Freedom of religion is granted in our USA Constitution and there is no reason for any religion to seek to dominate the minds of Americans. Yet, in Iowa, the legislature is taking religion and politicizing it in ways that inhibit American freedoms. My guess is that most of the Iowans are in favor of the values they practice at home. They would like to see that those values are reflected everywhere, but, that is a very dangerous idea when it is laced with the idea the USA Constitution is the enemy and other Americans are not as important within the understanding of the First Amendment.
What is occurring in Iowa and with rampaging politicians like DeSantis is a perversion far more dangerous than any DIFFERENCE we have from one another. The people of Iowa, regardless how simple their focus and benevolent their point of view are victims to those that see the USA Constitution as an enemy focusing only on what can be politically advantageous.
The USA Constitution is a very unique and powerful document. It is laced with generosity and not authority. The USA Constitution views the people as those most important and not the authority of the government. While that seems as though the people have the right to HAVE THINGS AS THEY WANT THEM, that is not what the USA Constitution states. In it's generosity the USA Constitution provides a platform for individuality of everyone. It provides also in generous portions TOLERANCE of difference between Americans and the First Amendment teaches us that.
Freedom of Religion is one place where I would expect TOLERANCE to be most at work, yet, today that freedom is creating indifference and intolerance and mean spirited forms of legislation that create victims rather than benevolence to bring about security for all Americans. Hate is replacing the real teachings of religion and it is being sanctioned under the idea the political power has the right to bring about these powers of intolerance and indifference in the name of religious freedom.
In the Supreme Court are religious extremists. They can't see the forest for the trees. The religious extremists are the majority and they believe every aspect of government should be lifted from the individual to allow purity of spirit to ascend to the here after. Really? I thought one of the most extremists in purity of spirit was illustrated clearly in the Bible's New Testament. I thought Jesus Christ was the iconic figure that was the most pure. The lessons of the Bible's New Testament is about a man who God called his son and how he traveled through his life changing the hearts of people by preaching about a monotheistic god and not the many deities the Romans held dear.
The life of Jesus Christ was not about HAVING IT HIS WAY, it was about purifying the soul through mindful understanding of a moral life of generosity and tolerance. The followers of Jesus Christ did not know plush living with more than ample staples, but, of struggle and sacrifice and being true to that morality no matter the suffering asked of one's heart and mind. Today, that meaning has been perverted by this Supreme Court and those that seek power over the USA Constitution. The idea of Freedom of Religion is not to be intolerant in law of others, but, to allow all forms of spirituality to exist and even the right to be without a spirit god if one chooses.
There are always schisms that occur within religious organizations for ideological reasons, but, the schism occurring in the legislatures of this country is not supposed to exist. The USA Constitution recognizes the right for every American to have a life they cherish. That is not happening in some areas in the USA and unfortunately we have a Supreme Court that is suffering under ethical issues.
It is time to regroup to understand what life in the USA means without a USA Constitution to protect our individuality. It is a precious document and the First Amendment is important, but, not as a means of politics when that freedom is already secure. Legislating hate is highly immoral and causes harm to lives of innocent Americans.
May 24, 2023
United Methodist congregations in Iowa (click here) are leaving the denomination over a split on same-sex marriages and ordaining openly LGBTQ clergy.
The denomination has repeatedly upheld bans on both, but some U.S. churches and clergy have defied them. The Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church approved a new vision last year that allows Methodist ministers to host same-sex weddings and makes way for gay clergy to serve without fear of church charges.
Last year, conservatives launched a new Global Methodist Church, where they are determined to maintain and to enforce such bans. Across the United States, 3,755 churches have parted ways with the United Methodist Church, according to United Methodist News. There's an estimated 30,000 congregations in the United States, with nearly 13,000 more abroad....
United Methodist congregations in Iowa (click here) are leaving the denomination over a split on same-sex marriages and ordaining openly LGBTQ clergy.
The denomination has repeatedly upheld bans on both, but some U.S. churches and clergy have defied them. The Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church approved a new vision last year that allows Methodist ministers to host same-sex weddings and makes way for gay clergy to serve without fear of church charges.
Last year, conservatives launched a new Global Methodist Church, where they are determined to maintain and to enforce such bans. Across the United States, 3,755 churches have parted ways with the United Methodist Church, according to United Methodist News. There's an estimated 30,000 congregations in the United States, with nearly 13,000 more abroad....
