Consider this: the Constitution is only a little over 200 years old and disagreements about interpreting its meaning and how it should be applied to present day happen all the time. When the Bible is over 2000 years old. It goes without saying then, that things will get lost in translation, interpretation, and application. Christianity, like many other religions, is full of nuance and conflict, and I think a lot of people, Christians included, forget it is growing as a religion as the world grows. Religious teachings reflect the times they began in, just as our government debates the application of the Constitution to a drastically different society from 1787, Christians must find their own way, whether it be by congregation, studying theology or simple faith. I am not an expert on theology, but I am a Christian, and I think Christian and secular media is missing a big point about the religion.

Christianity is complex, but when first learning it, the religion begins on two very simple principles:

You are to believe in God before all others.

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

That’s the Golden rule, right? Those are the main instructions for being a Christian, those are the mantras families tell their children, those are the principles upon which everything else in Christianity is built, so why is it nuance can make people forget the importance of those statements? I’m referring to the second one in particular.

Christianity is mentioned in debates over social issues all the time in this country, because it is the religion of such a large portion of the population. Christianity is not the only religion in the United States, but as recently as 2008, it was 80 percent of the U.S.

So I believe the truly Christian thing is to not decide for women or for anyone what they can and can’t do with their bodies unless one would prefer a world in which a group of people can just decide one can’t have a medical procedure anymore.

I believe we shouldn’t shun those of other faiths or lack thereof or tout that they are damned, only God judges and God forgives.

I believe we do not decide whose love is real, valid and deserving of respect because it is simply above us and we should not persecute it simply because a verse in the Old Testament said it was wrong.

We are in the age of the New Testament, Christ preached love and acceptance, leave the judgement up to God and the hate to the Devil.

Christians may never agree with those who have different beliefs, but the point is that Christians can’t force change onto anyone, forcing someone to forsake a belief does not work and the attempt is entirely unproductive to what Christianity teachings should accomplish. I know Christians are compelled to share their faith but we can share it with love and the way we serve God everyday rather than disparagement in the face of unyielding beliefs of others.

If Christians are approximately 75 percent of the population and a huge part of the voting demographic, why are we so afraid of being marginalized because we are facing some opposition in America? There was a time when Christians were literally thrown into arenas with lions, and there are still those who hate Christianity, who hate everything Christians stand for, but we are three fourths of the nation, we should be bigger than that, we have the power to show that we are a religion of love, not a religion of hate. We do not have the power to force the people who hate us to not hate us anymore, but if we are the disciples of Christ then aren’t we taught to turn the other cheek and trust that the Holy Spirit will reach out to everyone?

When the nation thinks of Christians, I think a majority of the population can agree that the last thing we want them to think of, is the Westboro Baptist Church. The word Christian means so much more to so many as compared to that. There are hundreds of Christian denominations in this world, and we are all trying to find a way to live God’s world in a vast and diverse world, and we are past the age of the Enlightenment, we are living in a time where a vast majority of Christians are literate and learning, and the Bible is there for individual interpretation and understanding.

It is so important that Christians understand and build their faith for themselves, and because of this it is a highly individualized religion with so many branching sects and so many disagreements, but if we can all agree that it goes back to those two founding principles, then I don’t understand why Christians remain such divisive players in social issues. I believe holding liberal social views and being a Christian are not mutually exclusive. The right of Christians to hold their beliefs and to live their lives should be just as valid and protected as the rights of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and all other beliefs or lack thereof. Some Christians might not agree with gay marriage, but there were a lot of Romans who once hated Christian marriages in the early days of the religion, so what I can’t understand is why more Christians aren’t on the forefront of human rights for all humans, even those who are of differing ideology? If Christians want their rights protected in what is an increasingly secular world, then Christians need to fight for all rights to be protected.

God bless.