I have avoided, in the past, making religious statements or stating religious opinions because I did not think they were relevant to the issues I was speaking to. As is often the case, I was mistaken in that belief. I will attempt to rectify that now.

    I am a Christian, which mean that I believe that Christ was the son of God, that Christ died on the Cross for the purpose of forgiving my sins in the eyes of God, that Christ was and is the example of what it means to be perfectly human. I was fortunate enough to be raised in the Methodist church by thoughtful religious parents, both of which encouraged me to question God in my own way and find my own path to Him. In doing so, I have made mistakes and changed my mind over time, as is necessary to spiritual growth, as with any other type of growth. But I have found that certain "truths" hold out over my experience. Please allow me to enumerate some of them for the reader:

    God does not need or want warriors. There is no war with Satan except in the hearts and minds of people. Satan, in my opinion, is the personification of the evils that people are capable of, not an entity unto himself. He is the dark side of choice, which God gave to people. God gave us choice as is made apparent in the story of Adam and Eve. Eve chose to take the apple and Adam chose to taste from it, despite God telling them not to do it. Choice is the sole purveyance of Man. God gave it only to Man. And along with that power of choice comes the creation of evil. People choose to do evil things. God, nor Satan makes people do those things. They choose it for themselves. Satan, if he existed, never had the power to force evil on someone, just to tempt people to it. We could always say no. God prohibits himself from forcing choices on us. He gave the choice to us. Why would he do that? Because he wants us to love him. And is love without choice?    Yet, so often, we choose power over love. Why is that? I do not have an answer for that, but it is, again in my opinion, the source of the greatest evils this world has ever known. In the wilderness, on a mountain top, Satan offered Christ dominion over all nations if he would simply bow to evil. Christ refused. Christ never exercised dominion over anyone. He let people choose. And by people, I mean all people; men, women and children. Is he a leader? Absolutely. But he is a great leader who leads by example, laying out the choices that we have to make for ourselves. And history, both personal and global, have shown us the consequences of those choices. Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Khan, etc. all chose to gather power unto themselves instead of choose to rule through love and mutual understanding. Look what that caused.

    Woman are not second class citizens. They are not lesser in any way. Men have no natural and inalienable superiority over women. My wife is neither my servant nor my master. She is my wife, my partner, my friend and confidant. To think otherwise is to lessen masculinity on a grand scale. True men, masculine men comfortable in their own masculinity, have no need or desire to prove their masculinity to anyone, and certainly not by subjugating women. If you feel this to be untrue, may I as what the hell you are afraid of? Femininity is the compliment of masculinity, not its opposite. Real men do not subjugate or seek dominion. Real men value differences for the broadening of possibilities it creates within their own lives. True satisfaction is obtained through service, not rule.

    Love, in all of its true forms, is NEVER wrong. LBGQT+ love is no less real and transcendent than heterosexual love. It can be as supportive, and in many of the cases I've seen, more supportive, than any love I've ever witnessed. I believe that it comes with some of its own unique problems, but one of those should not be societal disapproval. My relationship with my wife has had its ups and downs, as does every relationship, but nobody condemns that. It cannot be wrong to love. It simply cannot. It is antithetical to the very concept of love.

    Sometimes it is very difficult to do the right thing. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. But sometimes the cost is very high. Going back to my Christianity, Christ died on the Cross because it was the right thing to do. How high a cost was that? As a Christian, I must be prepared to pay that cost, even when it is high. That is how I define courage. And I pray that if and when the time comes, I have it.

    An unquestioned faith is not faith. Faith should not come easily or be a steady state. If you have not questioned your God, you don't really believe in Him. I question my God all the time, but somehow, the questions generally seem to get answered. How can he allow the abuses that occur in His name? Well that's an easy one. He doesn't. We do. Those abuses are created, carried out, covered up and propagated by Men, not God. Its that pesky choice thing again. See? I get answers.

    As human beings, we are given choice. The choices we make effect those around us, sometimes globally. We must commit to deliberate and thoughtful choice-making. I choose to believe what I believe. I also choose to believe the other choices made by other people can be as valid and thoughtful as mine, even if they are not the same choices. They are not me. I believe that other faiths are as valid as mine, if they teach the same values as mine, as most of the world religions do in their original, unpolluted forms. Islam, Judaism and Christianity share a common heritage and history, we're just changing prophets. Buddhism teaches the seeking of peace through self reflection in various forms. The God within instead of the God without. Hinduism has broken down existence into several Gods who each have various aspects, but the message is the same. Take care of each other. (And there is a single God in charge). I accept that my faith is not universal, and probably shouldn't be. I accept that love and peace are universal, no matter your God. As my God intended. I accept that there is evil in the world. I believe that the way to defeat evil is love, not power. I believe in humanity. I believe in the transcendent power of love. Which by the way, defines my God.

    Believe what you believe. I will not challenge it, but I may question it. Its absolutely acceptable to me for you to question my beliefs, but you must be willing to listen to my answers. I'll be delighted to listen to yours. I bet you'll find that we have way more in common than we have differences. If you have the chance, let's find out Ask away....