Ok, so all of the religious talk has not died down over on the debate board of the website I frequent. I won't air all of the family's dirty laundry, but like any large group of people there are a number of differing opinions that are coming up. And the discussions are starting to get p.r.e.t.t.y heated.

The latest one is about whether or not Jews are going to hell. And the best part is that there's a poll where you vote "Do you think Jews are going to hell?" etc, etc, etc. I started to check the box that says, "Well, I'm not sure about ALL the Jews, maybe just the ones I don't like" and then I realized that I don't know any Jewish people that I don't like.

Alright, so that wasn't really one of the choices, but you catch my exaggerated and sarcastic drift, right?

So, here's the only thing I can figure: these people want to debate for the sheer enjoyment of getting other people riled up. Only..........see, I don't think it's all that funny to do it when it comes to someone's religion or heritage. There are few things in this world that are sacred anymore, and I just don't understand why people can't leave this one alone.

Religion is guaranteed to get people heated up; I guess that's why they say you shouldn't discuss sex, religion and politics at work. I second that motion!

What about my religious beliefs, you say? Well, I'm a Christian.
And if you're a Christian, aren't you supposed to spread the "Good News" to the world? Yep, that what's Jesus said.
And if you are a Christian, aren't you supposed to defend your faith? Well, I think that's a little harder to answer because it depends upon against whom I am defending my faith.

Here's how I see it (notice the use of the first person objective pronoun, so this is strictly OPINION): The basic premise of Christianity is that you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and, as such, you have the possibility of being saved from your innate sinful nature. Just a couple of things Christ really pointed out:
- there's that whole business of loving the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, body.
- and then there's - ahem - the loving-your-neighbor-as-yourself part.

I think that's the tricky part, the part that most people forget or can't seem to formulate into their daily routines. I know I'm guilty of it..........but we'll leave that for another post as well.

So, bringing it all back around to the question of whether or not Jews go to hell, well................that's not a question that I am responsible for answering. I realize that there are major differences between what I believe and what they believe, but why would God put me in charge of deciding who goes where when the big-gig here on earth is done. Sheesh - I don't even WANT that responsibility.

But here's the kicker - so many Christians are so concerned about figuring out who is right and who is wrong that they forget the neighbor loving. And don't think that only applies to the Jews. No way, man - that goes for the Muslims and the Hindus and the Buddhists and all of the other belief systems I have not named.

So what about the Great Commission? Well, it doesn't mean I'm not going to tell people what I believe..............it just means I'm not going to start needless polls on a website to figure out where they're going because they don't agree with me.

And that's all I have to say about that.