Civility - Some People May Surprise You

I was told about a comment made by someone who read my blogs. Although the comment was made by an agnostic, he actually said some nice things about me and my blogs. That surprised me. I was expecting a hostile reaction since I perceived that agnostics or atheists wouldn’t like my blogs about religion. I guess my perception was wrong. Unfortunately, this is the common perception we developed, due to the hostility or animosity that we hear about, from the media, between Christians and atheists. I read somewhere that G.K. Chesterton (a convert to Catholicism) was a friend of George Bernard Shaw (an atheist). Although they debated about God and religion, there was no animosity between them. In fact, when Chesterton died, Shaw had only nice things to say about him. I was just wondering if it was ever possible someday for people to discuss things, whether religion, politics, or other topics, with civility once again. There seems to be a shortage of that nowadays.

Will the World Really Be Better Without God?

I saw a TV show called “Masters of Science Fiction.” In it, the President said nuclear weapons & God were invented due to fear. This represents Hollywood’s belief that God is just an invention. But there’s more. John Lennon’s song, “Imagine”, expresses his belief that the world will be perfect if there’s “no heaven” & “no religion too.” The music industry shares this belief. So is it true? Will the world be better if people didn’t believe in God? Examine the evidence. Stalin, Mao, & Pol Pot are examples of atheists who tried to create a utopia on earth. These despots are responsible for murdering millions of people. What they created instead is hell on earth. Just ask any survivor of their regimes. Now look at those who genuinely believed in God, & actually practiced their belief, such as St. Francis of Assisi & Mother Teresa. They were motivated by faith in making the world a better place. Ask anyone who benefited from the works of the Franciscans or the Missionaries of Charity. So do you still believe the Entertainment Industry’s notion that eliminating God will make the world a better pace? Judge for yourself.

Setting Good Examples for Kids

I heard a story from a friend about someone who's no longer a practicing Christian. When he was a little kid, his mom would leave him alone at the church hall every Sunday, without any food or water. She told the boy to stay there and do nothing, until she comes back from doing "church work." So he would starve all day. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that he grew up with a negative perception of Christianity. He no longer goes to church due to this bad experience. This raises some interesting questions. Are you neglecting your family obligations? Are you giving your kids a good impression of religion? Are you inspiring your kids, so that they too would want to become practicing Christians?