The Curious Pilgrims

I started reading the Bible at the age of eight. I have read, meditated, studied in depth how the Bible fits into one’s life. Many “Christians” literally read the Bible and declare everything in the Bible has equal value. Many “Christians” refuse to accept the Scared Writings of other religions in the world. I accepted this view early in life for this was the prevailing view among the churches I attended.

Over the years, I have read Scriptures like Hebrews 1:1-3, “ Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!”

God did not reveal God’s total plan to Adam and Eve. In fact, God revealed God’s plan progressively and continuously. Hebrews 1 states God spoke or reveled God in the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus declared God’s plan is simple. We are to love God, love others as we love ourselves, and we are to appreciate, love, and enjoy all of God’s creation.

God continues to reveal God to us through progressive and continuous revelation. The Jewish Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures provide principles for living. God continues to challenge the “ruts” people fall into by clinging to the understandings of yesterday to the problems facing us today. The principles from the past can assist us, but past experiences and understandings do not give answers for today. God has given us reason also. Reason provides logical ways of dealing with current issues. New ideas lead to new methods and solutions. Thus, God continues to reveal God to us through reason, experience, and what we know from the past.

God also speaks to us through the Sacred Writings of all religions. We should be aware of how God’s truth is revealed to all of God’s Creation. I like the image below that describes how God continues to reveal God to us:

I never imagined this day would come. In fact, it seemed like a Star Trek date in 1954 when I started school. Yet, I am glad to be here. Looking back, I see the road behind filed with potholes, construction delays, and traffic congestion. The detours and side trips remind me of what I was and how far I have come.

I have not lost my way. I have changed and grown from the one lane road into a six lane superhighway filled with exits to new sights and new directions. I like the quest that lies ahead. I do not wish or pine for the one lane road I was traveling. What lies ahead will bring new challenges, new desires, and change.

Growth brings change. I have left behind all the baggage that pulled me down. Old ways that held to beliefs that stunted my growth had to go. It was not easy to let go. I wanted to be like the rest. I was not. I conformed rather than be transformed so I would be accepted and one of them, but I was not. Change came as the rode widened and new lanes were added.

I remember where I have been. The wrong turns, u turns, and the dead ends I have taken. I will never forget the teachers, the mentors, the professors, and my family and friends who helped along the way. The cup of cold water when I was thirsty for the water of life shared from the most unlikely people I have met have met. The disappointment of advice and beliefs of those who showed me the traditional ways brings brings both sadness and joy as I had to depart from them and the ways and things they taught and believed.

Today, I look at the road ahead and give thanks for where I have been, where I am, and where I am headed. Although my road may end soon, I will continue to travel as I continue to mature physically, mentally, and spiritually. May the gift of reason, the lessons learned in the past, the experiences I have gained, and the revelations of God guide me as I continue on this journey called life.

God’s Grace

• I John 4:7-8 NLT, “⁷ Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. ⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
• I John 4:9-10 NLT, “⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
• Grace is an act of love. God loves us so much that Jesus came to restore us to God.

Life is challenging. Growing up in Mississippi as the son of a Baptist preacher, I learned quickly I was to conform to the church’s teachings and the area’s culture. From an early age, I felt different. I didn’t fit into the norms. I have been that way all of my life. It seemed like I was swimming upstream while everyone else was swimming downstream. I felt like an outsider.

In my research, I discovered the writings of Patrick Cheng, who wrote Radical Love and From Sin to Amazing Grace. Dr. Cheng writes, “From the beginning of the gospels, Jesus Christ is portrayed as an outsider.” Dr. Cheng mentions three ways that Jesus was an outsider:

The Genealogy of Jesus includes:

• Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and tricked her father-in-law into having sex with her.
• Rahab, who was a prostitute and Canaanite,
• Bathsheba, who committed adultery with King David while married to Uriah,
• Ruth, who pledged her devotion to another woman and was a Moabite,
• David, who loved Jonathan more than a woman, and
• Mary was unmarried and became pregnant with Jesus.

Jesus is constantly seen as transgressing the commonly accepted religious boundaries of His day

• In a world obsessed by purity codes, He touches and heals those who are considered to be unclean, including lepers, bleeding women, those possessed by demons, and the disabled.
• He challenged the teachings of religious authorities, such as the prohibition against healing on the sabbath and the grounds for divorce
• He ate and drank with outcasts such as Tax collectors and sinners

Jesus pushes the boundaries of conventional behavior

• He was an unmarried rabbi in his early thirties.
• He rejected his biological family
• He was rejected by His own hometown

Dr. Cheng further states that mindless conformity with the dominant culture is a sin that occurs within all groups. Grace is deviance, a rational concept opposing what is dominant or normal.

