Christians around the world celebrate Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter. This is the Christian holiday. Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.
Intimidated, scared, crazy followers of Jesus were filled with courage and new hope as they saw and touched Jesus after his resurrection. Those young, frightened men suddenly became world changers and were willing to die for what they had experienced. The hope they promoted and wrote about is still effecting billions of people on the planet today who follow Christ and the Bible.
Jesus never discriminated. He reached out to a woman about to be stoned because of adultery and saved her life. He reached out to a despised tax collector and lepers and drank a little wine with a celebrating wedding party. Jesus embraced people, and that was one of the reasons many hated him.
Christians never go wrong by loving and embracing others. This is all part of being a Christian and celebrating Easter. On the same token, people should respect others’ beliefs. If one does not want to eat pork, then we should respect that. If someone prefers the Catholic Church over the Baptist Church, then let it be.
Because America is being tolerant and recognizing LGBT people, they need to be tolerant in return. Life is a two-way street. It’s not all for one. I am totally opposed to ?discrimination and believe in equal rights for all. However, no one is going to ask a Muslim T-shirt designer to design a shirt that depicts Muhammad in a negative way.
A priest should never be asked to perform a wedding ceremony of two men or two women, as I believe most priests would object. A photographer is placed into a somewhat intimate position with his or her subject and should not be expected to take pictures if the photographer opposes. Simply ?understand and go somewhere else.
LGBT individuals should have the same civil rights as everyone else. However, the civil rights of one group should not eclipse the civil rights of another group simply ?because their views are not the same. Christians should also have the same civil rights as everyone else. No one in this country should have to live in fear of the other.
An Indiana pizza shop shutting down because of a young girl’s opinion about catering pizza to a gay wedding is just crazy. Easter is about victory and celebration.
Jesus came out of the grave. Christians came out of hiding, and there was courage and boldness. This is not the time for Christians or any law-abiding person to live ?behind closed doors in fear and trembling.
Glenn Mollette
gmollette@aol.com
