So Jack.
"Do you accept the lord Jesus Christ as your savior."
Oh buddy.
I don't think you've studied enough to ask me that question.
But.
I'll answer.
I was raised by Catholics.
Harassed by "Christians"
Educated by Mormons.
Saved by Jews.
Listened with a clear mind to Imams
Taught by Taoist and Buddhists.
And prayed with Pagans.
And from of all of that I learned that the difference between faith and belief is the same as right and wrong.
Belief in something is an immovable part of a persons fundamental being.
I believe I need to eat.
Because if I don't I will starve.
I believe I need to drink water.
Because if I don't I will dehydrate.
I believe I need to breath.
Because if I don't I will suffocate.
Faith on the other hand.
Can't be quantified as such.
I have faith that there are good people.
I have faith that I can be a good person.
I have faith in the kindness of strangers.
Do you see the difference?
I've read all the texts.
All of them.
Cover to cover.
Even multiple versions of the Bible.
You know what I Learned?
Jesus washed the feet of Whores.
Jesus sat with Lepers.
Jesus broke bread with his enemies.
Jesus didn't judge the poor before helping them.
The Devil's greatest trick was convincing humans' they didn't have a choice.
God's plan was to let us choose between right and wrong.
And the rest is stories that illustrate the point.
So when you ask me if I "Believe Jesus is my Lord and Savior."
I'd tell you Jesus wouldn't even want you thinking of him that way.
At least according to his deeds and actions.
And his own words.
Miracles aside.
The sad and sorry fact of it is.
Even if I did believe in all of the Miracles and mysticism around Jesus.
I'd be terrified.
Because with the timing and events.
If Jesus has come back?
He's sitting in a Detention Center.
Or in a camp on the border.
Waiting for some one to show him kindness.
That his Faith wasn't misplaced.
And angry at the treatment of the people around him.
Because that's his story.
That was the message.
So.
That's my faith.
Nothing made me less "Christian" than actually reading that Good Book that people are so fond of quoting out of context.
Nothing made me trust my Jewish friends more than their reasoning that Jesus could have been a real person, and if he was he was a good Jewish boy.
I know that the followers of Islam see Jesus as a prophet alongside Mohammad.
Learned to listen to the world around me and do what I can from the Taoists.
Learned to see the magic in the every day from the Pagans.
So if you ask me that question.
Please understand.
I offer my prayers as the Rasta.
And have faith that they will be heard.
Everything else is stories, smoke, and the acts of people hoping they're doing the right thing.
"I woke up this morning.
To the rising sun..."
George Carlin once said.
"I keep a dusty old joint in the back of my drawer. I take a few puffs before I write and then let the words flow."
That may not be verbatim on that one.
I'm quoting from memory.
George said a lot of stuff.
https://youtu.be/W7JkpTs3wkM