Human rights are fundamental inalienable rights that you have just by virtue of the fact that you are a person. Although the government can pass laws to protect your human rights, human rights are rights believed to be granted by God or by some higher power and everyone has human rights even if legislation doesn’t protect them or if oppressive governments do not respect them.

Fundamental Human Rights

Human rights are the most fundamental and important of rights. They are the rights that the government in the United States spelled out in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, and they are the rights that the United Nations aims to protect for all people. These rights would exist even without government protection or intervention.

Some examples of human rights include:

• The right to life
• The right to liberty and freedom
• The right to the pursuit of happiness
• The right to live your life free of discrimination
• The right to control what happens to your own body and to make medical decisions for yourself
• The right to freely exercise your religion and practice your religious beliefs without fear of being prosecuted for your beliefs
• The right to be free from prejudice on the basis of race, gender, national origin, color, age or sex
• The right to grow old
• The right to a fair trial and due process of the law
• The right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment
• The right to be free from torture
• The right to be free from slavery
• The right to freedom of speech
• The right to freely associate with whomever you like and to join groups of which you’d like to be a part.
• The right to freedom of thought
• The right not to be prosecuted from your thoughts

Most people accept these rights as fundamental and inalienable and in free countries like the United States, there is little disagreement about these basic human rights.

Controversial Human Rights

There are other rights that some believe are basic human rights but that others believe are more controversial.

For example, some of the controversial rights that some believe are human rights include:

• The right to reproductive freedom including the right to choose abortion
• The right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, including the right to marry a person of the same sex
• The right to bear arms and to not have the government infringe unduly on that right
• The right to regular and affordable health insurance subsidized or supported by the government or provided by a single payer system Government programs such as Social Security, Medicare and food stamps that purport to protect the poor also are based on the idea that people have the basic right not to live in poverty, to have enough to eat and to grow old gracefully. While these programs may be more controversial, most people accept these rights as part of the social safety net even there is disagreement on how best to facilitate programs that guarantee these rights. Different societies have different ideas on what fundamental human rights are and the government protections extended to protect basic human rights are a reflection of the widespread cultures and ideals of the society as a whole.

SOURCE: copied from https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-human-rights.html

yourdictionary.com defines civil rights as “rights given to individuals by societies. They are established and enforced by law. Natural rights exist even if a society falls apart, but civil rights would disappear without someone to enforce them. Civil rights protect individuals from discrimination based on their race, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other protected class. Civil liberties, like those outlined in the Bill of Rights (such as Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech), apply legal protection to natural rights to freedom, but again, they would cease to exist without a government to enforce them.

• Civil liberties are designed to limit government action in specific areas. For example, you have the freedom of speech. This is a civil liberty.
• Civil rights, on the other hand, require a government to act to ensure equal treatment for all. If you are denied a job because you are a woman, this is against your civil rights and the government needs to act to ensure this doesn’t happen.

Civil rights are granted to us via the U.S. Constitution through the 14th amendment, which states all citizens have the right to life, liberty, or property along with equal protection under the laws. These rights were then further expanded on through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires equal application of laws for everyone.

The application of full and equal rights for all seems simple. However, it’s actually anything but. Not only do race and gender come into play, but sexual orientation as well. However, to try to keep it clear, examples of civil rights include the equal treatment of individuals in:

• Employment
• Housing
• Public facilities
• Government services
• Public education

What Are Civil Liberties?

As a citizen, you also have certain rights that a government shouldn’t interfere with called your civil liberties. Civil liberties are granted by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. For example, freedom of speech is a civil liberty. So, if you want to create a poster about problems with your school district and post it in your yard, you can. However, it must meet a few guidelines like not defaming someone.

Examples of Civil Liberties

Just like civil rights, there are a few different examples of civil liberties. Unlike civil rights, civil liberties are a bit more cut and dried. However, there are still gray areas. Examples of civil liberties include the freedom of:

• Speech
• Expression
• Privacy
• Due process
• Press
• Religion
• Assembly
• Owning property
• Defending oneself
• Marrying
• Voting

When looking at civil rights and civil liberties, it might seem like the differences are clear. However, they can weave together into a tangled mess. For example, the right to marry is a civil liberty that all U.S. citizens are granted. So, the government can’t impede this right. If they try, then you have a civil liberties issue. But what if they only choose to not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples? Well then, you’ve ventured into the waters of civil rights. See how that can get confusing fast. Either way, your civil rights and liberties are important.

Source: Jennifer Betts, Staff Writer, yourdictionary.com

The word “Christian” denotes negative feelings due to the actions and beliefs of those who identify as Christians. I am a follower of Jesus who showed us how to live in a world that does not accept the two great commandments to love God and love others as we love ourselves.