Revelation and Acceptance

I was just watching a show on National Geographic about Revelation from the New Testamant and something very important occurred to me about who the people are that believe in the End of Days ideology and how they approach acceptance of Others. I don't claim to be any form of religious scholar, but I agree that religion has a profound impact upon our world, so I do try to learn what I can about different belief systems so I can have a better understanding of the world around me. Unfortunately, it seems that those Christians who believe that we are nearing the End of Days are not very tolerant of anyone who does not believe what they believe, in the way they believe it. In short, everyone who does not prescribe to their worldview, which appears to be built upon philosophy of very stark separation, are eternally damned. Whoah, slow down there Minister of Death, but that seems just a bit contradictory to the idea of love thy neighbor and turn the other cheek. What's worse is that this narrow vision of right and wrong is negatively effecting the immediate world around us by trying to force a singular point of view upon a nation that has been working for over 235 years to instill a sense of multiplicity when it comes to who we are as a nation.

As these bits of information about End of Days Theology sunk into my brain, this deep sense of division became apparent within the ranks of those who believe in some form of Christianity (not to mention any of the other Abrahamic faiths). Then, the show began explaining how the Rapture is a man-made contrivance based on the visions of a woman named, Margaret MacDonald, was spread throughout England and America by a man named John Nelson Darby, and later exploited by Cyrus Schofield who wrote the Schofield's Reference Bible. Before the 1830's Rapture-based theology was not even a regular part of Christianity; but, it was MacDonald's "vision" that was later passed-along to a new set of adherents and cleverly marketed as religious truth. There are those, however, who understand "visions" to be something altogether different. They might be dreams, delusions, schizophrenia, or just someone looking for attention from a miraculous story. For those who believe in prophesy and that God can talk to people, shouldn't the visions of all people in all faiths be accepted as truth? That would lead to too much contradiction, so it doesn't happen. But who is to say who's vision is the word of God and who's isn't? Well, it depends on who you listen to, and so few actually listen to one another. This same mind-set is also becoming a dangerous reality when it comes to creating public policy, and has become so much the norm that other voices are portrayed as treacherous or somehow un-American. However, according to the United States Constitution, those would silence alternate voices are the one who are the real traitors to the ideals of our nation.

This is also why we have the Separation Clause in the first Amendment, but these narrow-minded and self-serving groups often refer to themselves in one form or another as the "Chosen-ones", and create philosophies and ideologies to support their personal aspirations instead of looking for transcendence and bettering the world through the cultivation of a thorough and multi-faceted understanding of faith and national identity. Unfortunately, the United States is home to millions who believe in this sort of exclusivity, and so, I wonder how many of these End of Days adherents are also the driving force behind laws such as Arizona's SB1070? How many are against giving health care to everyone? How many wave their fingers and yell. "Socialist!" when we try to help our fellow humans when they need it the most? How many are against teaching more than one version of U.S. history? How many believe that English is America's official language? How many do not believe in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? Or hide their bias against non-Evangelicals people by using the word "illegal" to describe immigrants, when what they mean is non-English speaking, middle-class, Protestant Evangelicals? How many of them believe in restricting the rights and lives of others as they see fit, instead of supporting actual freedom, such as the freedom to make your own decisions? How many of them believe they are better than everyone else? How many of them have trampled upon your life somehow?

When we look at the fight for the soul of the United States of America, maybe we should really look at who believes what, and how that influences the world we all live in. If the USA was completely in their control, I fear I wouldn't even be allowed to write this. That is not my America.