Outside looking in

I strongly believe what the button above says is true. Hatred is not something that should be taught to children, or condoned in our society. So why is it so prevalent? And why, with our current political administration that's all about promoting good Christian values, is hatred so rampant?

I thought the Bible said to "love thy neighbor". No qualifiers. It's not "love thy neighbor only if they look like you" or "love thy neighbor unless they love the same sex" or "love thy neighbor unless they worship another god (or none)...in which case, killing them is okay." I'm an atheist, and I know the Bible doesn't say these things. So why do so many people who readily identify themselves as "Good Christians" feel perfectly okay spewing forth hatred about anyone not like them? (see my previous post on McCain's religious affiliates for some examples of Christian pastors preaching venomous words about "the other").

I'm an outsider. I am not Christian. So I feel bad to judge people on how they behave relative to the beliefs they claim. But when a prominent religious figure talks about loving Jesus and then goes on to talk about the sickness of homosexuality in our nation or the scourge of Islam... do they not realize how much their words hurt people? How alienating they are? How un-Christ-like they are coming across?

Is this okay behavior in our society? Is it acceptable to talk about how virtuous you are and in the same breath spew hatred about others? I don't think that's right. Or fair. Or nice. I want better than that for Doodle...for our world. Why is it so hard to just love thy neighbor? Or even to simply peacefully coexist? I don't understand.