Agreed, but I don't think when people make accusations of hate they are referring to such a scenario.

 

A lot of evil has been done in the name of religion, but I really believe the situation I described exists among true believers. My point is that we have been conditioned to equate different viewpoints as hatred and that is wrong.

 

Would it have mattered if I had made my travelers a priest, a preacher, and a rabbi? How about a monk, a wigan, and a mullah?

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

 

It's not about your views or my views it is about the truth. And yes, we should speak the truth in love with a genuine concern for others.

The key word here is the "MAP". They need to take time before they actually move and break down and study this map. In this situation they have no one who could help them figure out some main points in the map. Where in religion man/woman have that source.

 

Is it hatred? I don't think so. I've debated preachers who didn't hate me, but didn't agree with my points and were harsh with me, but in the end they respected my thought as I did with them.

 

Man has freewill to hate or choose to respect anothers opinion. I've had some really "go-arounds" with folks on BGPs and have been frustrated over some comments, but never hated anyone.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

 

It's not about your views or my views it is about the truth. And yes, we should speak the truth in love with a genuine concern for others.

 

Here is where Hate arises. "I know the TRUTH and you don't."

 

It is not about simply choosing a random path it is often about choosing a path that is part of your heritage. Hate arises when you continually tell me that I am going to hell because I follow in the path of my father and my fathers' father and his fathers father. If I am going to Hell you have completely condemned my family and my culture and my history. You are asking me to turn my back on 1000s of years of belief.

 

What ought to happen, if I can vary the scenario a bit is that you choose to walk with me down whichever path and that we continue to talk and share and find common ground and learn to love another and one another's heritage and belief system. What you should tell me is not that I am going to hell but that what you have found is the way that you believe is going to get you to heaven AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IN MY BOOK how that you can can make our walk a more peaceful one. You should tell me that your TEACHER taught you to love everyone and to walk a mile with them and to give them the shirt off of your back, and that if a "neighbor" was suffering you should do everything in your power to eliminate that suffering. Finally you should tell me that if there were things that got in your way of trying to make the world better for everyone (like greed or gluttony or selfishness) that your TEACHER taught you to get rid of those things ('sell all you have') so that you could better adhere to HIS teachings to make the world a better place.

 

I would then share with you that my teacher taught very similar things. He taught that I would face suffering, but that I could ease that suffering by eliminating my earthly desires and trying to walk a moderate bath.

 

We could then find some common ground and continue our walk and our conversation, never losing respect for one another's heritage, but continuing to find areas where we agree, so that we could reach the ultimate truth together. Despite our desire to travel our own path.

You all will not accept a scenario of concern without hate, will you? My story is simple and uncomplicated, at least it was intended that way. If anyone believes I am on the wrong path, I hope they care enough to warn me. It would make me feel loved, not hated. Why would I consider that hate? Y'all have issues that I can't understand.

You all will not accept a scenario of concern without hate, will you? My story is simple and uncomplicated, at least it was intended that way. If anyone believes I am on the wrong path, I hope they care enough to warn me. It would make me feel loved, not hated. Why would I consider that hate? Y'all have issues that I can't understand.

 

I agree. I believe God's word is the standard in which I will be measured so if I am teaching or practicing something not in harmony with God's word I would hope someone would be my friend and show me what the scripture has to say.