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Faith

When you hear the word "faith", what do you think of? Many of us would automatically assume it is a religious expression and nothing more.  It is defined as, "Complete trust or confidence in something or someone". As a Christian I have faith in a living God and His name is Jesus Christ. I also have faith, as defined above, in many things throughout each day. In fact I would suggest that not a single person that has ever lived, is living today or has yet to be born, will not experience this thing called faith.

So why is it that so many people today boldly mock believers like myself because of our faith in a God that none of us has ever seen? They mock in large part because they have been taught not to believe. During the era of Communism in the USSR, people were taught that there was no God. For 50 years Christians were persecuted, as in China today, because of their faith in God. In the western world today, almost every religion is protected against bigotry except one: Christianity. Media and atheists can say whatever negative thing they want about my faith and not be accused of slander or bigotry or some "phobia". If I said anything negative about sexual orientation or someone's race or even abortion, I would be labelled every nasty term you can think of.

So what is it that so many "progressives" dislike about people of faith? Why is it that they demand that we keep our beliefs to ourselves and confined to our church buildings while themselves demand that our children only be exposed to their beliefs? Does anyone else think it is extremely peculiar that few if any of our politicians and media types, don't ask this same question? Why do we allow atheists and others to make statements about the "evil" of Christianity and how our children need "protection" from this "sect". Those are terms used in newspapers every day with absolutely no repercussions. Apparently some even go as far as stating that evangelical Christians are just as bad as radical Islam. That type of nonsense goes unchallenged on a regular basis.

I am reminded as we head into the Christmas season (not holiday season) that Jesus was targeted for death the moment he was born. Many in our society today still want Jesus dead but guess what: Jesus will never die. People of faith still worship Jesus like the wise men did over 2000 years ago.

Now let's return to my original observation about everyone experiencing the practice of faith. Non-believers will always tell you that you are crazy to believe in someone or something that can't be scientifically proven or experienced through one of our 5 senses. Please tell that to someone who is dying and they have no other hope than trusting in a God they have never seen. Or tell that to all of us who have over the course of our lifetimes sat on chairs without any doubt they will support us and not collapse under us. Or get on an airplane and trust that the plane is mechanically sound and the pilots are competent. Or how about getting on an elevator at the 100th floor and believing it will get you safely to the 1st floor. That is "faith" in something or someone just like faith in God. There is no difference no matter how hard you try to deny it.


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