Fear.

It's a simple, yet sophisticated thing, and something that appears to have a stranglehold on America.

We've long had an identity crisis in this country, both from the sense of what external factors we incorporate into our personal identities, as well as the division regarding what identities are and aren't acceptable to display publically. That, of course, is determined by a lot of factors, but the most dominate as of late has stemmed from political and religious extremism. I'm sorry if you don't appreciate reading those words, if they make you feel triggered or attacked, but let me explain why I hold these views.

Christianity was very much a part of my upbringing, so just like many others I learned about Adam and Eve, Moses, Jesus, and the word of God as a child. However, my understanding and interpertation of the Bible never lined up with the behaviors of those claiming to have taken those moral lessons to heart, and as I've grown it has only become more aparant just how far lost the message has become.

The first two comandments Jesus gave were to love God more then you love yourself, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. To me, that means to love your fellow human beings, regardless of sex or gender or race or political affiliation or what have you, as you would love yourself, but clearly there is quite a different interpertation that allowed for the agenda being pushed now to take root. Those of you that claim to be God fearing should know that forcing beliefs upon people isn't going to save them, that they themselves have to save themselves and the way to encourage that is by leading by example.

Matthew 22:34-40
[34] But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
[35] Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
[36] Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
[37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
[38] This is the first and great commandment.
[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

"But Chris, I'm a Christian and I don't support what's going on!" Have you said or done anything to distance your faith from those that have clearly hijacked it? The role of humanity in regards to Christianity isn't to play the role of judger, it's to protect the sanctity of faith and to abide by Jesus's teachings. It's even explicitly mentioned to not worship false idols, but how many self-claiming Christians have Trump, or Musk, or even the United States Dollar at the forefront of their worship? How many come across homeless people in the streets, or witness starving families and children at food banks and react with indifference, when Jesus would've stepped up and provided for them?

If you're white and claim to be Christian, I implore you to take a hard look at where your faith actually lies and if it's in true accordance with the word of God, or if that word has been manipulated to lead you astray. I need you to ask yourself what St. Peter would think if you arrived at the pearly gates having let as much damage and harm be done to the very people Jesus commanded us to love as if they were ourselves. It is needed, now more then ever, for you to ask yourself if you would be granted admittance for letting the word of God get hijacked and used to propagate divison and facsism, and all the potential lives that could be lost alongside that.

Spread empathy, spread love, seek peace. If your faith is the correct faith, show it by examplifying what Jesus actually wanted. It is ultimately God himself who casts judgement upon us and determines if we're entering Heaven or being sent to Hell, and the purpose of his believers and followers is to share his word, not to play judger ourselves and try to force people to hold faith.

Matthew 7: 1-5
[1] “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
[2] For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
[3] “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
[4] How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
[5] You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Because honestly, if that faith is forced, if it does not stem from a deeply personal connection with God, then it's not saving anybody. Focus on how you exemplify those moral lessons in your everyday life, and get your faith back from these fascist neo-Nazis.

All of this said with (hard) love.

Until next time.