were broken. This is known as salvation through the Law. But, in the New Testament it was foretold that the covenant of the law or the covenant of Moses would be broken and salvation would be granted to us by Grace through the belief in Jesus. Jesus like I said had a much more basic and humanistic message that spoke of love and acceptance. Preaching to the common man and reaching out to the lost and disheartened. So why has the church not clung to that teaching, why do they cling to the old testament and the rigid structure of the past? Why are there denominations, why do Preachers and evangelist today speak out against those that don't believe as they do? Why do they preach and teach that if you think and believe different from their views and that of their doctrine that you are going to perish and not make it to Heaven? It is because if they let go of the old testament and embrace the tenants and teachings of Jesus, then they loose control of the masses, their coffers and collection plates would be less and they couldn't force and influence the tides of change and societal whims. So what is all of this saying? It is pointing out that today organized religion has become as corrupt and damaged as it once was in Jesus time, remember that Jesus spoke out against the Church leaders of the times the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He cast out the money lenders in the temple and markets. He dared to change the tenants of the day and speak out against the establishment. He called each of us to do the same. He demanded and we go out and show love, acceptance, tolerance, obedience and compassion to one another and our fellow man.
Yet, here we are 2000 years later, and wars are still being fought, hatred, bigotry and intolerance are still prevalent in a society that is supposed to embrace and accept difference. Our nation was founded on the belief that each individual should have the right to choose and the freedom of choice to believe and follow the religion of their choice. Our forefathers, had the foresight and vision to actually inscribe these things in our founding document the Constitution but look at where we are at. Have we come any further in the 2000 years since Christ to where we are today? Not really! Honestly, if you view organized religion with an open mind you will see what I am saying and can understand that change needs to take place or we are doomed to continue in the same vein as we have for centuries, there will still be greed, war, hatred intolerance and bigotry, there will always be outcasts and societal norms that are influenced and dictated by the church upon the populace, Unfortunately, our forefathers saw that this trend was happening and had the vision to see that inherent danger and tried to ensure that the church wouldn't dictate politics and influence the government. Unfortunately, the separation of church and state which is supposed to be guaranteed and society protected by its inscription in the Constitution has successfully been circumvented and subsequently rendered effective by the advent of lobbying in our government. Ultra-conservatives and right-wing political group and fundamentalist church spend millions of dollars to influence and dictate legislature in our government today. These laws, that are passed, the teachings that the church espouses all play into what becomes know as societal norms and dictates what is acceptable and what is not.
Why I have written all of this and what I want you to walk away from reading this with is the concept and the seed that individualism is good, acceptance is key, leadership is needed and it okay to march to the beat of your own drum. I want you to live your life as you feel inclined too. I want you to live outside of what society decides is the norm. If you can achieve this you will be free from the guilt and remorse that is inflicted by society, church and our own inner beliefs. You will no longer be concerned with how others see you and what they think about you. You will become a leader, you will be a positive influence on others around you and will continue to touch and bless those lives that you come in contact with. Even, if you don't believe in the Bible or the teaching of Christ, if you believe in another religion or creed. If you embrace love, kindness, acceptance, tolerance, understanding, you will find that compassion for your fellow man, and society and the world will become a much better place.
So in summary, why is there so much hatred and intolerance in our enlightened society? Is simply this Religion...man's attempt to reach God and the institution that it built up and created, Where is the solution in the true belief in the essential teachings of what I will call Spirituality or true Christianity...which is God's attempt to reach man and bridge the gap created by Original Sin as written in the old testament. Jesus's teaching of love, acceptance and so forth are the true answer to enduring peace, freedom, and world where differences are celebrated and embraced instead of ridiculed and discriminated against. If only we all could learn the simplest of these things you would see greater advancement in all things because the things which make us different are also the things that when brought together lead to development, creation, and invention. Please release your belief on the old and embrace the new and celebrate living through the joy of love and compassion. Add a sprinkle of laughter into the mix and you will see that pain, illness, will quickly dissolve and your consciousness and mind will be free from constraints and the world will become your oyster and the blessings of the Spirit will be bestowed upon you. Or better yet they will become more evident in your daily life and walk. Each of us are blessed continually and when we open our eyes and take the blinders of prejudice off we cannot see them or properly receive them.
As always I look for your comments and your thoughts on this and any other subject. I want to hear from you and hope that you will join my blog as a follower. It is easy to do, just click on the +1 button on the right hand side just under my profile to join and be a follower. You can also write to me at bryanzepp@gmail.com and visit me on Facebook www.facebook.com/bryan_zepp2
All my hopes and dreams,
Uncle B
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